Page 6

The idea of it chilled her to her bones.

Hearing a whisper nearby, she lifted her head, looking down the narrow path to find two figures melting into the shadows hand in hand, laughing with one another.

Alicia cast her gaze around, looking for a quiet spot to compose herself. She spied a bench in a secluded section of the gardens, where hedges towered high.

She made for it, easing herself onto the cold stone and taking long, stertorous breaths to try and calm her racing heart.

How could Papa do this to me? Does he hate me?

Soft footfalls outside her little haven made her look up. Horror swamped her at the thought that her father had followed her out here, bearing witness to her despair.

But she gave a cry of joy as her sister, Jane, appeared around the corner of the hedge, her rounded belly just beginning to show beneath her dress.

She was closely followed by Katie. Both of them looked deeply concerned as they moved forward.

“Jane!” Alicia exclaimed with genuine joy. “I did not know you were in attendance tonight—oh, thank God. I have never been so happy to see you.”

Alicia pulled them in a fierce hug, which they returned in earnest. Several seconds passed before Jane pulled back, pushing her gently toward the bench, where Alicia resumed her position with a heavy sigh.

Katie, in her gentle kindness, crouched beside the bench, holding her hand, careless of the wet grass soaking her gown.

“What has happened?” Jane asked.

Alicia scoffed. “Papa has made his choice. I am to be married within the week, and he has made it clear that I am to be grateful for the privilege.”

Jane sucked in a sharp breath, taking her hand. “What do you mean? Who are you to marry, for heaven’s sake?”

“The Duke of Radcliffe, or so Father told me. He promised he would give me time to find someone of my own choosing, but he has already broken his word.” Alicia clutched her stomach as if she might be sick. “Why can I not be a bluestocking like Bridget?” she whispered as Jane and Katie exchanged a wary glance.

Jane’s sister-in-law, Bridget, was a fiercely intelligent girl whom Alicia had taken a liking to at Jane’s wedding.

They had become close friends, and Alicia had often wondered whether she could emulate Bridget’s life, reading books and surrounding herself with knowledge instead of the trappings of a husband and children.

Jane’s gentle touch was cool against her heated skin. Alicia dashed at her tears, irritated by her outpouring of emotion.

“I cannot condone what Father has done, nor would I,” Jane said softly. “But you may be lucky. Perhaps you will find a good man as I have.”

Alicia looked up sharply. “Do you love David, though?” she asked, doubting that the gentle affection between her sister and the Marquess was real.

Jane’s soft smile said more than any words could.

“I do love him, very dearly,” she stated simply.

“But you were notin lovewhen you wed him. Father stole that from you. You never had the chance to feel the yearning I have always longed for.”

Alicia stood up, beginning to pace as Katie took her place on the bench.

“Papa wants me to marry someone like him. A heartless man who would sell his daughters to the highest bidder as soon as they are of age!”

“That is not necessarily true,” Jane said patiently.

“It is ridiculous! He has not given me any time,” Alicia protested, more to herself than anyone else. “I cannot marry him. I will not.”

But even as her resolve hardened, she looked to Katie and her sister for reassurance. But they had none to give.

Once her father had set his mind on something, there was no changing it. Alicia would be naïve to think otherwise.

Her fingers fluttered over her stomach, churning in protest at the direction her life had taken.