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Dorothy laughed, grinning down at her sister. “But you don’t need to worry. I think he’s positively perfect for you.”

“Perfect for me?” She dug her nails into her palm. “How-” she cut herself off, but it was too late.

“Of course he is,” she gave a cruel grin. “Do you want me to tell you just how well suited you are to one another?”

Rebecca hesitated.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you ask. We both know you do.”

Dorothy took a deep breath, smiling like a woman who anticipated the most delicious of sweets.“Well, to begin with, he’s also known to be a rather cold man, just as you are a cold woman. Not only that, but he is known to hate balls and parties. I’m sure that must be quite a relief for you, after all, you wouldn’t even know what to do at a ball. No, it isn’t a place for someone like you.”

Somehow that was the thing that broke her out of her stupor. Maybe it was foolish, but she had always dreamed about going to a ball and dancing with a charming man the way Dorothy got to so often. “It wasn’t as if I ever had a chance to learn,” Rebecca dared to whisper, lip trembling.

That was a mistake. She should have known better than to let emotion get the better of her. She should have known to hold her tongue.

Dorothy leveled her with a look that could curdle milk. “Why would you? You’re too young to be out.”

“You had already been out for almost a year by the time you were my age.”

“But I’m the oldest, so that makes sense. You can’t be out until I get married. Besides, who would want to dance with you?”

Rebecca opened her mouth and did something she’d never dared to do. She talked back to her sister. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It wasn’t letting her temper get the better of her. It was a conscious choice to say something to her sister.

“Then perhaps you should be the one to marry the duke!”

Dorothy snarled at her. “Would you like to know another thing the two of you have in common, dear sister?”

Her fire started to dim. “And what would that be?”

Dorothy leaned forward, eyes glinting. “Everyone says he's a murderer. Just like you.”

Rebecca shook her head. “I never-”

“Didn’t you?”

She shook her head, heart pounding. Not this again. She couldn’t do this. Not today. Not just before she was to be married.

“Because I think you did. Or do you not remember what you did to our mother?”

“I miss her too.”

“Miss her,” she scowled. “You didn’t even know her.”

“That doesn’t mean I-”

“You killed her with your birth! You were born wrong, and this is only one more thing that shows it..”

“I wasn’t-”

She scoffed, turning away from her. “There's no point in lying. We will all be better off when you are out of the house. Just don’t make more trouble for Father and me.”

Rebecca stayed silent after that. There was nothing she could say that would make things better. Her eyes burned with tears she had no time to shed.

For now, all she could do was to sit and wait for them to go the last little distance to the church.

When they finally arrived, Dorothy raced out of the carriage ahead of her without waiting for even a second. Rebecca had no choice but to trail a distance after her.

Before she could enter the church, Penelope was by her side. “Rebecca!”