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Her sister looked her in the eye, her dark brown and all-knowing eyes full of womanly wisdom speaking what couldn’t be said. They softened a little, and she said, “While our society may find that statement quite troublesome, I understand what you are saying, and I do not think it is wrong. But… unfortunately, I do not represent society, and I do not speak for everyone in the ton. I think you are in quite a precarious situation, Sister.”

“How so?’

“You mustn’t tell Leo that I told you this,” Sarah said, glancing around for any eavesdroppers. She furrowed her brow and grimaced, clearly not proud of the gossip she was about to divulge. “The family’s finances have been struggling. My marriage to Richard helped a good bit, but it wasn’t enough. I believe Leo does want the best for you, but he also must think of the family and the estate. If you could marry someone of great wealth or of noble lineage, we may be able to pull ourselves out of the hole that Father’s financial irresponsibility caused.”

Needless to say, Arabella was shocked by this turn of events. Leonardo had never talked to her about finances or how any of the estate running worked, so it naturally never crossed her mind that they might be struggling.

“I did not know this,” she breathed. “But I wish I did because maybe I would have gone easier on him.”

The corners of Sarah’s lips quirked up, and she let out a near-boisterous laugh like Arabella had a few minutes earlier. “You do not have to go easy on him, Ara. He may be in a tight spot, but he is still your brother. You would probably startle him if you started treating him differently.”

Arabella giggled but then turned serious again. “You may be right about that. Still, I would rather be a spinster than marry one of the older gentlemen in there.”

“I believe you may have to give up on that dream. But I will say, Leo is a little too hopeful if he thinks that you would ever agree to marry someone older than our father.”

“You got that right.”

“You know,” Sarah chirped after a brief moment of silence. “Even though you may not immediately fall in love with whoever you end up marrying, you could end up like Richard and me. We were not in love when we first got engaged, but over time we got to know each other. We learned and grew and became better people. I can only pray that the same happens for you.”

“Thank you, Sister,” Arabella said, genuinely meaning it. “There is something I am curious about, though.”

Sarah smiled knowingly. “You’re curious about those tangible pleasures?”

“How did you know?” Arabella asked, always in awe of her sister’s intuition.

“I, too, was curious before Richard and I wedded,” Sarah explained. “I don’t want to tell you everything, as there are some things you will have to figure out on your own, but I will tell you the basics.”

Arabella turned in her seat to look directly at her sister, arguably the most interested she had ever been.

“Have you ever looked into the eyes of a man and felt intense desire before?”

Ara nodded.

“Well, there are things that happen between a man and woman that amplify that intense feeling. You get to feel it in your entire body. I will not elaborate, as that would be too inappropriate of me, but when the time comes, your body will definitely tell your head what to do.”

The answer was short enough to leave Arabella even more curious. “Is the fierce feeling you talked about a pleasant one?”

To her surprise, Sarah’s cheeks flushed uncontrollably. “Quite.”

Arabella wondered at her sister’s reaction. Yes, she loved the relationship her sister and brother-in-law had, but a cage was still a cage—good or bad. She could never see marriage as anything other than a cage that some enjoyed.

“Is it possible that one can feel such things outside of marriage?” she asked.

Sarah stared at her with such a scandalized look.

“I mean… is it only married people who feel these intense feelings?”

“Oh my,” Sarah breathed, red in the face. “Well, yes, there are people who felt such feelings outside marriage, but after such nights of passion, they are left with more regrets than bliss.”

“Why?” Arabella asked with a frown.

“Because, Arabella dear, one night of passion could get you with child or worse.”

Arabella tried to wonder what fate could be far worse than having an unplanned child.

“What could be worse than…” she trailed off, as one of the upstairs maids, Jasmine, had appeared.

“What is it, Jasmine?” Sarah asked, sharing a look with her.