“I would much rather you fetch your husband so I might make his acquaintance,” Rebecca teased. “There has been ample talk about him in Somerset. Father is most pleased. An earl for a son-in-law was exactly what he expected. But a duke? And from your side?” She blinked hard.
“News of your engagement reached the backwaters of York in due time. I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw your name in the society columns, saying you were to be married to the Duke of Wells. I forced Bertram to inquire whether there were other Anna Walfords or Philip Wilmingtons in existence. And when my husband came back with the news that there was not… I still could not believe it.”
“There was no option to delay the wedding to facilitate your attendance,” the countess explained, looking afraid that she had offended her favorite daughter. “His Grace insisted on obtaining a special license.”
“And while you sent a rider, there was no time for me to organize myself in time, I know. We’ve gone over all of this.” Rebecca flicked her hand in the air, returning her attention to Anna.
“I would have liked to have been there,” she added with surprising sincerity. “Things have not always been easy between you and me, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t always wished the best for you. Thus I would be remiss, as your sister, if I did not make sure that you understood what this new life of yours will entail.”
“I am more than aware of the constraints and demands of my marriage, thank you very much,” Anna said with a little vitriol. “But I see you’re wasting no time getting to business. Most people might have started a reunion by asking me how I’m feeling.”
“Oh, Anna. Can you blame me for being direct?” Rebecca looked for the nearest chair and sat down, folding her hands in her lap. “I have taken carriage rides that lasted longer than your betrothal. Becoming a duchess will be no easy task. I can see the cracks starting to form already, and when they do, the whole house will crash down upon you.”
“What cracks?”
“Your attire, for a start. A fine lady should always be dressed for guests. Your posture is still abysmal, and I suspect you haven’t been working on your social skills either. You may be a Wilmington now, but your new name will not shield you from criticism. If you do not comport yourself as a proper duchess, the consequences could be severe, indeed.” She looked up at their mother. “Could you not leave Bath for a while and come and stay with Anna?”
“Certainly not,” Anna protested, raising her voice. “I mean no offense, Mother, but I do not feel nearly as unequipped as you’ve made me out to be. And what knowledge I am lacking I will surely gain with time. It has only been a week since the wedding. You did not become a model countess overnight, Rebecca. That much I know for certain.”
Rebecca flushed a satisfying shade of crimson.
Anna sighed, looking vainly at her mother for help. “Did you really travel days to come and lecture me? A letter would have sufficed.”
“I came to ensure your safety, chief of all,” Rebecca corrected. “When you visited this summer, you were hellbent on being shelved. That this has happened so suddenly…” A frown creased her forehead. “I feared you would receive my genuine concern with skepticism, given our past squabbles, and it seems I was right. But they are insignificant now. Set your bias against me aside for a moment. I have come here in peace, I swear it.”
Their mother stepped forward and placed a hand on Anna’s shoulder. She flinched in surprise. “Your sister is telling the truth, Anna. We only want what is best for you.”
Anna wanted to believe her sister, but it was a lot to ask. They had spent their lives being passive-aggressive toward one another. She had already been burned by one relative, why should she believe that Rebecca had a change of heart?
“If you truly want to make amends,” Anna said, “then you will start by trusting me. I am not the hapless girl you have always thought me to be… You’re right. Becoming a duchess was something I never envisioned, and the adjustment period has been brutal.”
Her husband’s serious face flashed through her mind.
“That’s not to say I’ve given up already. Philip’s sister, when she is here, is teaching me everything I need to know about my new responsibilities. We plan to renovate Cotoneaster completely over the summer and return to London next year, having made this title into something we can wear like a badge of honor. These things take time, but I will make you proud of me. I’ll show all of you what I’m capable of.”
Not least of allthe husband who doesn’t dare speak to me.
Rebecca was quiet for a moment, her eyes trained on the floor. Her chest heaved with a breath, and she looked up with a resigned smile.
“Perhaps I was… a little harsh,” she conceded. “And perhaps I allowed my bias to get the better of me despite asking you not to be prejudiced.”
“Insomuch as you think I’m an incapable brat,” Anna clarified. “And I think you’re a domineering sycophant. If you really do want to start afresh, then I would very much like to bury the hatchet with you.”
For the first time in what felt like years, Rebecca gave Anna a genuine smile. It warmed Anna’s heart, healing a small part of her that had always felt dismissed by her sister, even if she had just called her a sycophant.
“Then let’s agree to let bygones be bygones,” Rebecca replied. She laughed at herself, wiping her brow. A small lapse in her otherwise perfect demeanor. “I have no idea what a good relationship between the two of us will look like, especially with the distance separating us. We could start by writing to each other, I suppose.”
“That sounds more than doable.”
“How gracious you are for not calling me an illiterate hog. We are making progress already.” Rebecca grinned at her own joke. “I fear marriage has changed you as much as motherhood has changed me. Charlotte is old enough now that she is becoming her own person. When I look at her… I see a great deal of you. It does not displease me.”
Anna could have asked for no higher praise, things being what they were. The room settled into a warm, happy silence.
“My two girls,” Rosamund whispered, bridging the space between them. Each received a gloved hand and squeezed it. “Such marvelous times we are living in.”
“I am inclined to agree,” came a voice from the doorway.
Anna didn’t turn immediately, too stunned to move. Her sister rose elegantly from her seat and bobbed a curtsey that rivaled their mother’s. They flashed a pair of brilliant smiles at the intruder.
