Page 91 of Romancing the Rifleman
When she finished, it was the rare occasion that Marcus looked sheepish.“Cecilia tried to tell me he was no longer the boy he’d been at Eton.Fauconbridge, too.But I could not stop fixating on the possibility that he might be mistreating you.He acted contemptuously toward me for so long, it is difficult for me to picture him any other way.But if you swear that he is treating you kindly?—”
“He is,” Diana said swiftly.“As severe as you are on him, had you seen him for the last few weeks, I think even you could find no fault in his conduct.”
Marcus nodded.“I am sorry, especially that I frightened you by following you around town.I know you think me ridiculous.The truth is, although I might harp on the size of your cottage, or”—he glanced down, giving a visible shudder—“thishideouslyugly sofa, I don’t care about those things.Theonlything I care about is that you are happy and that you are being treated well.”
She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder.“I do know that, Marcus.”It was a funny thing, considering that Diana had been the one to suffer at the hands of their father before Marcus contrived to remove her to Aunt Griselda’s house, while their father had never struck his only son and heir.But paradoxically, the scars Marcus bore as a result of the old duke’s abuse were at least as deep as Diana’s.He had been older, for one, his memories clearer.He had witnessed far more violence, directed toward their mother, than Diana had experienced, as the servants had helped her to hide, and Marcus had acted quickly to remove her from that situation.He had even been there the day their mother died, and although he had not witnessed her death, he had been close enough to hear her scream.
Additionally, Marcus had always held himself responsible for their mother’s death.He had forgotten his sword that morning, and although he had been all of eleven years old, he had it in his head that it had been his duty to protect her from their father.At least that had been one burden Diana had never had to shoulder.She regarded their father’s abuse, both toward her and her mother, as his failing alone.But Marcus sincerely believed he also bore a share of the blame.
The truth was that both of them bore scars from their childhood.They were neither of them quite whole, and perhaps they never would be.But Aunt Griselda had taken the task of mending Diana’s broken places quite seriously.She could remember feeling powerless and terrified as she hid behind curtains and beneath sofas as she listened to her father’s footsteps while he searched for her.
But she was powerless no more.Aunt Griselda had made sure of that.Poor Marcus, meanwhile, had been alone at Eton during the darkest period of his life, too afraid to confide even in his closest friends about the wreck that was his family.He had therefore not made as much progress as Diana.
But he would.Just look at how fondly he doted on Alaric.He had managed to take the right lessons from their terrible childhood and had understood that their father was a model of whatnotto do.And, although she didn’t much appreciate his meddling, she knew that his intentions were pure.That, and the fact that he had come by his neuroses honestly, made it easier for her to make allowances for his misguided behavior.
“I forgive you,” she said.“But you have to try.Give Harrington a chance.And try to get it through your thick skull that I’m no longer a helpless two-year-old.”
He wrinkled his nose in distaste.“I will try.”
Epilogue
Marcus stayed in Ireland for another week.Lord and Lady Bandon hosted a number of dinners, to which Harrington, Diana, and his fellow officers and their wives were invited.This enabled the duke to see that the society in which his sister found herself was better than he had supposed.
He and Harrington remained stilted in one another’s presence.It was strange seeing two men known for their sardonic wit behaving with such stiff formality.But, Diana mused, it was better than being at one another’s throats.
Harrington’s deployment lasted another nine months, after which the army recalled him to London.Their return voyage was far less eventful than their initial crossing had been.
And so it was on a crisp evening in March that Diana found herself disembarking at the Royal Dockyard at Deptford, with Harrington by her side and Inge trotting at their heels.
Part of her wanted to go straight to Latimer House.She longed to wrap Aunt Griselda in a tight hug and press kisses to Alaric’s perfect, blond head.But she knew that if they went there, Marcus would insist they stay as his guests.And Diana was determined to establish their independence.
She and Harrington therefore took a room at the Pulteney Hotel and sent messages to their respective families informing them of their return, and that they hoped to see them on the morrow.
They slept well in the plush bed.Having grown accustomed to keeping military hours, they were dressed and finishing breakfast at eight o’clock when a footman wearing the Latimer family’s familiar pale blue and gold livery presented himself at the door.
“James,” Diana said, rising from her chair and crossing the room to press his hand.“How wonderful to see you.”
James’s eyes were warm as he bowed over her hand.“My lady.I apologize for the early hour, but they said downstairs that you were already up and about.”
“You were informed correctly.I assume you come bearing a message from my brother?”
“Yes, indeed.”James presented a crisp white envelope with a flourish.
Diana cracked open the seal and found an elegantly calligraphed card:
To Lieutenant Harrington Astley and Lady Diana Astley,
Their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Trevissick
request the honor of your presence
at Latimer House
on Tuesday, the 24thof March
at two o’clock in the afternoon.
“So formal,” Diana observed, showing Harrington.“And gracious—this is today’s date.”She turned to James.“What is the occasion?”
