Page 90 of Married to a Frozen Duke
"I suppose not," Edward said thoughtfully. "Hard to be romantic when you're covered in sickness."
The silence that followed was deafening in its intensity.
"Edward!" Ophelia gasped.
"What? Everyone knows about it. It's all anyone in London talks about. The wedding of the century, they're calling it. Though not in a good way."
Alexander set down his teacup with excessive care. "If you'll excuse me, I have correspondence to attend to."
"Alexander," Ophelia started, but he was already leaving.
"Was it something I said?" Edward asked, genuinely puzzled.
Ophelia put her head in her hands. This was going to be a very long visit.
But then, through her fingers, she saw something unexpected. Alexander had paused in the doorway and turned back.
"Dinner is at eight," he said formally. "We don't dress formally. Just normal dress. Or rather, dinner dress, but not..."
He was actually flustered. The Duke of Montclaire was flustered by her brothers.
"We understand," she said softly.
He nodded and left, and she turned to face her brothers, who were looking uncharacteristically guilty.
"We've ruined it already" Charles said.
"Rather spectacularly."
"We'll apologise at dinner."
"Please don't. That will make it worse."
"Then what should we do?"
"Just... be less yourselves."
"That's helpful."
"Be the selves that Mother would approve of. Can you do that?"
The twins exchanged looks. "We shall try."
It was the best she could hope for.
She spent the afternoon showing them around the estate, keeping them away from Alexander, who had barricaded himselfin his study. They were actually relatively well-behaved, though Charles did try to ride the statue of a horse in the garden and Edward picked several flowers he definitely shouldn't have touched.
"The place is enormous," Charles observed. "You could fit our entire house in your entrance hall."
"It's excessive," Ophelia admitted.
"But it's yours now."
"Is it? It doesn't feel like mine."
"Give it time," Edward said with unusual wisdom. "Rome wasn't built in a day."
"Rome wasn't built by Coleridges trying to be Montclaires."
