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“You’ve been grumpy ever since you came back from your date with the Duke. Aren’t you ever going to tell me what happened? It was a week and a half ago.”
“Nothing happened,” I lie. “He showed me his piano.”
“Is that a euphemism?”
I toss a cushion at her head. “You’re supposed to be the respectable one, Maggie.” I grin. “And no. Not a euphemism. It was the piano his mother had commissioned before…” I grimace. “Before she died.”
“Oh,” Maggie says. “And he hasn’t called you since?”
“Nope.” I pop the p as I say it. “Not even a message to apologize for basically kicking me out. Maybe I read the situation wrong,” I answer. “Maybe he really did just want to show off his piano.” I cut a glare in her direction. “Still not a euphemism.”
Maggie laughs, adjusting the dress as she stares in a mirror. She checks the back of it, trying to shift it so her moon boot doesn’t stick out from underneath the hem.
I take a deep breath. “That’s not what’s on my mind, though.”
“Oh?”
“It’s about Count Gregory.”
Maggie meets my gaze in the mirror, stilling her hands. “What about him?”
“I’m not sure you should go through with this.”
“I’m not sure I have a choice.”
“Of course you have a choice,” I answer. “No matter what Mother says. You always have a choice. He just…” I suck a breath in through my teeth. “He gave me the creeps at the ball.”
“He’s harmless.”
“Are you sure about that?” I chew my lip. “He was staring at me—it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.”
Maggie drops her gaze, letting out a long breath. “Ada, I know you’re worried. Maybe you don’t understand the world we live in, but—”
“I understand perfectly. But I also understand that it’s the twenty-first century, and no matter how badly we want Kiera to reach her full potential, there are other ways of going about it. You’re signing your life away.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Maggie snaps. She takes a sharp breath, releasing it slowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
My heart breaks. My gentle, responsible sister is as worried about this as I am, but she’s resigned herself to her fate. When her eyes lift up to meet mine, I see the truth in her face. She knows exactly what Count Gregory is like. She knows that she’s signing up to, at best, tolerate a harem of mistresses. At worst, he’ll demand her full attention. Mind and body.
Gross.
My sister is walking into this loveless marriage with her eyes wide open.
“Maybe we can figure something else out,” I say softly.
“Like what? The Duke of Blythe? Last I checked he hasn’t called you back.”
Ouch. I wince.
Maggie turns toward me, dropping her shoulders. She comes to sit on the couch next to me, leaning her head on the back of the sofa. “I’m sorry,” she says in a low voice. “That was mean of me.”
“It’s true,” I admit. “I have no idea what’s going on with the Duke. For all I know, I’ll never see or speak to him again. Maybe one Christmas ball per decade is enough of an outing for him.”
Maggie snorts. She turns to face me, reaching out to put her hand on top of mine. “Don’t worry about me, Ada. I’ve thought about nothing else except my options for the past six weeks. I know what I’m getting into, and… I don’t know. Maybe a part of me thinks the stability will be good. I won’t have to worry about our parents losing our home or Kiera not being able to study. Maybe the Count and I can learn to love each other.”
I give her a tight smile, but discomfort churns in my gut. I’m not sure the Count is capable of love. I only met him at the Christmas ball, but every instinct in me tells me she should run.
I shift on the sofa and groan, touching my chest. “My boobs are sore as hell.”
