It was Cecily’s turn to think for a moment. She was nervous, that much was true. But Val had been nothing but gracious to her, just as he had been to their whole family when they dined at Archington Manor. She felt sure that he was truly the person he was showing her he was.
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “I do believe that I will be quite content.”
Greta and Agnes hugged Cecily once more.
“Congratulations, Lady Cecily,” Greta said, sounding emotional.
“I love you, Cece,” Agnes said.
“I love you both,” Cecily said, feeling overcome with her own emotion.Heavens, please, let me be making the right decision,she prayed silently.
Greta put her arm around Cecily.
“Well, if I may be so bold,” she said with a giggle. “I believe that we should do some celebrating of our own.”
Cecily looked at her maid with a bemused smile.
“Oh?” she asked.
Agnes also laughed. They had apparently exchanged glances and her sister had guessed her maid’s intent.
“Champagne and dishing about the Duke,” Agnes said.
Cecily laughed. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to say about the duke. But she loved the idea of spending time with two of her favorite women and discussing her upcoming wedding.
“Yes, please,” she said.
As Greta left to get the champagne and glasses, Agnes walked Cecily over to the chairs that sat in front of her window. She sat across from Cecily and Cecily could feel her sister frowning.
“What is it that he said the two of you have in common?” she asked.
Cecily blinked. Her sister sounded strange as she asked that question.
“He said that we both know how it feels to be outcasts,” she said cautiously.
Agnes took a deep, slow breath.
“Did he tell you why?” she asked.
Cecily shook her head and shrugged.
“No,” she said. “But at dinner with his mother and him, the Countess said he was in an accident that left him scarred. I figured that was what he meant.”
Agnes sighed, this time with relief.
“So, then, you know,” she said.
Cecily laughed.
“I hear the way everyone talks about him,” she said. “Of course, I knew.”
Agnes squeezed both her hands.
“I just didn’t want it to be a big surprise to you,” she said. “I could not bear you going into a marriage with a big secret like that.”
Cecily shook her head.
“He himself has not told me,” she said. “But that is all right. I have not yet told him that I am blind, but I am sure that he knows.” She squeezed Agnes’s hands back and smiled. “I know what I am doing, Aggie. Please, trust me. This is for the best.”
