Page 2 of The Uncompromising Marquess
Lady Grangemouth rolled her eyes. “Afraid? What is there to be afraid of? You are quite nonsensical, Florence, truly.”
Her shoulders slumped at her mother’s harsh words. She ought not to have let herself hope, not even for a moment, for it was quite clear that there was not even the desire to understand Florence and her struggle.
“Youwillbehave with a good deal more poise and elegance than you have previously displayed,” Lady Grangemouth continued, walking towards the door and bringing an end to their conversation. “We shall leave in three weeks.”
There was nothing left for Florence to say. The weight of responsibility fell on her like a mantle, and she quaked inwardly. Shehaddone her best during the London Season, but her fears and uncertainty had led her to behave in a manner that had caused problems – not only for her but for her family also. Her clumsiness came from her nervous anxiety, her lack of confidence pushing her to the shadows instead of to the front of society. This had never been a concern for any of her sisters, she knew, but try as she might, Florence had never been able to overcome her shyness.
“What am I to do?”
The words were spoken to an empty room, and no response came back to her. Her mind grew clouded with thoughts, with fears of what her mother’s expectations would be for her during the Christmas Season… and just how poorly she would be able to fulfil them. It was not as though anything had changed between the summer Season and this one! She did not have any more certainty in herself, was not buoyed with confidence or the like. Instead, she was just as she had always been, battling bashfulness, anxiety, and worry. Stepping into society again would bring her no relief, Florence was quite certain of that. Instead, she would feel herself all the more concerned, afraid that she would not only do something clumsy and bring mortification upon herself but that she would also fail in fulfilling her mother’s demands that she find a husband by the end of the year.
Just what am I to do?
Covering her face with her hands, Florence let her shoulders round as tears began to burn in her eyes. She did not hold themback, did not tell herself to contain them within. Instead, she let them fall, her heart aching as loneliness swept over her. With no understanding from either parent, she was forced now to face this alone and without any real support.
And Florence had no doubt, she was sure to fail again.
1
“Must you be so particular, brother?”
Joseph frowned. “I am not being particular.”
“Yes, you are.” Setting down her teacup, Emily looked at Joseph again with a sharpness in her green eyes that had not been there before. “If you recall, during the summer Season, you were far too busy criticizing every young lady to eventhinkabout any that might be suitable!”
“The reason for our presence in society was not for my considerations of matrimony.” Joseph waved one hand vaguely. “Do you not recall? You were being courted by three different gentlemen, and it took you some weeks to decide which one to accept. It was for your sake and your sake alone that we were in London.”
Color rose in Emily’s cheeks. “That is not so. I had three different gentlemen interested in courting me – gentlemen that you had deemed worthy – but I had already settled on one of them. It wasyouwho took your time in deciding whether or not I would be permitted to accept each gentleman’s court, and once that was decided, you took an inordinate amount of time to permit me to accept Lord Lanark’s proposal! And he is thegentleman I had quite fallen in love with! But you did not even consider that, for you think the notion of love ridiculous.”
Joseph looked away. That, he supposed, was reasonable, but he did not like the criticism. He had kept a fairly tight grip on Emily’s Season in London. When there had been gentlemen coming to ask her to dance, he had been the one to say whether she might dance with each one or not. When there had been the possibility of some interest from one or two, he had been the one to determine whether they would be permitted to call to take tea. Eventually, there had been three gentlemen all eager to court her, and he had been careful to consider each one in turn. Once he had satisfied himself that they might all do, he had given Emily the choice thereafter. Yes, she had taken a little time to decide which gentleman’s suit she was going to accept; that much was true, but it had been his considerations that had taken the greatest length of time. It was not worth arguing about, he decided, taking in a deep breath and then returning his gaze to his sister. “There is nothing for us to disagree on, Emily. You are happily married now, and that is a good thing.”
“And you are not, and that is decidedlynota good thing.” She arched an eyebrow. “You need a wife, Applegate.”
A curl of irritation grew in Joseph’s stomach. “While I appreciate your concern, I do not need your encouragement, Emily.”
“You are going to have it nonetheless.” This was said in much too cheerful a voice, one that irritated Joseph a good deal. He had been rather enjoying his last few months alone and had not expected Emily to come and call upon him so soon. Her husband’s estate was less than a day’s drive from his own, and while he had thought that a pleasant situation, he now began to wonder if it would turn out to be somewhat disagreeable.
“As I was saying, whenever I pointed out a young lady who was suitable for you, there was always something about her thatyou foundmostdisagreeable. There was always some reason that you could not consider her!”
Wrinkling his nose in displeasure, Joseph reached for his teacup, wishing it were filled with brandy instead. “That is because there alwayswassomething of concern, Emily.”
“You said that Lady Miriam had too long a nose.”
He shrugged. “That is true.”
“She was considered a diamond of the first water!”
“That makes very little difference to me,” Joseph replied, quickly. “I have standards of my own and will not be swayed by theton’s opinion.”
She rolled her eyes in what Joseph considered to be a most childish manner.
“As I have reminded you already, I was not there to find a match myself.”
“But youaregoing again to London for the little Season, are you not?”
This question made Joseph’s eyebrows shoot upwards. He had not told her of his plans, not as yet anyway, so how had she come to know of it? A tiny smile touched the corner of her mouth, but Joseph scowled at her, making it fade.
“I surmised as such,” she said, tipping her head and holding his gaze, her unblinking eyes steady. “You have refused our invitation to join us over the festive period and, given that there is no longer mother or father here for you to care for, I thought that either you would remain here alone – which I considered unlikely – or you would be returning to London.” A twinkle came into her eyes, and Joseph’s jaw jutted forward. “I am correct, yes?”
