Dear Emery,
I wanted you to have this bouquet of flowers--picked myself from the best flower shop in London--to show both my admiration for how well you did last night and to demonstratemy apologies for getting so angry at the sight of Henry with Miss Holloway and leaving so abruptly. I should have stayed with you and regret very much leaving. You looked so beautiful last night, and although the focus was on Leah’s debut, it was also your debut, and for that, I am immensely proud. Not only am I proud, but I am honored to have been the man who got to have you on his arm during such a momentous occasion. You were a diamond of the first water last night, and I congratulate you on your marvelous debut into Society. I know that as you come into your own as the Duchess of Dredford, that you will lead the ton with as much grace, warmth, kindness, and intelligence as you already lead your life.
My best regards,
Lucien
Emery stared down at the letter, hardly believing it. Her hand was still shaking, but this time, she knew it was for different reasons.He sent me flowers! He thought I looked beautiful last night! And he thinks I will become a leader of theton!
“Well?” Eve demanded, her tone impatient. “Who is it from?”
“Don’t be so nosey, Eve!” Emery heard Leah say. “Perhaps she does not want to tell us.”
Emery looked up from the letter. All three of her sisters-in-law were now gathered around her, staring at her with hungry expressions on their faces. Even Leah looked deeply curiousabout the identity of the man who had sent the flowers, although Emery could tell she was trying not to show it.
“We won’t tell Lucien, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Eve whispered, giving Emery a mischievous grin.
“It would be alright if you did tell him,” Emery said, folding the letter back up and putting it in her pocket. “It is from him.”
All three sisters blinked, their eyes growing wider, as if unsure what to make of this.
“From Lucien…” Leah said slowly. “That is… very generous of him. These flowers must have cost as much as my most recent gown.”
“They are not so fine as those from Lord Burbrooke,” Emery said quickly, gesturing at a nearby bouquet. “Or from Mr. Thompson.”
In fact, the whole parlor was filled with bouquets from Leah’s many admirers, some of which were bigger and even more elaborate than the one Emery had received.
Although secretly, Emery thought none were quite as fine as hers.
Leah, however, was shaking her head, laughing. “Oh, I don’t care about that. I’m just pleasantly surprised that my brother is showing you the attention and care that you deserve. You are hiswife, after all, and last night was your first ball. I know that you never intended to marry Lucien and perhaps would never have chosen him, but I hope that this gesture makes you feel at least a little glad that you became his wife.”
“Of course,” Emery said, the words strange and almost secretive-feeling. She felt as if she were letting her sisters-in-law in on the hidden feelings deep inside of her; the feelings she barely let herself acknowledge. “I’ve been glad for some time that Lucien is my husband.”
“You have?” Celeste asked, her eyes narrowed slightly.
There was a long pause, during which Emery knew she had the opportunity to tell the girls about the feelings that had been building inside of her. And she did consider it. They would understand! They might even be supportive or be able to help her.
But then she remembered Lucien’s words from the night before. I am your jailer. I am the one who took away your happiness.He did not have feelings for her, nor would he ever. That’s why he’d never wanted to marry: because he did not believe in love.
She swallowed, the tears burning in the corners of her eyes, and smiled at the girls.
“Of course I’m glad,” she said with false cheeriness. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have the three of you as sisters!”
This seemed to please Eve and Leah, who hugged her tightly, but when Emery finally released Eve, she saw that Celeste was still watching her with a thoughtful expression.
She knows. Or at least she suspects.
But knew what? That sometimes, Emery maintained a foolish hope that the moments alone with her husband--dancing in the ballroom, being cuddled by him every morning when they woke, dancing together at the Andersons’ Ball--actually meant something? It was silly, and she was only setting herself up for heartbreak. It was better to shove down the feelings, to ignore them, until they went away.
In just a few short months we will be living separately and then I won’t have to think about this anymore.
The thought made her stomach twist with dread.
“I should find your brother,” Emery said, “and thank him for the flowers. Bennet, is he at home?”
The footman nodded. “He is in his study, Your Grace.”
“Very good.” Emery bid goodbye to her sisters-in-law and headed out the door and down the hall to the study, where she knocked lightly before entering.
