Page 24

" W ho on Earth does he think he is?" Cecilia asked upon her arrival, two days after that of Lady Annabelle.

Dorothy had sent invitations to her friends, which Morgan had agreed with, and it was a miracle that the quill did not snap in her hand as she wrote them.

They had only just agreed that Lady Annabelle would leave, but that was not what had happened.

She felt for her, truly she did, but she wanted her gone for a while so that they could agree on certain things.

"He is trying to be kind," Dorothy explained. "She has an awful family, and this is an escape for her."

"She can escape elsewhere," she argued. "There is no need for her to invite herself to the home of a man that she was once engaged to, one that is now married I shall add."

"She was invited by Catherine, for what it is worth."

"And if I receive a letter from Emma's little one when it is here, shall I simply appear?"

"You would be more than welcome," Emma interjected. "I understand what His Grace has done. We should all be pleased that Dorothy is married to a man that cares about others."

"So much so that he has private conversations with unmarried ladies?" Cecilia asked.

Emma nudged her sharply.

"I thought that I was going mad," Dorothy sighed. "He must have done that, mustn't he?"

"We do not know for certain," Beatrice said brightly, "and even if that is the case, nothing untoward would have happened. From what you have said, he cannot stand her."

"I thought that was the case, but then he asked her to stay for a week."

"And how has she been with you thus far?"

"She has avoided me," Dorothy explained. "She only spends time with Catherine, and for the most part they remain in their rooms. I hoped that it was because she was embarrassed, but she seems rather too prideful for that."

"I remember her," Cecilia nodded. "She was out in society when I debuted. From what I remember, she had actually grown rather desperate by then, but no gentlemen looked in her direction anymore. She was old, shelved."

"That reminds me of someone," Emma joked, and Cecilia laughed.

"That is my choice entirely," she reminded her.

"But Lady Annabelle was willing to take any man she could, not that it ever worked.

They simply did not want her. It was one thing when she was the most beautiful girl in London and from an affluent family, but when those two things were no longer there it was impossible to overlook the person she was. "

"I did not think that she was so bad," Dorothy said. "She is not the nicest, but I would not have said she was worthy of being a spinster."

"You hardly know her, as you said. Believe me, the few meetings that I have had with her were enough for me to see that she was awful."

Dorothy did not want to hear that. She wanted to hear that it had all been a misunderstanding, and that she was a lovely lady that had been unfortunate after the loss of her sister, so that the thoughts that refused to leave her alone would go.

She was married to the man Lady Annabelle was once engaged to, and that made her a target no matter how much time had passed. She did not want to be a part of anything that Lady Annabelle had planned, if there were any plans to begin with.

"Perhaps she simply wishes to see her niece," Beatrice suggested.

"I am not suggesting that you are an old maid, Cecilia, but your debut was years ago.

She must have changed by now, if not by things that have happened then simply because time has passed.

Who knows? Perhaps she truly does also wish to make amends with His Grace. "

"If that is the case," Cecilia argued, "then His Grace should not accept it. He should simply tell her she is forgiven and send her on her way. I understand that she has had issues, but that is none of your concern."

"But it is," Dorothy protested. "Whether I like it or not, she is family to me now. It is for the best that I am friendly toward her, and I expect you all to do the same."

Cecilia raised an eyebrow at her before exhaling deeply.

"Very well, as it is only for a week, but if she says anything out of turn then I will not be so kind."

"That is all that I am asking of you," Dorothy replied gratefully.

"Where is she, by the way?" Emma asked. "And the Duke, for that matter. I was hoping to meet him soon."

"Lady Annabelle is with Catherine, and my husband is… I am not entirely certain of that."

Her friends looked at one another, and Dorothy knew what they were thinking. It was as though they did not believe that Morgan disliked Lady Annabelle.

"We can go and find him, I suppose," she suggested. "Or, perhaps, we could visit Catherine? She would appreciate the company, I am certain of it."

"Is she well enough for that?" Beatrice asked. "You told us she has an illness."

"She does, but she is more than capable of meeting you all. If anything, she is at her best when there are people to talk to."

With everyone in agreement, they left for Catherine's room. Dorothy had already discussed her friends meeting her with Morgan, who was more than happy to allow it if they did not say a word about her. That was something that Dorothy could promise, as they only truly spoke to one another.

When they entered, however, they saw that Morgan was there with Lady Annabelle and Catherine.

Again, that feeling in Dorothy's stomach appeared.

They truly did look like a family, especially with how alike Catherine and Lady Annabelle were.

They were not doing anything much; Catherine was reading with Lady Annabelle while Morgan sat nearby, but it was enough.

She cleared her throat, and they all turned to her.

"Dorothy!" Morgan exclaimed. "I was wondering when you would come to join us."

"I was unaware that you were here," she replied.

She made the introductions, which Lady Annabelle joined, and watched as her friends forced smiles for him. They had already formed opinions of him during their first visit, and seeing this only made them worse.

"Aunt Dorothy," Catherine said brightly, "are these your friends?"

"Indeed we are," Cecilia grinned. "Which, I suppose, means that you are a friend of ours, too."

"Oh, really?" she asked excitedly. "That is wonderful! I love friends."

"That is good, because you have three more now," Beatrice smiled. "Which reminds me, we were going to spend some time in the glasshouse. Would you like to join us?"

"Yes please!" Catherine replied, before turning to her uncle. "Can I go?"

"Of course. These ladies shall take excellent care of you."

Dorothy liked that he trusted her friends, at least.

"You will be going with them, I assume?" Lady Annabelle asked Dorothy. "Since you know the plants so well, I mean."

"She will not," Cecilia replied. "We are going to be very selfish and steal this little one away for a while."

"Perhaps not selfishly," Emma interjected, "or at least, not entirely. We would like our good friend to have some time with her husband before the festivities truly begin. Alone."

Dorothy bit her lip to stop herself from smirking. Her friends were wicked, but she adored them.

"You may join us, if you wish," Beatrice suggested to Lady Annabelle, "so that you are not alone."

"I will not be alone. I shall have the Duke."

"You shall not," Morgan replied. "That would be lovely, ladies. Thank you."

Cecilia took Lady Annabelle's arm while Beatrice scooped Catherine into her arms, and they all left in a hurry. For a moment, it was silent in the room, and Dorothy did not know what to say.

"I have a feeling that they do not like me very much," Morgan said absent-mindedly.

"They will," she assured him. "My friends are protective of me, that is all."

"And I assume that did not look the best."

"It certainly did not."

Dorothy realized that she had folded her arms, and placed them by her sides again.

"You must know that I had not intended to be alone with her," he explained. "The governess was resting, and as you know I cannot have Lady Annabelle alone with Catherine."

"Where is Mrs. Herrington?"

"She is in town," he explained, taking her waist in his hands. "With how little preparation was made for this visit, she has had to make some last minute purchases. Truly, Dorothy, I have no intentions of being near that woman."

She smiled, running her hands up and down his arms. He was being sincere, and any unease she felt was not because of him. He was a good man and a good husband. She repeated it to herself, trying to believe it completely.

"She ought to be careful with what she says," Dorothy laughed softly. "My friends will not hesitate to straighten her up. Then again, they may not wish to say anything in front of Catherine. They all love children."

"I noticed. They all seemed so excited to meet her."

"Lady Annabelle did too, but then I suppose it is because they are family."

"No, that was certainly strange too. Lady Annabelle never liked children. She said that she would–"

He stopped himself.

"It is all right," Dorothy assured him. "It was a long time ago, and it does not mean anything now. You were engaged to her, and now you are married to me."

He cleared his throat, nodding at her.

"She told me that we would sire an heir and then no more, and that even then she would not want to see the child itself."

"And if you had a girl?"

"Any children we had would be for their nanny to care for. She had very little interest."

"In which case, I wonder what changed."

"I believe it is because she now regrets that she has not had any. She has no husband and no children, and so she will be living quite a lonely life."

Dorothy would have pointed him to Cecilia, who was proudly unmarried, but it was not the time.

It was true that Lady Annabelle had come to a sort of realization that she was alone, and perhaps that had made her change her mind.

Regardless, she would have to find a husband if she wished to change that, and that was not something that would be easily done by hiding away in another family's household.

"Is it wrong of me to say that I am pleased that she was awful to you?" she asked.

"I cannot say that I enjoyed it," he replied, laughing.

"No, but had she not done it, you would have married her instead of me. I cannot say that I am unhappy about that."

He embraced her, his fingertips nestled in her hair.

"Nor can I," he promised. "And in that respect, I would have to agree with you. She will not be alone with me again, I assure you. I should have told you, but I wanted you to enjoy your time with your friends."

"I can do that no matter where we are."

"Then might I suggest we join them?" he asked. "I believe it might be an idea that I improve their opinions of me."

"I would have to agree with you there," she giggled, "but truly, they will come around. They simply need to see that you are not a callous man that is holding me prisoner."

"Is that what they think of me?"

"No," she replied firmly. "They think you are strange, and perhaps a little off putting, but they will soon change their minds."

"Good, because I would hate to have to lock them in the dungeon."

They laughed together before leaving to join the others in the glasshouse.

When they arrived, they saw all of the ladies sitting down, while Catherine explained what each plant was.

Dorothy's heart swelled at the sight of her, especially when she began to look at her as she said the more difficult pronunciations.

What Dorothy especially appreciated was the way her friends acted as though they were truly interested in what the little girl had to say.

She knew perfectly well that they did not care about plants, and that they only humored her when she told them about botany because she was their friend, but they were pretending nonetheless and it was making Catherine blossom.

She had changed so much in such a short time.

From the day that Lady Annabelle had arrived to that moment, it was as though she had truly begun to recover from her illness.

There was color in her face and she spoke excitedly, as if she were truly alive again.

She wanted to enjoy it, but there was that same nagging feeling that this happiness arrived when her new aunt did, and that when Lady Annabelle left it would all change back to how it was.

"Aunt Dorothy," Catherine asked, making her focus on where she was again. "What is this?"

Dorothy looked at the plant that Catherine was pointing at, and then blinked. It was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen, the one thing that she had always wanted, and she could not believe that she had not noticed it before.

"Oh," Lady Annabelle remarked, "it appears the Duchess does not know."

"Strelitzia Reginae," she whispered, and all eyes turned to her. "A bird of paradise. Where did it come from?"

She turned to Morgan, who was grinning widely at her.

"I was hoping to show you it when we were alone," he explained. "I had it brought in."

"But– it must have been so expensive, and–"

"And look beside it."

Dorothy shifted her gaze to the flower sitting next to it.

It was not the done thing to cry when in company, but in an instant she felt tears welling in her eyes.

It was not what Morgan had planned, but it could not have been revealed in a better way.

Her bird of paradise sat proudly next to a tiger lily.

Her favorite flower beside his.