Page 25 of The Misfortunate Miss Farthington
“But Mr. Grant should not have agreed?” Marian suggested.
Tessa nodded.
I don’t want to be selfish with you.His words came back to her and they made her heart ache.
“I think…I think he meant well. I cannot fault him for not wanting to be selfish, I suppose.” She frowned. Oh dear, now she was more confused than ever.
“Do you know, Miss Farthington,” Eloise said slowly. “One of the traits that makes you such a wonderful mentor and guide is that you were always so patient with us.”
Mary nodded eagerly. “Indeed. Charlotte said the same before she left. Unlike our parents and nearly every other well-meaning instructor in our lives, you gave us the room and the space to figure out our emotions and to make the right decisions on our own.”
Tessa sniffed. “That’s lovely to hear, Mary. I appreciate that.”
“What Mary is trying to say,” Eloise continued. “Is that perhaps you could give the same gift to Mr. Grant.”
“And yourself,” Lydia added.
All three of them were nodding, and Marian chimed in with, “They’re right, you know. You were so generous and gracious to me and my husband. You tend to think of others before yourself, which is a lovely quality, but just this once…be selfish.”
“I thought that’s what I was doing in declaring what I wanted in life,” she murmured, not without a hint of pouting.
Marian smiled. “Precisely. You have made your claim, and you have spoken up. If Mr. Grant has any sense at all he’ll realize that you know your own mind.”
“Just give him some time to realize he cannot live without you,” Mary said. As if it were that simple…and that much of a given.
“What if hecanlive without me?” she asked.
Mary snorted, Eloise tittered. Even Lydia grinned.
“I think what they’re trying to say is, the poor man is unabashedly in love with you,” Marian said.
“Precisely,” Mary added.
“So, I’m supposed to just…sit here and wait for him to realize he’s in the wrong?” she asked, her brow creasing in frustration.
“Not at all.” Daphne’s voice came from the doorway and had everyone turning in her direction. “The ladies in this family are courageous, dear,” she said as she breezed into the room with a brilliant smile as she sat beside Tessa, patting her knee gently. “Our mothers might not act like warriors, but they take charge of their circumstances in their own way. Just as you and I shall do now that we’re grown women of marriageable age.”
A silence fell as every lady in the drawing room blinked in surprise at Daphne’s pronouncement, but Daphne didn’t seem to notice as she leaned over and patted Tessa’s knee. “We do not sit around and wait for anything. We make it happen.”
All of the girls were staring at Daphne, and Tessa hurriedly introduced her friends to her cousin.
“Will you be having your first season then?” Eloise asked.
Daphne’s wince said she wasn’t nearly as excited as Eloise seemed to be. “That is my mother’s plan…”
Tessa narrowed her eyes. “Daphne, what are you up to?”
Daphne smiled too sweetly. “Nothing at all. And besides, we aren’t here to discuss me. We’re talking about you and your marriage prospects.”
“What marriage prospects?” Tessa muttered.
When everyone stared at her in surprise, she grimaced. “My apologies. I fear I’m fresh out of optimism at the moment.”
Lydia smiled gently as she leaned forward and squeezed her hand. “That is what friends are for.”
Marian narrowed her eyes at Daphne teasingly. “Andthisfriend is very curious what your cousin has in mind.”
Daphne batted her eyelashes, looking so incredibly innocent it had everyone laughing, even Tessa.
