Page 44 of The Uncouth Duke of Longford
“How absolutely wonderful!” With a hurried gait, her father turned and led Rachel up the steps towards the house, a broad grin settling on his face. “We shall have to tell everyone!”
“No, Father,” Rachel said faintly, wishing that she might seat herself somewhere in utter silence so as to take in all that had just taken place. “Only Mother and Bettina for the moment and we must beg them both not to tell anyone else about all of this. You did give the Duke your word and –”
“Yes, yes.” Her father waved his hand in a rather flippant manner. “We shall be cautious but it will be difficult to keep it between us all for even a short amount of time! We must hope that the Duke will make the announcement very soon.”
Rachel made to say more, only for her father to start calling her mother’s name as they entered the house. Lady Carmichael came out of the drawing room in a flurry, her eyes wide and staring as she took in Rachel on the arm of her father.
“Whatever has happened?”
Rachel swallowed hard as her father looked to her expectantly, seeing how Bettina had just now stepped out of the drawing room and was wandering slowly up towards them all.
She did not look in the least bit pleased.
“The Duke of Longford has asked to marry me,” she said, hoarsely, as Lady Carmichael’s eyes flared. “It was unexpected and came as a great surprise but –”
“Tell me that you accepted him?” Lady Carmichael screeched, grasping Rachel’s hand and pressing it, hard. “Pray tell me that you accepted him?”
“Of course she did!” Lord Carmichael exclaimed, as though his wife was being more than ridiculous. “No-one could refuse a Duke!”
Rachel managed a faint smile but then felt her knees trembling just a little. She was overwhelmed, completely overwhelmed and yet her father and mother seemed quite determined to keep her here with them, to hold her fast as they heaped on questions and exclamations while all she wanted to do was to sit quietly and close her eyes so she might take everything in.
“You are engaged to the Duke of Longford?”
Bettina’s loud voice echoed through the hallway and both Lord and Lady Carmichael stopped their exclamations at once, turning to look at their elder daughter.
“Youare engaged to the Duke of Longford?” Bettina said again, her eyes narrowing. “You?”
“Yes.” Rachel swallowed her worry and lifted her chin, looking straight back at Bettina as her sister advanced evercloser. “The announcement is to be made very soon, however, so we are not to speak of it this evening.”
Bettina closed her eyes so tightly, small lines drew themselves around her eyes. Her breathing was coming in quick, sharp gasps and her hands curled into tight fists as her face slowly grew dark red with evident anger.
“You ought to congratulate your sister,” Lady Carmichael said, as Bettina stayed precisely where she was, her whole body trembling visibly. “She is to be a Duchess! Can you imagine that?” Lady Carmichael’s voice grew a little louder with excitement. “She is to be aDuchess!”
“It ought to have been me!”
Everyone turned as one towards Bettina, who put out one shaking hand and pointed at Rachel.
“You have stolen my chance! You have stolenmyopportunity to become what I ought to have been! I should be the one with the Duke by my side! I ought to be the one who is engaged to someone so high up in society! Instead, I am given nothing.”
“This is not a comparison,” Lady Carmichael stated, firmly. “Come now, Bettina, you are being ridiculous. Instead of complaining, you ought to be thrilled with the news that your sister will be so exalted. This is a wonderful day!”
“I shall not celebrate it,” Bettina stated, angrily. “I will say nothing and do nothing that will show any sort of happiness or joy for this engagement. Rachel has been given precedence over me, you havebothshown her greater consideration and I –”
“We have done no such thing, Bettina. How dare you speak to me in such a fashion?”
Lord Carmichael’s voice boomed around the hallway with a tone which Rachel had never heard before. It filled the space with authority, with frustration and with a hard, furious anger held within it which even Rachel herself shrank back from. Thehigh color in Bettina’s face quickly faded and she looked back at her father with eyes which now filled with tears.
“Do not be too harsh on her, my dear,” Lady Carmichael began. “She has only just discovered that –”
“I have witnessed your behaviour this Season and found myself weary with it,” Lord Carmichael continued, taking a step closer to Bettina and away from Rachel. “Your mother has endured a great deal, as has your sister and I, I confess, have been so apathetic to it, I have not permitted myself to take any great interest in it. Now, however, I see that I ought to have done something more. I should have stepped in long before now and told you that this behaviour is not going to be permitted to continue. It is an utter disgrace, Bettina, for you to behave in this fashion! It is not at all suitable for you to refuse to accept your sister’s engagement with any sort of grace and instead, to complain about yourself and your own lack of attachment. Has it ever occurred to you, Bettina, that the reasonyouhave not found a suitable attachment is because of your attitude? Because of your character and your poor behaviour? No gentleman wants a bride who thinks only of herself, who complains continually and demands what others have without showing any sort of grace!”
Bettina put one hand over her mouth, her eyes glassy and despite Lady Carmichael’s protests, Lord Carmichael continued on regardless.
“You are not to say another word against Rachel’s engagement. Wherever we go, you are to express delight and happiness for this wonderful event. And if I should hear that you have expressedanythingakin to the opposite of that, then I shall make immediate arrangements to return you to our estate and end our Season at that very moment. Do you understand me?”
Rachel blinked in surprise at her father’s harsh words, rather astonished that he had said anything to her sister and in those harsh tones. For the last few weeks, he had said nothingand had done nothing to make things at all better between them. In fact, he had seemed to stay perfectly silent, choosing to absent himself rather than help in any way and with anything. But now that she was engaged, now that she was to be a Duchess, her father had decided that enough was enough and Bettina, as well as Rachel, was entirely shocked by it.
“Do you understand me, Bettina?”
