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Phoebe looked down to where her mama was holding her hand, squeezing it even, as if the pressure alone would make her words come true.

She might not be unhappy, yes, but would she find happiness with a man like the Viscount?

“This is for the best, my dear girl,” her mama told her. “Your father will be able to focus better on his recovery, with everything settled.”

Phoebe could not raise her eyes and tell her mama otherwise. How could she tell them that she had no intention of marrying the man they had chosen for her?

Her father could not have made this decision so lightly. Neither would her mother. Both of her parents had put their collective efforts into finding her the best match they could.

How could she scorn their efforts and rebelliously throw their best intentions in their faces?

“Of course, Mama.”

Three words, and yet they seemed to take all of the strength that remained in her.

Three words, and she had sealed her fate.

It took everything in her to remain standing there with her parents, woodenly nodding along to their plans, until the next fit of coughs from her papa gave her a reason to excuse herself.

The moment she closed the door behind her, she ran to her bedchamber, her tears streaming down her cheeks.

She closed the door to her bedchamber, sagging against it as her body was wracked by the sobs she had been holding in in the presence of her parents.

Was this what Alice felt when Papa told her she must marry?

At least her sister had been given the choice of husband, if not the latitude to select one. Phoebe already had a husband chosen for her—all she had to do wasmarryhim.

Bile rose in her throat as she hugged her knees to her chest. All her life, she had never felt as helpless or as scared.

That is because all my life, Alice has always been there for me.Alice would always find a way to make everything all right again.

But her sister was married now, and on her honeymoon in France.

And Phoebe was no longer the young girl who trailed around after her sister constantly. No, she was her own woman now, and more than capable of fending for herself.

But what was she to do?

What wouldAlicedo, had she been in her position?

Phoebe shuddered, thinking of all the times her older sister had slipped out of the house, off on some wild adventure their parents would never approve of.

Can I do it? Can I do what Alice had done countless times before?

She shrank back.

But if she did not do it now, then when?

The answer to that question sent a bolt of cold dread down her spine.

Never.

Ethan had made a mistake—an extremely huge and costly one.

The only problem was that he had absolutely no recollection of it.

He threw his head back and slammed the empty glass down on the polished wooden surface with a grimace as the liquor burned its way down his throat.

“You know that I am not one to refuse a bottle of the finest brandy, but one would think that you, of all people, should refrain from intoxication for the moment, seeing as that is what landed you in this dilemma in the first place.”