“I know he doesn’t seem the type for it,” Nancy said. “But I believe it’s possible. You could grow to love one another. After all, how could anyone fail to love you?”
Lydia laughed. “You have to say that because you’re my best friend.”
“Not at all,” Nancy countered. “I don’t have to be your best friend, do I? I choose to because I find you to be a lovely person. Eventually, Edward will come to see what I’ve known all this time. He’ll find you every bit as lovable as I do.”
“I think that’s very optimistic of you,” Lydia said. “But I do appreciate your optimism, truly.”
“Thank you.”
“Tell me more about him. I want to know what he’s like so that I can be ready for this marriage.”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, what I know isn’t that much,” Nancy admitted. “He may be my brother-in-law, and I suppose I see him more frequently than most people do, but it still isn’t that frequent. He’s not very social. We have dinner together sometimes.”
“What is he like at those dinners?”
“Very quiet. Almost absent, much of the time, as if he’s there in body, but his mind is far away. I don’t know what to make of it sometimes. His manners are always impeccable. He’s never been rude. But it’s as if he has things going on in his head that are much more important to him.”
“Well, that’s exactly how I felt when we were together,” Lydia agreed. “It was as if he couldn’t be bothered to speak to me. I felt beneath his notice. Or—no, that’s not quite right. I did feel as if he noticed me, but I felt that he was spending the whole time deciding what he thought of me without ever worrying about what I might think of him. As if he had no interest in my opinion.”
“That sounds right,” Nancy said. “He’s a businessman. His business is everything to him. I’ve lost count of the number of times Colin has said that to me.Edward only cares about business.And I suppose that attitude is the way a man of business would approach a lady he was thinking of courting, isn’t it? He would evaluate everything about her. He wouldn’t be trying to make her think highly ofhim. I’m sure it’s a habit for him by now to focus on the bottom line and not think so much about the opinions of others.”
“Well, I find it frustrating,” Lydia huffed. “And it offends me as well. It’s as if he thinks his opinion is the only one that matters—that he doesn’t have to bother with making a good impression on me.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t really think that,” Nancy argued. “It’s just his way to be a bit self-centered. He’ll be better once the two of you have gotten to know one another. I’m sure of it.”
“I certainly hope so,” Lydia murmured.
“You know, at least there’s one thing we can say with confidence,” Nancy said.
“And what’s that?”
“Well, Edward has never expressed any interest in marriage before now,” Nancy pointed out. “The fact that he’s taking an interest for the first time tells me that he’s ready to think about an heir to the dukedom. Which means you’ll be a mother soon, Lydia!”
Lydia thought about that. Of course, it was an inherent part of getting married, so what her friend was saying didn’t come as a surprise, exactly. But still, it was something she hadn’t given much thought to yet. She had been too distracted by the mere fact of her marriage. Now she thought about it, though—what it would be like to be a mother, to have a child. What it would be like to enter that part of her life.
It did sound lovely. And for the first time, Lydia felt some excitement about what lay ahead.
“He must have liked you,” Nancy enthused. “Think about it. He chose you to be the mother of his child—of the heir to the dukedom! He wouldn’t give that duty to just anyone. This was more than a simple arrangement with your father, even if it hasn’t gone exactly according to your hopes so far.”
“No, you’re right,” Lydia agreed. “And that also explains why he was looking at me the way he was, doesn’t it? Sizing me up. He wanted to make sure I would be a good choice to be the mother to his heir. I should have realized it was something like that rather than being sensitive about it.”
“It makes sense that you would struggle,” Nancy said sympathetically. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be marrying a duke! That’s so much more responsibility than I faced at the time of my marriage. As the younger son, Colin has more freedom to do whatever he likes without worrying about the implications.”
“So, of course, the two of you could pay more attention to something like love right away,” Lydia observed, feeling better by the moment. “That makes so much sense. I was far too hard on the Duke. I regret it now.”
“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunity to tell him that,” Nancy assured. “But don’t forget, he didn’t make it easy on you either. The two of you will simply have to find a way to talk to one another.”
“You’re quite right,” Lydia agreed. “And I’m sure that’s something we’ll be able to find a way to do. Thank you, Nancy. You’ve really made me feel so much better about everything.”
“In the meantime,” Nancy said, “marriage to a busy gentleman might have its upsides. He’s so busy with his work all the time that you’ll have quite a lot of freedom. You’ll be able to do whatever you like. You and I can call on one another frequently—I’ll look forward to that.”
“Oh, that would be nice,” Lydia replied. “And I’ll be able to devote time to reading and going on rides early in the morning, the way I’ve always loved, because he’ll have no need of me during those hours. He’ll be occupied with his business!”
“It will be very muchlikecourting at first, I would think,” Nancy said. “You’ll dine together and spend your evenings together, but the rest of your days will likely be your own. In a way, I almost wish Colin and I could have done it like this. Don’t mistake me, I’m very happy with my marriage, but I do think it would have been pleasant to ease into it slowly, the way you’ll be doing. It would have made the adjustment feel a bit more natural. And perhaps youwillfall in love in the end.”
Lydia smiled. “You have a way of making everything feel much simpler than it seems, Nancy,” she enthused. “You’re such a good friend to me. I’m so grateful to you for being here, for coming over today, and for talking me through all this. I do feel much more prepared to face what lies ahead now that I know with more certainty what it’s going to be like.”
“I’m so glad,” Nancy said. “And just think, Lydia, once you’re married, the two of us won’t just be good friends. We’ll be family! You’ll be my sister! It will mean holidays and dinners and parties together for the rest of our lives. It will mean that our children will be cousins and will grow up playing together. Doesn’t that all sound lovely?”
