Phoebe held Caroline’s hand and squeezed it. “The groom is not coming,” she said quietly. “He has… changed his mind, and now we must decide what to do.”
“He is not coming?” Amelia gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth. “Oh no… oh no, this cannot be. My sweet girl, you will be ruined. A jilting is far worse than a broken engagement! Oh… oh dear, please tell me this is cruel jest. Please.”
Caroline shook her head, refusing to look in Max’s direction again, or into those dangerous blue eyes. “It is no jest, Mama.”
“But I thought you loved each other? How could he change his mind if he loves you?” Amelia’s voice hitched. “I should never have allowed this! I knew that boy was trouble the moment I first met him at your debut, but when your brother told me it was real love, I… thought he might have matured.”
Olivia closed her eyes and drew in a steadying breath, no doubt bracing herself for the white lie she was about to tell the woman who was practically her mother-in-law. “I am afraid it does seemlike he has repeated his bad habit of falling in love then falling out of it just as quickly.”
Do not blame him!Caroline wanted to shout.Do not smear his name. He does not deserve it. He was doing the right thing, whether society agrees or not.
Instead, she stayed quiet, her head bowed, still refusing to look over at the gentlemen who were deep in discussion. If she caught their eye, she feared they would say the words she was dreading—that she was to marry Max Dennis without delay, and they would accept no argument.
“Oh, Caro,” her mother whispered. “Did you know his affections were wavering?”
Caroline shook her head.
“But what is the solution?” Amelia asked, looking to Phoebe and Olivia for answers. “If Dickie is not here, then that is that. His actions will destroy my daughter. She will barely be welcome anywhere for at least a few years, and by then it might be too late for her to find a good husband, who truly does love her.”
Phoebe hesitated, casting Caroline an apologetic look as she said, “Dickie’s brother, Maximilian, is offering to marry her instead. I do not believe you have met properly, but he is the Duke of Harewood and, as you can see, not offensive to behold.”
“He is a kind man,” Olivia added, directing the words at Amelia, though they were clearly meant for Caroline’s ears. “Anna never has anything but wonderful things to say about him, and on the occasions where I have been in his company, he has been amusing, generous, warm, and courteous. Evan adores him.”
Phoebe nodded. “Daniel speaks favorably of him, too. Why, at this very moment, he is considering the match. He would not do that if he thought Maximilian unworthy of Caro’s hand.”
Caroline stared at her friends, breathless as betrayal stung her in the heart. She had thought they were leading her away from the altar to rescue her from the situation. All they were doing was executing a slyer maneuver, taking her to one side to coerce her, not save her.
“You must, Caro!” Amelia urged, leaning over the pew to cup her daughter’s face. “My darling, I wish I was not saying this, but you have to accept. He must be honorable indeed if he would offer himself in his brother’s place, considering his high station, and…” she glanced at the man in question “… he is very handsome. More handsome than his impish brother, I should say. That can certainly help in a marriage.”
Do you think I do not know that he is handsome? I have eyes, for goodness’ sake!
But he did not even like Caroline. She had tried to win his favor, to even the smallest degree, since the night of her debut, but she had kept tripping over herself… and often him. And his beauty did not mean he would make a good husband. If that were true,she might have shown an interest in the months they had known one another.
“You too?” she murmured, her heart sinking.
She could dismiss her friends’ suggestions, but she could not, in good conscience, allow her mother to fret over her future. She would not deny her mother anything.
“But…” Caroline faltered. “But you said I would never have to marry anyone I did not love. You have always said that you want for me what you had with Papa. And that is whatIhave dreamed of since I was a girl.”
The conversation—rather, the entire morning—seemed to be turning in circles, not going nearly as smoothly as she had hoped, crushing her spirit with every endless minute.
And it is all because of you.She shot a dark look at Max, but when she met those eyes, she dropped her gaze again. It was not safe to look at him.
Fortunately, he went back to talking to the other men, seemingly locked in a frustrating cycle of discussion too, gesturing urgently at the reverend while Evan and Daniel interjected. In support of Max or against him, Caroline was not certain.
Amelia drew out a handkerchief, dabbing the underside of her eyes. “What else is to be done, Caro? I know… I know that I promised, I know what I encouraged, but… I cannot see youbecome a pariah. I cannot see your heart break with every passing Season, as you are dismissed and ignored.”
She hesitated. “And your father and I began as an arranged match. True, our fondness was almost immediate. From the moment we set eyes on each other, we knew it was something like destiny, but… love might bloom for you both too, once you are removed from the pressure of this church and you have forgotten all about Dickie. Remember, it bloomed for me after the wedding. It was a few weeks before I knew.”
“But you were a rarity. You have often said how exceptionally lucky you and Papa were,” Caroline urged.
Footsteps halted the conversation before she could add,And I have no such fondness for Max.This is not destiny; it is a mistake.
She peered up through blurry eyes to find the resigned face of that very man looking down at her. Daniel stood beside him. Neither had to speak for Caroline to know that they had formed a united front, ready to do whatever had to be done in order to get her married.
All because I had a sip of brandy in the company of a friend.
It seemed so silly, so unjust, that her entire life should be swept off course because of such a trivial thing. Had she been with any other friend—Anna, Phoebe, Olivia, Leah, Matilda, Ellen, Joanna—no one would have batted an eye. Why did it matter sogravely that her friend happened to be male? It was no different, in her mind, to being in Daniel or Evan’s company.
