Page 47 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
She looked at him bashfully before darting her eyes away.
“You are being you—the beautiful, kind, intelligent woman you are. It is most natural that you think of your family, of their future without you but I daresay you have forsaken two very important matters, Elizabeth.”
“Which are?”
“Your brother will be the Viscount one day. He will be the lord of the manor and running the household as he sees fit. Can you imagine a place where he would be happier?”
“I suppose not,” she replied but there was very little conviction in her voice. “What is the second matter?”
“Frances might marry Herbert before the matter of marriage ever arises between us.”
Shock filled her face and Leonard saw that she genuinely had never considered the possibility.
“That cannot occur!” she cried, yanking her hands back. Leonard felt himself bristle defensively on behalf of Herbert.
“Herbert Barlough is an honorable man—”
“Please, do not regale me with the speech about Mr. Barlough. I know he is a good man, one of the best I have ever known. I adore him and I know he loves my sister but Frances cannot marry anyone, Leonard. Can you not see that? What kind of wife would she be?”
More defensiveness filled Leonard although, suddenly, it was for Frances.
“She will be the kind of wife who will love, cherish, honor and protect her husband, same as any other. She will possibly be better than most as her heart is pure, untainted, and unbiased by the cruelties of the world.”
Elizabeth stared at him, her mouth becoming a line of upset.
“You know to what I refer.” Her face was nearly crimson and Leonard finally understood her worry.
“You fear she will not want children.”
“I fear she will!” Elizabeth countered. “And let us cast aside for a moment the kind of mother she would be, with the mind of a child herself.”
“She does not understand how children come to be.” Leonard sighed.
“She has never been told, to my knowledge. I believe that Mr. Barlough will not hurt her, but he deserves a wife who can provide all her duties to him.”
“Elizabeth,” Leonard said gently, again reaching for her hands. “You have taken care of your siblings since your mother passed. Perhaps your judgement is clouded because you see your sister and brother as your own children in a strange way.”
“What a thing to say!” she protested. “I care about my siblings, of course. But Frances requires more than the average sister. Moreover, it is not my choice to make. My father would never permit such a thing to occur.”
Leonard admitted that she might have a valid point in the matter but that was hardly the issue in the moment.
“Have you ever seen Frances happier? I know I have never seen such elation in Herbert. I daresay, he has picked up Frances’ skipping.”
“Stop causing me to giggle, Leonard. This matter is quite serious. If Mr. Barlough foresees marriage, you must tell him to set his focus elsewhere.”
“You did not respond to my question,” he reminded her. “Have you ever seen your sister in such a state of bliss?”
“It is true she is happy, yes, I concede as much. However I—”
“Did you not wish to stop Herbert from dancing with Frances a mere month ago?”
Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed.
“I fail to see your point,” she snapped but Leonard did not believe that to be true.
“You worried about her then and it was proven to be an unfounded fear. How can you know that your fear about her marriage will not be just as unfounded?”
“They are quite different issues!” she insisted. “Surely you can see that!”
