Dorothy let out a soft breath and held her just as tightly. “We’ve missed you, too, Cecilia.”
Phillip smirked over Cecilia’s head. “We had to come check that you hadn’t turned the entire estate into ruins.”
“Phillip,” Dorothy chided, though she was grinning. “Don’t tease. Not when she looks like she’s about to cry.”
“I am not about to cry,” Cecilia sniffed, blinking too quickly. “I’m not about to cry. I’m just happy.”
Cecilia led them toward the nearest settee, though she hardly let go of their arms as they walked. “And Emma?” she asked.
Dorothy gave her an apologetic smile. “Busy, unfortunately. She sends her love.”
Cecilia nodded slowly. “Of course. I should’ve guessed. Well…” she exhaled, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at both of them suspiciously. “Then tell me, what brings the two of you here? I find it highly suspicious that you’ve managed to pull yourselves away from the comforts of London.”
“It’s not that far a journey,” Phillip said. “I actually thought it would take longer, but we were only on the road for a few hours.”
Dorothy nudged Phillip aside and leaned in with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “We bring gossip, sister.”
“Lots of it,” Phillip added, dramatically flopping into a chair. “You would not believe what Aunt Marianne is doing.”
Cecilia’s eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. “Aunt Marianne? What has she done this time? Did she fight with Papa again?”
“It’s about you, Cecilia,” Phillip revealed.
Cecilia straightened. “Me?”
Dorothy gave a shrug. “You know how Aunt Marianne is when she’s got something to prove. She has been spreading lies all over London, and people are believing it.”
Phillip nodded. “Yes, she’s been telling anyone who’ll listen that it was Lucy who rejected the duke. That the night before the wedding, Lucy firmly rejected the duke. She claims that her daughter could never marry someone so cold, and incapable of love.”
Cecilia’s eyes widened. “What?”
“She is doing it to save face,” Dorothy added, nodding. “She’s making it sound as though Lucy was the one who turned His Grace down, and well...that you...”
“She’s saying you were a second choice,” Phillip finished and shook his head. “That you threw yourself at the duke when you saw that Lucy turned him away. That you practically begged the duke to marry you.
Dorothy sighed. “Sister, she’s being unrelenting about it. Drawing-room teas, garden walks, carriage rides...you name it. If there’s company to hear her, she’s telling it. It’s bad. We would not have come if it weren’t. People stare at us and whisper.”
Cecilia’s stomach twisted, a slow, cold coil of unease settling beneath her ribs. “But that’s not how it happened.”
“No,” Dorothy said. “But when has that ever stopped Aunt Marianne from setting her own agenda?”
“She is being very horrible,” Phillip added with a wry twist of his mouth. “Trying to rewrite history to suit her own narrative.”
Cecilia let out a slow breath and leaned back against the settee. “And Lucy? Has she said anything?”
Dorothy hesitated. “She hasn’t denied it. But we have been unable to see her, too. She hasn’t left the estate since that day.”
That landed heavier than anything else. Cecilia swallowed hard. “Of course not,” she said quietly. “I wouldn’t be able to step foot outside again if that happened to me. It’s all my fault.”
“Don’t say that,” Dorothy said quickly, her hand covering Cecilia’s.
“None of this was planned,” Phillip said. “That is what infuriates me. Aunt Marianne knows that it was all an accident. I’m pretty certain that Lucy did not want to marry the duke. Given what we know about this...marriage, you practically did her a favor.”
“Don’t say that, Phillip,” Cecilia said gently. “It was her future to navigate. Not mine.”
“Still,” he added. “I am the only one allowed to badmouth my sisters. Aunt Marianne has no right, and I cannot stand for it.”
“Papa and Emma are trying to contain it, you know,” Dorothy added. “They’ve both spoken to several people, gently correcting the story without making it seem like a public defense.”
