That made Lydia feel more anxious rather than less. It seemed as if Margaret was telling her she hadn’t made any mistakes so far, but that she still might make one at any moment. Lydia was sure that was true. It seemed only a matter of time until she did something that called attention to her in an unwanted way.
But maybe that would be better than no attention at all.
“Do you know where the Duke is?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen him,” Margaret said. “But, you know, the two of you have your separate responsibilities to tend to during this party.”
“We don’t have the same responsibilities?”
“Not at the moment. It’s important for both of you to socialize, but you’ve got to be meeting new people. Oeople are going to want to introduce themselves to the duchess! And for Edward, it’s more important to spend the day focusing on his business interactions.”
“Business? On his wedding day?”
Could that really be right?
“One thing you’ll have to come to understand about Edward is that business is more important than anything else in the world to him,” Margaret explained. “It might not feel natural to a young lady such as yourself, but you’ll have to learn to accommodate that fact about him if you’re to be a good wife.”
She spotted someone she knew across across the room—or perhaps she was merely pretending to see someone in order to end the conversation. Either way, she bustled off, and Lydia was left on her own again.
For a moment, Lydia just stood there, unsure of what she ought to do. There were no easy answers in a moment like this. If it had been a different kind of ball, she might have sought out her mother to have someone to talk to, or she might have escaped out into the garden, counting on the hope that no one would notice she was gone.
But that wouldn’t work here. She was the bride. She was the new Duchess. If she left the party, everyone would know it in moments, and she would be the subject of gossip—maybe even ridicule. All the hard work she had done to try to win Margaret over would be undone by such an action. There was no possible defense for something like fleeing your own wedding. No one would understand something like that.
Then, she saw Nancy, and hope bloomed within her. Of course, Nancy was here. Nancy was someone she could talk to without raising any eyebrows. They were as good as sisters now that the wedding was complete.
Nancy saw her coming and held out her arms. “Oh, Lydia,” she said. “You look radiant. What a beautiful gown! Everyone is talking about it.”
“At least that’s given themsomethingto talk about,” Lydia grumbled, surprised at the sudden onset of her own bitterness.
“What do you mean?” Nancy questioned her. “You know as well as I that gossips never have any trouble coming up with things to talk about. They hardly need your assistance withthat.”
“I suppose they don’t,” Lydia replied. “But I wish I could give them something positive to say.”
“I’ve heard no one say anything negative about you all day. How could they?”
“Then you don’t think they’ve noticed the fact that my husband is all but ignoring me?” Lydia asked. “I don’t think he’s spoken a word to me yet! He said his vows at the wedding, I suppose, but even then, it didn’t feel like he was having a conversation with me. It was a recitation, nothing more. And the whole ride here in the carriage—nothing! I don’t even know where he is!”
The words came rushing out of her so fast that it was hard to believe she had held them back all this time—it was obvious to her that she’d been yearning to say these things.
Nancy put a hand on her arm as if to soothe her, but her eyes had gone wide. “He hasn’t spoken to you at all?” she asked.
“Not in any meaningful way. I’ve tried to let that go because today has been stressful for me too, and I understand—but it’s our wedding day. He should be trying harder, shouldn’t he?”
“Yes, he should,” Nancy agreed, frowning. “I don’t understand that at all.”
“Colin wasn’t like this on your wedding day, then?”
“Not remotely. I’m sorry. I know that probably isn’t what you were hoping to hear.”
“I just want to hear that I’m not being crazy or expecting too much.”
“Not in my opinion. If it were me, I would want to speak to him about this, to find out what he meant by it. But I suppose you’re going to have to wait until tomorrow to do that.”
Perhaps it was providence, but just as Nancy said those words, the crowd separated a bit, and Lydia saw her husband across the room, deep in conversation with a gentleman she didn’t know.
“Maybe I don’t have to wait,” she said.
“What do you mean?” Nancy asked.
