Page 81 of A Night of Desire with a Duke
Margaret stared at her daughter for a long moment. Then she took the bank draft from James's hand.
"I'll need time to make arrangements," she said stiffly.
"Of course. Peters will assist you with travel." James's tone was perfectly polite, perfectly cold.
Margaret moved toward the door, then paused. "The wedding is in two weeks?"
"Yes," Catherine said.
"I suppose you don't want me there."
Catherine was quiet for a moment. "You're my mother. You're welcome if you can be happy for me. If you can't, then no, I don't want you there."
Margaret nodded once and left without another word.
The room was silent for a moment after her departure. Then Catherine sank into a chair, shaking.
"Well," the Duchess said dryly, "that was bracing."
"Mother," James warned.
"What? It was. I haven't seen drama like that since Lady Caroline Lamb set herself on fire at Devonshire House."
"She didn't actually set herself on fire," Vivienne corrected. "Just her letter from Byron."
"Two thousand pounds," Vivienne said suddenly. "Margaret, you fool. I would have given it to you. All you had to do was ask."
"She couldn't," Catherine said quietly. "Asking you would mean admitting she'd failed. That her perfect, dutiful marriage had been a disaster. Her pride was worth more than my happiness."
"Pride is expensive," the Duchess observed. "It costs us more than money ever could."
James knelt beside Catherine's chair. "Are you all right?"
"I don't know. I should feel something, shouldn't I? Sadness? Loss? Instead, I just feel... empty."
"That's shock," the Duchess said pragmatically. "You'll feel plenty later. For now, you need sweet tea and possibly brandy."
"It's barely noon," Catherine protested.
"Perfect timing then." Vivienne was already pouring. "Margaret always did drive one to drink."
"How long has it been?" the Duchess asked. "Since you've seen each other?"
"Five years. Not since Harold's funeral." Vivienne handed Catherine a generous brandy. "She came to gloat, I think. To see me brought low. Instead, she found me happy. She never forgave me for that."
"Happy without a husband?"
"Happy with freedom. Happy with choices. Happy with a life I'd built myself." Vivienne sat down heavily. "She couldn'tunderstand it. In her world, a woman without a husband was nothing."
"In her world, a woman with a husband was nothing too," Catherine said bitterly. "Just a more comfortable nothing."
"Is that what you think marriage is?" the Duchess asked.
"It's what I thought it was. What I was taught it was."
"And now?"
Catherine looked at James, still kneeling beside her chair. "Now I think it can be whatever two people make it."
