Page 92 of Shining Knight
Chapter Twenty-One
Her family wasoverwhelming. Eugenia looked about at the family that had doubled in size and, by the looks of it, would be doubled again by next Christmas. This was saying quite a lot for someone who had always liked to be surrounded by jolliness, but these days her mind was very much on other things.
Her brothers and their wives chatted amiably, and she sat quietly listening, wondering if she would feel a part of it once she was wed—once Graham was there to share the experience. At the moment, she felt a bit like a fish gasping for air on land.
She stood up quickly. “I think I shall visit Granny.”
“Give her our best wishes,” Edmund called as she escaped from the drawing room, which was growing smaller by the minute. Hopefully, they did not realize she was trying to get away from all of them.
Once Cleo was happily grazing in the paddock after a brisk canter across the estate, Eugenia let herself into the Dower House again.
Her grandmother was napping in her favorite armchair by the window and Eugenia sat in the chair opposite it, content to wait until her grandmother awoke. There were so many memories in this house. Granny had been there to offer a kindly ear at first, after their parents died, but she had preferred town life and Eugenia had relished the times she had visited.
“How long have you been there, Genie?” the dowager asked.
“A while,” she answered with a half-smile.
“You cannot take the bedlam, eh?”
“It is a bit much,” Eugenia confessed, “even for me.”
“’Tis is why I live here. My attics would be to let if I was there all the time. It is a very large house, but you must leave its walls truly to escape.”
Eugenia chuckled.
Her grandmother’s face grew abnormally solemn. “I must admit, I have never been very good with children. I should have returned from London and guided you more in the way of ladylike behavior.”
“You would have resented me if you had done so. I may not be a conventional lady, but I have been happy.” Granny was eccentric, which was acceptable if one was a duchess.
“Until now?” Her grandmother was perceptive.
“This Season was more difficult than the last, to be sure.”
“But?”
“But… I want you to know that Mr. Tinsley and I are to have the banns read this Sunday.”
Her grandmother cackled with glee. “I shall live to see you married yet!” Once she had ceased laughing, she looked sharply at Eugenia. “Why are you not happy?”
“I am happy. I suppose I am nervous.”
“And you expect me to enlighten you on the ways of nature?”
She gave a swift nod.
“You are a country girl, go and spend some time with the animals.”
Eugenia could feel her face burn with embarrassment. “That is it? That is your advice, to go and watch the animals mate?”
“It will give you the idea.” Granny insouciantly waved her hand.
“That is horrific!” Eugenia exclaimed.
“You do have three new sisters you could ask. Heaven knows they are much moreau couranton such matters than I.”
“But they are married to my brothers!” Eugenia could not believe she was having to beg for information. She had felt if she could reassure herself, then she could ease her anxieties.
“I was married to your grandfather,” her grandmother retorted.
