Page 56 of A Scandalous Love for the Enticing Duke
They all did just that, except for Williams. He remained standing as Eleanor and Nicholas sat by each other. Then, Benjamin and Isabelle, and Alan and Agnes. They all looked so perfectly suited for each other, and at that moment, he knew what he was about to do was the best deed he would ever accomplish in his entire existence.
Then he began. First, he offered his sincerest apologies to Alan and Regina. Thankfully, they accepted graciously. Then, he gave his blessings to Alan and Agnes, just as he did to Nicholas and Eleanor. On a note of teasing, he added, “Benjamin, you too have my blessings.”
Like he had suspected, Isabelle was quick to respond in denial. “We do not love each other, Father. It was all just a ruse.”
“That, is a lie,” Benjamin interjected. “You are crazy about me, Isabelle.”
“I had hoped you had been cured from your day dreaming malady. What a pity!” she retorted, and everyone dissolved into fits of giggles.
When they finally recovered, Victoria dared to speak. “What will happen to the wedding I have planned? It is only a week away! All has been set!”
It was Nicholas who responded, yet his eyes never left Eleanor. “I am ready to get married. I only need her to say yes.”
Everyone’s breath held as she searched his eyes, and after what seemed like an eternity, she replied, “Only if I get a gold band with amethyst stones.”
Silence reigned still, as he began to look for something. Then, he produced a bracelet that stole their breaths away with its beauty. Eleanor gasped as he slipped it onto her wrist.
“I hope that this will suffice, for now. It does bring out the colour in your eyes. So, what do you reckon? Will you make me even happier than I am now, and say yes to spending the rest of our lives, together?”
A tear dropped from her eyes as she nodded. “Yes!”
Cheers erupted then, and congratulations flowed as they locked lips. Even Victoria seemed genuinely happy. As soon as they ended their kiss, Isabelle chimed, “Oh! I know it! Why don’t we have a double wedding? Agnes, you, and Alan can get married on the same day! The wedding is big enough for two couples, anyway.”
Agnes and Alan looked at each other, and the moment they made the decision was apparent, even though no words were said. It was Agnes who made the affirmation.
“It would be a delight, to share such a beautiful, special day, with my little pumpkin.”
Cheers erupted again and this time, rang for what seemed like ages, every heart, filled with joy.
Chapter 37
After their guests left, Victoria decided it was time she spoke to her daughters. In truth, she was having a difficult time getting herself to feel remorse for her actions. She still believed what she had done what was right – what any mother would do, given the circumstance. However, she could not deny that she had gone too far. Seeing her daughters with the men who made them glow like the morning sun, it had caused her to feel some sort of way. They had looked happy, had radiated with a joy that laid within. She did not think she had ever seen them so happy. Eleanor and Nicholas? Who would have thought? She never did suspect a thing. To think that they had remained two steps ahead of her all the time she had thought she was leading the game. Indeed, she felt begrudged at having lost at this, but knowing that her daughters were now truly happy, it was beginning to feel less like a loss as the minutes passed.
So what, Agnes was going to be married to a merchant? That was not entirely awful. Not now that she thought of it with her desire to see her daughters married to titled men, bridled. Alan was wealthy in his own rights. From a respectable lineage, no less. Their marriage would be accepted by the society, no doubt. Especially with such a grand wedding to distract and keep tongues from wagging. He would care for Agnes, she would never want. Eleanor and Nicholas would be fine, of that, she was entirely certain. If what she read between Benjamin and Isabelle was true, they weren’t far behind either.
It was too bad that things had had to blow up in her face to realise all of this. Seeing Williams at Lackley’s, so angry at her, had chilled her to her bones. For the first time since she married Williams, she had truly feared that she would lose his regard, his love, and fall out of his good graces. He had given her such a free rein; this could not be denied. She would be disillusioned to think that she had any power he had not given her. He loved her, and she had used this to her advantage, continued her ways while he turned his face. Of course, she was not about to have such a quick change of heart; she still had her core beliefs about how everyone should behave according to their places in the society, but perhaps, she could begin to adjust a bit. Slowly, but surely. She had to if she must get back into the good graces of her husband. Contrary to what many people thought, she wasn’t entirely cold-hearted. She loved Williams, dearly. Would always love him. He was kind, was noble by blood and at heart. Such men were rare. She would not lose him. When he had let her hold his hands in the carriage, she had been given hope. That hope was what she had to hold on to. She must, and she would.
Then of course, she had to right things with her daughters. They had all but acted like she did not exist all day. That was only to be expected, of course. She had locked them in, in their own father’s house! Yes, she had been thinking. Would she do it again? Certainly not, but only because she now knew better. She had simply wanted to stop them from going for the secret wedding. No harm would have come to them. And Alan … she had damned nearly ruined his prestige, his life’s hard work. His crime only that he loved her daughter and dared to go against her. She should feel ashamed of herself, and she would, in time. Victoria Birmingham was a woman made of steel, and steel was often not easy to break. Yet, he was going to be her son-in-law. He too, alongside his mother whom she never really cared for, deserved an apology from her. She had to make all these right. If not for anything else, at least, to prove her change of heart to Williams.
She reached the door to Agnes’s chambers where she knew all the girls were and paused. She was not one to offer apologies. This would not come easily, but she had to try. She raised her hand, fisted and poised. She loved her daughters. A wonderful relationship had to be fostered with them, especially now that they were getting married and would soon leave her home. Above Williams, she had to make this right, for her, for them. With that decision made, she took a deep breath and finally proceeded to rasp two sharp knocks against the door. Their chatter which had been carried to her by air stopped immediately, and she knew they were listening to know if they had heard right. She knocked again, and this time, Agnes called out, “Who is it?”
“Girls, it is I, your mother. May I come in?”
There was a long pause, and she feared she may never be let in. just as she was about to give up hope, Agnes called again.
“You may enter.”
She wasted no time in opening the door and stepping in. Just as she had thought, she found the sisters on the four-poster bed, huddled together. Head high, shoulders squared, and spine straightened for she never slumped, she closed the door behind her and began to advance towards them.
Eleanor watched her mother approach with mixed feelings. That was all she had felt towards her mother ever since that day – right here in Agnes’s room, when Isabelle told them of her plans to sabotage their happiness, up to the moment she had locked them up in the drawing room. Agnes had been beside herself with anger; Isabelle had appeared seemingly unperturbed, but she had not quite known what to feel. Somehow, a part of her had found it believable that her mother would go to such lengths. That part of her understood why she would. Victoria was selfish. She did not comprehend the act of selflessness. Everything she did, she did for herself, her gain, in the ways she fancied, for the reason she thought best. It was not hard to picture such a person doing all the things she had done. Yet, while she could understand, she also wondered how a mother could so powerfully go against the children she was supposed to love and care for. After all, one quality of a mother was selflessness. Where had hers gone wrong?
She managed a small smile as Victoria drew a chair to sit in front of them. She supposed she had her to thank, regardless of how things had gone. They had ended well, above all. She looked at the bracelet on her wrist, and a bigger smile stole across her face. He had remembered, had gotten this very thoughtful gift for her as a promise of his love, and she was going to be married to him. Nicholas, the only man she had ever loved, the only man she was certain she would ever love. It sounded like a truly heroic story to her. To think that he had rescued them from captivity. What a wonderful fairy tale. She sighed in daydreams and everyone turned to look at her. Her eyes widened as her cheeks flushed.
“My apologies. Did I disrupt anything?”
It was Isabelle who answered. “Not at all. We are all still waiting patiently for our dear mother here to state her reason for this visit.”
Eleanor saw her mother grimace, and she had to stop herself from smiling. As flighty as Isabelle could be, she could be just as deadly with her words when she was truly angered.
