Lydia's Penance, page 18
No wonder she didn’t mind the way Lydia had become her sister-in-law. Not that Lydia could support Arabella doing the same.
Sinking deeper into the shadows, Isaac was eavesdropping shamelessly.
He’d come to haunt the library, unable to completely stay away from his wife. After how hard he’d been on her the night before... well, he’d wanted to make sure she was well. Although he was starting to suspect that, in some ways, her spankings were almost harder on him than they were on her.
The conversation was certainly making his desire to hover, out of sight, worth it. He wondered where his brother was, but quickly dismissed Benedict from his mind. Arabella and Lydia were of much more import at the moment.
“Arabella, why do you think this gentleman won’t want to marry you?” Lydia asked, her voice gentle. A question Isaac thoroughly approved of, since he wanted to know as well. There weren’t too many men out there who wouldn’t want to marry a duke’s sister, even if she was a touch wild for a young, tonnish lady. Of course, the challenge of a man who wouldn’t want to marry her for her standing would draw Arabella.
“Well, he’s rather stuffy and serious,” Arabella said, her tone wistful, and Isaac couldn’t help but frown. It wasn’t like his sister to sound unsure of herself. “He’s always frowning at me and I know he disapproves of my behavior.”
“Then why do you want to marry him?” Lydia’s question was, again, gentle, her tone utterly without judgment. It was just a question, not a challenge.
“I’m not really sure,” Arabella said, now sounding more grumpy than wistful. “I didn’t mean to want to marry him. But the more time I spent in his company during the Season, the more I liked being in his company, even if he was frowning at me. He’s very... correct. But he’s also kind, and honorable, and he mutters the funniest witticisms under his breath. You must be standing next to him to hear them, but he’s really quite entertaining. And because he’s so stuffy, he can’t be moved. Most men can be so easily manipulated, but not him.” The admiration in her voice was real, and Isaac couldn’t help but smile. Truthfully, whoever he was, he sounded like he was more than a match for Arabella.
“And yet you want to manipulate him into marriage?” Now there was something like condemnation in Lydia’s voice, which made Isaac’s eyebrows raise.
“Well he’s very honorable, like my brother,” Arabella said, a touch defensively, obviously having picked up on the same attitude Isaac had. “Once we married, he would make the best of it, I know he would, and then... well, once he accepted that he was married to someone who wasn’t the perfect paragon he’s searching for, I’m sure he’d come to care for me. A perfect paragon wouldn’t do for him anyway; he needs someone who will challenge him. All the qualifications he thinks he wants in a lady... well, I can’t meet them, but I know I would make him happier than any lady who could!”
Isaac tried to think of who she might be referring to, but truthfully all the men he’d introduced her to over the Season had been rather stuffy, correct, and honorable. He and Benedict had been very persistent in keeping her away from the bounders and ne’er-do-wells. Most of them had been eager to get to know her, but there had been a small group which had stepped back when they’d realized the sheer force of her personality and her rather hoydenish ways. Unfortunately the small group still numbered in the double digits, and her description gave him no further clues.
His wife issued forth a deep sigh. “Arabella, I did what I did out of desperation. Not for your brother specifically, although I count myself quite lucky that I chose him -“ She did?! “You, however, have time to change this gentleman’s mind. You mention qualifications, I take it you know what he’s looking for in a wife?”
“Yes,” Arabella said. Now she sounded both disgruntled and curious. Disgruntled because Lydia obviously wasn’t going to help her in the way she wanted her to, curious because it sounded like she was still going to receive some advice.
“Well, we all have private faces and public faces, especially within the sphere of Society,” Lydia said, waving a hand. “How I behave alone with family - how we are talking now - is quite different than how I behave and speak with other members of Society. Is it possible this gentlemen’s affections might be engaged if he saw that you could meet all his qualifications when in Society, even if in a private sphere you didn’t?”
The silence on the part of his sister was quite surprising to Isaac. Nearly as surprising as the small tidbits Lydia had let drop about her own situation, but he was too busy listening to contemplate on those for the moment.
“I don’t know...” Arabella said slowly, obviously thinking it over. “I am sure of his requirements; however... hmmm.” She sighed. “I don’t know if I can change his mind about who I am.”
“You should never change who you are,” Lydia said. “However, if what he’s looking for is a woman who presents herself a certain way when within Society, that is something you can change if you decide to. Many people have public faces which are very different from their private, not necessarily in a negative manner, but just that we are freer from expectations and some manners when we are private or with those closest to us.”
“That’s true,” Arabella mused. “My friend, Cynthia, has what she calls her ‘Countess’ face when she has to interact with the high-steppers. She just imitates her mother-in-law. She’s really very good at it, too. But when it’s just her and me, she’s herself.”
“Exactly like that.”
Another heartfelt sigh. “I suppose I could try that. It will take so much longer though.”
“Many things that are worthwhile don’t come quickly, and if they did, they might not be so worthwhile.”
“So why did you drug Isaac?”
His breath caught, his chest tightened. It was apparent his wife and his sister had already established a rapport between them, but now he was torn. While he desperately wanted to know the answer, he also knew he would be incredibly hurt if Lydia chose to confide in Arabella now, when she’d been stubbornly enduring spankings from him to avoid doing so.
The long pause dragged on, and his chest began to hurt from holding the air in, yet he couldn’t release.
“I needed to marry so I need not return home,” Lydia said finally, and Isaac slowly let out his breath as his chest burned. The same as she’d told him, but no new information... he didn’t know whether he was relieved or disappointed. “However, drugging a man into marriage is not a course of action I would recommend.”
“Do you regret it?”
Isaac found himself holding his breath again.
His wife’s answer was slow. Measured. Considered.
“I regret the manner... I wish we could have married more conventionally.” Now she sounded wistful. Regretful.
“Well, I’m glad you did it. The ninnyhammers he was considering... I knew as soon as I heard you correct that twist Melbourn that you were much more my brother’s speed.” Arabella snorted derisively. “Sometimes men can be such dunces. Not one of those cabbageheads would have made him happy. He’s like - like my gentleman. They have ideas in their head of the ideal woman and don’t even think about whether or not living with such a woman would actually make them happy.”
Shaking his head, Isaac had to hold back a snort of his own. His sister didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. The whole reason he’d remained unengaged at the end of the Season was because he hadn’t been able to stomach any of the ninnyhammers and flibbertigibbets. Of course, he’d finally given in, thinking there was nothing else on offer...
Arabella was correct in one regard, however. If Lydia would just give up her secrets, she would certainly make him happier than any of the other young ladies he’d been introduced to.
As the two ladies left the room, their conversation now focused on what Arabella could do to improve her ‘public face,’ Isaac realized his wife was also having the desired good influence on his sister. Something which he’d worried might not happen. He hadn’t been sure he could trust Lydia to be a good influence on Arabella.
Coming out of the shadows, Isaac frowned at the closed door of the library, which Arabella and Lydia had disappeared through.
His wife was full of contradictions which defied understanding.
Still, for the first time in days, he didn’t feel angry or resentful... if anything, he felt almost hopeful.
The face which Lydia showed him was the same as she showed his sister, despite Arabella’s rather blatant invitation to show a more manipulative, more scheming side. Instead, Lydia had resisted. She’d expressed what sounded like sincere regret, even if she still didn’t divulge her reasons. And then she’d counseled Arabella in exactly the direction Isaac would have wanted, and far more convincingly than Isaac probably could have done. Not only had she turned Arabella aside from the idea of trapping a man into marriage, she’d done so in a manner that encouraged his hoyden of a sister to behave more circumspectly in Society without actually trying to change the core of who Arabella was.
In this, as in so many things, Lydia was proving herself to be everything he’d wanted in a wife - no matter what his sister thought he’d wanted. But Lydia was also correct on another point: he would have much preferred their marriage had come about in the conventional manner.
But if she hadn’t made the choices she did, Isaac might have chosen one of the young ladies at the party and by the time he might have met her next Season, he would have already been married. Even if he hadn’t forced himself to swallow his distaste and pick a likely chit, she would have had to live with whatever had driven her to escape her home until next Season.
Still frowning, Isaac left the library. He had a lot to think on.
Chapter 11
Dinner with her new brother and sister-in-law had been surprisingly easy. Somehow, the awkward, stilted formality between herself and Isaac had given way to something more like what they’d enjoyed the first couple of nights at the Chase. Benedict took his cue from Isaac and was both watchful and friendly, and she and Arabella were already on their way to becoming friends even before dinner.
She was relieved she’d been able to counsel Arabella to a more palatable approach to romance, and even more relieved she’d been able to dodge her sister-in-law’s questions about her own motivations without causing offense. Arabella was relentless, but also easily distracted by her own concerns. Especially as she truly did seem to have great regard for the man in question. She was still refusing to use his name, but as Lydia was keeping her own secrets, she couldn’t exactly protest Arabella’s.
“Gabrielle is completely settled in as Mrs. Hood now,” Arabella said brightly. She and Benedict had been updating Isaac on the friends they’d visited coming home from the Chesterfields, deliberately extending their stay away from home. “Felix bought the most darling house, right on the edge of Chipping Norton. They’re close enough to Hood lands that his mother needn’t spend the night when she visits, but far enough that she doesn’t visit every day.” Her eyes glinted in appreciation as both Isaac and Lydia chuckled.
Even though Lydia didn’t know the people in question, she was still amused by the deviousness of the gentleman’s housing choices. Gabrielle was Arabella’s best friend, recently married to the youngest son of a Viscount, and the first bride in a family with three sons and no daughters. From the sounds of it, the Viscountess was beyond thrilled to finally have a daughter to dote on.
“We’re having a ball in two weeks,” Lydia said, glancing at Isaac, who smiled and nodded at her opening gambit. His approval and smile made her heart feel lighter than it had in days, warmth happily filling her chest. “All the neighbors will be invited, but we thought to invite some friends to stay as well. Would you like me to include the Hoods on the guest list?”
“Oh yes, please,” Arabella said, delightedly clapping her hands together. She shot her brother a dirty look. “I can’t believe they weren’t already.”
Isaac shrugged. “We hadn’t finalized a list of who was to stay with us. For all I knew, you and Gabrielle might have a falling out. It wouldn’t be the first time you’d done that with one of your friends.”
“Gabrielle is different! For one, she never wanted to land you,” Arabella said, sounding affronted. Lydia choked back a laugh at Arabella’s tone, which made it sound as though she couldn’t understand why anyone would want to land Isaac. Hearing the small sound, Arabella looked at Lydia and appeared slightly abashed. “Not that I’m faulting your taste, Lydia, but when choosing a best friend, I always very much wanted one whose main interest wasn’t my older brother.”
“Perfectly understandable,” Lydia assured her, wiping off her lips with a napkin to try and hide her lingering smile. She found Arabella’s blunt ways refreshing, although she could understand why some in Society might frown on her for them. She hoped whoever this gentleman of Arabella’s was, he would appreciate her spirit and not try to crush it... not that she thought Arabella would stand for that. Any man trying to crush Arabella’s spirit would quickly find himself miserable in turn.
“So now that Gabrielle’s safely married, we can expect you to be bosom friends with her for the rest of your life?” Benedict teased.
Arabella nodded decisively. “Exactly. Besides, she was always more interesting than anyone else in our set.”
“A little too interesting at times,” Isaac observed dryly, his tone somewhat repressive.
“Well, now she’s safely married, so that’s over with too,” Benedict said with a laugh. Having heard the story from Arabella, Lydia smiled. Gabrielle’s path to marriage had been quite dramatic, in an entirely different way from Lydia’s, but she’d found her true happiness. Lydia wished she could do the same. Still grinning, Benedict turned to Lydia. “We should really invite all of the Hoods. We became rather good friends with all of them while we were guarding the two troublemakers during the Season.” Arabella sniffed, but didn’t protest the moniker.
Isaac nodded. “Thomas and Walter. We should also invite the Stanleys.” Lydia noticed Arabella making a small face, and her mind swiftly made the connection. The Stanleys were the Marquess and Marchesse of Dunbury, and the Marchesse was Gabrielle’s stepmother. Their relationship sounded rather fraught.
“Hyde and his wife should definitely be added to the list - although I believe Lady Hyde is increasing again, and they wanted to spend some time with their firstborn now the Season is over.”
“Petersham’s and his wife as well,” Isaac mused. “They quit the Season early. We should still invite them however.”
“Don’t forget Wesley and Cynthia,” Arabella said, sounding somewhat aggrieved. Isaac shot her an amused look.
“They were already on the list,” he said. “Lydia insisted.”
Lydia blushed as all three siblings turned to look at her. Although she’d only met the Countess of Spencer that one time, she’d made quite an impression. And Lydia needed friends. When Isaac had asked her whom she wanted to include, the list had been embarrassingly short. Lydia hadn’t made many friends during the Season. Debutantes her age had been in short supply. The younger set had been quite friendly with Amy, but Lydia had had little in common with them - especially with her status as a bluestocking. The Countess had been shocking but helpful, and quite friendly. She’d immediately sprung to Lydia’s mind. Especially as she’d already known the Countess was friends with Arabella, and the Earl had seemed friends with Isaac.
“We met at the Chesterfields,” Lydia said, by way of explanation. “She was quite kind.”
Benedict laughed. “That might be the first time I’ve heard the first word anyone used to describe Cynthia as kind. She is, but it’s not the first impression she usually makes.”
Biting her lip, Lydia shrugged and giggled, unable to gainsay that observation.
Seeing how Lydia responded to Benedict’s jokes and teasing, Isaac felt a pang of envy. Whenever he teased or flirted, he always felt rather stupid doing so. But he wanted to make his wife giggle too. She looked more relaxed, happier. Not because of him.
Perhaps it was the lot of the elder to be more serious minded. Having just mentioned the Hoods, he could see the similarities. He and Thomas were both the eldest, both the most responsible and most serious. They both tended towards sternness - or, as Arabella might call it, stuffiness. Walter and Benedict, as the second-born, were both jokers and pranksters but with a serious core to them. The youngest, Arabella and Felix, were the least serious - although marriage had sobered Felix quite a bit, as had the chase his wife had led him before the wedding. Thinking about the gentleman Arabella had described to Lydia, Isaac could only hope for a similar effect. He loved his sister, but she skated close to the line of respectability far too often, endangering her reputation and that of the entire family’s at times. In fact, if she wasn’t a Duke’s sister and therefore given some leeway for her behavior, Society would not have tolerated her fits and starts so well.
She could be shockingly rude when she chose to. Granted, those who received her disfavor had often earned it, but sometimes her behavior was entirely unhelpful. And she did herself no favors by lowering her own behavior to their level. In many ways, she would do much better to emulate the Countess of Spencer.
Considered by the ton to be an Original, the Countess’ behavior could often skirt the line of propriety. However, when someone earned her approbation, she drew in her outrage rather than venting it, and would coldly but very properly tear the person in question to pieces without stepping a toe out of line. She was nearly as terrifying as the Dowager-Countess of Spencer when she did so, and the Dowager-Countess was one of the most intimidating old dragons in Society.
