Page 55 of Tutoring a Lady into Sin
She did not know how to tell the dowager she was sorry about the loss of Lord Linfield. She was worried over Phineas as the two men had been so very dear to each other, but she also understood that the dowager and Lord Linfield had been very close, as well.
Christianna imagined the dowager was gutted by his tragic passing. She whispered, “I feel as though you have been besieged by both calamity and felicity these past few weeks. I wonder that you are able to catch your breath at all.”
“Very astutely put, my dear,” the dowager duchess said as she heaved a gentle sigh. “I understand you did not know Lord Linfield well, but he would have wanted us to persevere. He would have challenged us all to continue to find the joy in the occasion and would have demanded we put off laying him to rest until after you and Percival were united in matrimony.” Her eyes fluttered closed, and she inhaled deeply. “Which brings me to why I am here now.”
Christianna had not noticed the reticule dangling from Her Grace’s arm a moment before, as it blended with her day dress, but when she began pulling at the purse strings, wrenching the bag open, Christianna leaned forward, curious to see what was held within. “Do you wish to speak to me about His Grace?”
The dowager duchess nodded as she extracted a large wooden box from her bag. She held it with both hands as if she were weighing the contents, then shoved it gently toward Christianna. “Open it, dear. This is a wedding gift I wish to bestow upon you.”
Christianna meant to decline whatever was in the box, but she was also motivated to at least peek at what was inside. She accepted the token from the dowager duchess, pulled it toward herself, and flipped the latch. She used her fingertip to gently lift the lid, and as it creaked open, her breath caught in her throat.
“This…is…lovely.” Snuggled into a swath of black velvet lining, there was a glorious ruby pendant. It hung from a rich gold chain, and as Christianna inched the box open further, the jewel caught the morning light that filtered through the nearby window, and it sparkled delightfully.
“You should wear it tomorrow,” the dowager whispered. “As far as I know, it has been presented to the Duchess of Bixby, the day before her wedding, for the last one hundred and fifty years. You will be the seventh young lady to wear it, and someday, you will gift it to your son’s bride the day before he and his betrothed wed.”
“This is…extraordinary,” Christianna breathed. She had grown up in a household where her parents gave her everything she could ever desire, and yet she had never seen something so extravagant as the ruby necklace she held in her hands just now. “I do not know what to say.”
The dowager duchess chuckled. “I recall having the same reaction when I was in your position. I do believe Harold’s mother scolded me and said a duchess must always speak eloquently and be ready to graciously accept gifts that are bestowed upon her.”
Christianna startled and looked up, wondering if this was the dowager’s way of reproaching her. But the fine lady shook her head and gave her a maternal smile.
“I am not my mother-in-law, Christianna. I will not task you with knowing precisely what to do in all scenarios. That is much too vexing, especially when you find yourself in such a precarious situation.” Her eyebrows lifted faintly on her forehead, and Christianna slowly closed the jewellery box before setting it on her vanity table.
“Your Grace,” she said carefully, “I get the feeling we are no longer talking about my wedding tomorrow or this very generous gift you are giving me now.”
“We are not,” the dowager conceded. “While I have always intended to make a present of that necklace, I will admit that my visit to you serves two purposes. I wish to know what decision you have made.”
“Decision, Your Grace?” Christianna asked. She barely got the words out as suddenly her throat felt like it was constricting.
“I may not be privy to all that goes on in this house, but I am not blind, either. I know that you have been…conflicted…as of late. And I wish to understand your intentions going forward.”
Christianna was surprised by the dowager duchess’s suddenly candid attitude, but she tried not to be flustered. “I need to speak to the duke first, Your Grace,” she said quietly as she met the dowager’s steady gaze. “I appreciate that, as his mother, you want to protect his interests and that does entitle you to make inquiries. But I do not think it fair to speak to you on matters I have not already thoroughly discussed with him.”
The dowager did not react as Christianna expected. Her eyes flashed with amusement, and one of the corners of her lips quirked upward, giving her an almost crooked smile. “Very well,” she allowed.
“You are right. You should have an audience with Percival before you speak on these matters with anyone else, myself included. But Lady Christianna, I do hope you will use this same sense to guide you when you do have the chance to talk things over with His Grace. Percy is quite…wilful…and perhaps even a bit impetuous. But that is why it is imperative everyone else in his life remain level-headed.”
She paused and pursed her lips before adding, “Do you see what I mean?”
Christianna nodded dutifully. “I am to be the voice of reason.”
The dowager duchess laughed aridly. “Yes, that is an apt description. And try not to forget that is the role you were brought here to play.”
As the fine lady took her leave, Christianna felt stunned. Miss Fitzroy returned to the room before Christianna was able to regain her bearings. “My lady! My lady,” Miss Fitzroy prompted, “what did she say?”
“She wishes for me to marry Percival.”
“Of course, she does,” Miss Fitzroy remarked matter-of-factly. “She cannot possibly know that you ever entertained thoughts to the contrary.”
“Oh, but she does know,” Christianna said as she swivelled in her seat and tapped her fingertips on the edge of the fine cedar box containing the ruby necklace. “She might not know all the details, but she is aware of my feelings for Phineas, and she must suspect I am thinking of calling off the wedding.”
“And what?” Miss Fitzroy urged. “She came in here now to try and dissuade you?”
“I think so,” Christianna replied vaguely as she stared at the gift. She ran her fingertips over the smooth edges of the wood, then traced the bronze latch. “It seems the dowager wants me to marry one son whilst breaking the heart of the other.”
Miss Fitzroy tsked. “My lady, I think you misunderstood. If the dowager truly understands the severity of the situation, she did not come here to convince you to spare one son’s feelings in favour of the other. She merely wished for you to hold up your end of the bargain, and tie yourself to the man who proposed to you, who promised to love you and—”
Christianna’s eyes pricked with tears, but she managed to interject, “But Miss Fitzroy, then it is not I who is misunderstanding the situation. Percival never proposed to me. He never vowed to love and cherish me for the rest of our days. It was Phineas who did all that.”
