They went into a shop to search for a necklace. “Diamonds or sapphires would suit best,” Margaret suggested. “Do you have a preference between the two?”
“Perhaps something with both?” Lydia suggested. “I think that would be pretty, and eye-catching as well. Do you think that’s appropriate?”
Now that she’d made sure her voice would be heard, she wanted to show Margaret that she was willing to be cooperative as well.
It worked.
Margaret smiled. “That sounds lovely.” She turned to the shopkeeper. “Do you have anything that matches that description?”
The shopkeeper brought out a few items for them to look at. Lydia had no special favorite among the available options, so she sat back and allowed Margaret to take the lead. Whatever was chosen would suit her tastes just fine.
Margaret picked up one of the necklaces and held it up to Lydia. “This one really brings out your eyes,” she pointed out. “And the stones are bold, but nottoobig—I think this one here would distract attention from your face because it’s so dramatic, don’t you think so?”
“I trust your judgment on that,” Lydia agreed mildly.
“I appreciate that,” Margaret told her. “You know, I’ve always wanted to do this—pick out jewelry for my daughter. I realize I’m not your mother, and that you have a mother of your own—I hope you don’t feel as if I’m overstepping my bounds.”
Lydia hadn’t expected Margaret to speak to her like this. She seemed, now, as if she actually cared about what Lydia thought of her—as if she was trying as hard as Lydia was to make sure the two of them had a good relationship.
Maybe she admires the fact that I stood up for myself. Maybe she likes that I’m not the sort to let myself be pushed around. She did tell me that was important, after all.
“I don’t feel that way at all,” Lydia said. “I’m very grateful to have your help, Margaret. And I’m flattered that you would think of me as a member of the family.”
“You will be one soon enough,” Margaret replied. “The daughter I never had.”
“But you were blessed to have two sons,” Lydia observed. “I don’t know either of them very well yet, but the Duke seems like an honorable gentleman, and I know his brother makes my friend Nancy very happy—he seems to be a good husband.”
Margaret nodded. “He is,” she agreed. “You’ve assessed both of them very well. But all the same, they’re not my children. Not really.”
“I know you’re their stepmother,” Lydia said.
She was unsure of exactly what this meant in terms of their relationships. Margaret was certainly acting motherly enough, so it was surprising to hear her describe herself as not a real mother.
“That’s right,” Margaret agreed. “Only their stepmother. Their father married me because he wanted them to have a lady in their lives—a replacement for his first wife, their true mother. I’ve tried to be that for them, but I would have liked to have a child of my own.”
“Your husband wasn’t interested?”
“He told me that he’d already had his children,” Margaret lamented. “He didn’t want another.”
She looked far away, as if she was remembering something that had happened a long time ago, and Lydia had the sudden feeling that she wasn’t being told everything.
And that was all right. She didn’t need to know everything about Margaret’s past, about her relationship with her late husband. It was surprising enough that Margaret had told her anything at all, to be honest. She hadn’t expected the two of them to be able to speak anywhere near this openly, and it was a shock—a shock in the best way, but a shock, nonetheless. She certainly wasn’t going to push for more details of something that was none of her business.
So, she simply said, “I’m sorry to hear that. I imagine it must have been very hard to hope for something like that and then realize you wouldn’t get it.”
“But at least you will,” Margaret replied. “I suppose you’ll be willing to have children? After all, Edward will need an heir.”
“I’ve taken that into consideration.”
If Margaret was going to keep secrets, Lydia would feel free to do the same. That was only fair. She wasn’t ready to open up about the fact that having a child was one of the things that excited her most about the prospect of marriage. After all, she hadn’t even told the Duke that yet. She didn’t need to say it to his stepmother.
“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the dukedom having an heir,” Margaret said. “It’s what my late husband would have wanted, of course, and I do consider myself to have a bit of a responsibility to see his desires through. Edward loves to remind me of the fact that I’m not his mother.
“I’d hoped he would come to feel differently about me in time, as his brother has, but that hasn’t happened yet. Oerhaps having you in his life will help to bring about that change, make him soften toward me. But he doesn’t listen to me the way I wish he would. He doesn’t take my advice about what would be best for the dukedom or what his father would want him to do. Even though I’ve long known that it’s time for him to begin planning for his future, he hasn’t pursued marriage until now.”
“Not at all?” Lydia asked.
This matched what Nancy had told her, but she was interested in finding out more if she could. What had kept the Duke from looking for a wife for so long, and what had changed his mind? It wasn’t that he had seen her and fallen in love as his brother had with Nancy—their arrangement had been made before the two of them had met for the first time.
