Chapter 6
Iris triedher best to remain strong, she tried to keep upright, but the more she thought about her upcoming nuptials to a man she didn’t know and she desperately didn’t like, the harder it became to breathe. Her lungs tightened, her chest ached, and she felt like she really had sucked in deeply to breathe. She gripped onto the front of her dress, trying to make more room for air but nothing seemed towork.
For a brief second, Iris felt like this might be the end for her. The panic was almost too much that she feared it might killher...
“Oh, Miss Iris.” At exactly the right moment, Daisy entered the room and on seeing the state her friend was in, she instantly raced to her side and hugged her. “Are you alright? I have been looking all over for you. Your sister is downstairs now and I was very worried not to see you with her. You look so upset, what iswrong?”
Iris's breath wobbled, she wanted to push the terror to one side while she explained things to Daisy but in the safety of her room, she actually allowed herself to fall apart. Fat tears fell down her cheeks as a sickness swirled in her stomach. Everything that she'd been trying to hold in all day long fell right out ofher.
“Oh, Daisy, it is horrible. So awful.” Daisy embraced her harder and she fell deeper into the comfort. “I do not know what to do now. It is too much. Everything... it is toomuch.”
“What is it?” Daisy cooed comfortingly. “What happened in there? What did that man want with you and yourfamily?”
“It was... it was my father’s will reading.” Iris squeezed her eyes shut. For a moment she wanted to block the whole world out, she wanted to wake up to find out that all of this would be a dream. “He still wants me to marry theDuke.”
Saying those words made it much more real. Painfullyso.
Daisy patted Iris’s back gently, trying to comfort her. She wasn’t as confident as Iris that her father’s death would spell the end of the arrangement, so this wasn’t much of a surprise to her. She hadn’t quite realized how much stock Iris was putting into this or maybe she would’ve done better to prepare her. Daisy cursed herself for not realizing what was goingon.
“What will happen next?” she whispered quietly into Iris’sear.
“My uncle – my mother’s brother – is on his way. He will oversee the arrangements in my father’s absence.” Iris sobbed through the words. “He will make sure that it all goesahead.”
“I see.” Daisy’s back straightened, she did not like hearingthis.
“I do not know what to do, Daisy,” Iris replied bitterly. “There is no way I can get out of this now. Ihaveto marry this man, and I’m terrified.” Admitting the true depths of her fears aloud was a huge step for Iris, but it didn’t make her feel any better. If anything, unleashing her emotions only gave them more control over her. “I’ve never been so scared of anything in mylife.”
“Maybe you will love him. Maybe this will all work out.” Daisy needed to uplift her friend now, it was the only way to move forward. “I know that you are scared, Miss Iris, but maybe this will not be as bad as youassume.”
Daisy couldn’t picture Iris with a husband. She had been trying, ever since the news came through, but it was an image that just wouldn’t come to her. Not that she was the one with the crazy, overactive imagination, of course. That role clearly went toIris.
“Elizabeth told me that he has a terrible reputation. She said that he is known as a horrible man. Especially towomen.”
Daisy pulled Iris down on the bed beside her and she stared deeply into her eyes. “Reputations and rumours are not always what they seem,” she insisted with a small warning to her tone. “A lot of things are said about a lot of people that are certainlyuntrue.”
The next words got stuck in Iris's throat. For some reason, she felt like this was about her. She wanted to ask Daisy exactly what had been said about her, but at the same time, she didn't really want to know. In that area, she felt certain that ignorance was bliss. If she was aware of what people thought of her, it would be a massive challenge to ever leave her houseagain.
“Miss Iris, you will not know about this man until you meet him for yourself. You cannot base your judgements on what other peoplesay.”
“But you know how I am about meeting new people. I do not make a good first impression; I am not used to speaking with people I do notknow.”
A smile spread across Daisy's face and she decided to make a joke out of the whole situation. "Well, then I shall meet him for you." She stood up and twirled around while gripping onto her dress as if it was a fancy number rather than a maid's uniform. "I shall dress up in one of your beautiful gowns and I will dance the night away with this awful Duke." As she mocked dance, Iris couldn't help laughing a little bit. "You might not make a good first impression, but I certainly shall. He will fall in love with me instead ofyou."
Iris leapt up and she grabbed hold of Daisy's hands, and she danced along with her. This was something that they used to do all the time when they were younger when Iris needed to learn how to step in time with the music. The sisters had a wonderful teacher, but Iris didn't learn well with her. Iris found practising with Daisy when she began to work for the family so much easier. It was always better for her when she couldrelax.
"Oh yes, Ma'am, your beauty is boundless," Iris teased in the deepest, most masculine voice that she could manage. "I can truly tell that you are a lady. Either that or you have spent a lot of time with one. And your dancing is wonderful. You must have practiced a whole lot when you wereyounger."
Daisy roared with laughter and tossed her head back in a very un-lady like manner. "Oh yes, Sir, I am truly a lady. I have always done... you know, ladylike things. I have my hair braided for me, and I attend formal events." She fluttered her eyelashes and pouted out herlips.
“Oh yes, I have probably seen you across the hall at such events, being the man about town that I am. It is a shame that we have never metbefore.”
"Oh, well my father does not like to introduce me to men he considers unworthy of my dowry." Daisy fell so deeply into the role that Iris almost believed her for a second. "He is very careful with his money. He cares more about where that will go, more than any concern for hischildren."
"A dowry, you say? Well, that changes everything." Iris stepped back and bowed. "And now... I am in love withyou."
The girls collapsed onto the bed in hysterics. Iris felt carefree and ecstatic, just for a moment. While she joked and had fun with her friend, it was easy to forget how complicated things were about to get. She loved just enjoying the way things were, until it all blewup.
“You know, Daisy, if you make the Duke fall in love with you that doesn’t solve anything.” She suddenly announced. “He will still want to marry Iris Warwick.” That name... if only she could get rid ofit.
