“And after all I have done for you,” her stepmother continued, looking mighty pleased with herself. “You cannot even pretend to be happy. Shame on you, Lucy. Shame.”
Lucy looked from her stepmother to her stepsister. Amelia snarled, her stepmother smirked, and neither looked as if they had any intention of listening to her.
This is why they are here. To remind me of my place. To remind me that no matter what changes, how much I grow, I will always be seen as less.
Why did I think it would be any different?
To make matters worse, Lucy sensed that the day was far from over. If she knew her stepmother, the worst was yet to come.
* * *
“What do you mean, Lady Beatrice Whitcombe is here with her daughter?” Marcus asked the valet who had just entered his office.
“It is as I said, Your Grace, she arrived just ten minutes ago.”
Marcus stared with bewilderment at the valet as if the man was speaking another language. “Uninvited?”
“From what I understand, the visit was arranged yesterday.”
Marcus was in his office, and he had been hard at work when the valet came to see him. Finally, after a week of mental turmoil, he was starting to find himself again, able to push his wife to the back of his mind and pretend that she did not exist.
He wanted it to be that way. No, he needed it, for his own sanity.
However, upon hearing this most surprising bit of news, his work became suddenly forgotten, while his confusion was very quickly replaced with anger.
I understand that Lucy is upset with me. I understand too that she wants little to do with me. But she knows that where the ton is concerned, perception is everything! Just as she knows that this is still my home, and if we have guests, I am to be told.
“Thank you,” he said carefully. “That will be all.”
The valet was quick to hurry from the office then, likely because he sensed Marcus’ anger brewing.
For a few moments, Marcus stayed seated, running through his head what he meant to do. Common sense and good decision making told him that he ought to ignore this visit. He and Lucy had not been in the same room for a week, and he worried what might happen should they be forced to spend time together.
Worse, if Lady Beatrice noticed how awkward things were between them, what she might say, and what she might do, would be catastrophic.
But he could not just sit here and do nothing! No doubt, Lady Beatrice had asked after him, and if he did not make himself known, that would raise further questions.
All that was to say that Marcus had no choice but to intervene.
Just remember to remain calm, Marcus. Go downstairs, greet her, then excuse yourself. Whatever you wish to say to Lucy, can be said later.
He breathed deeply, forcing calm, and then he hurried downstairs.
Marcus knew a little of Lucy’s upbringing, just as he knew a little of her relationship with her stepmother. For this reason, he doubted this visit would be a friendly one, and he reasoned that his intervention might be a good thing.
Also… and this was a thought he tried not to focus on too much… what if Lucy needed him? And what if, his stepping in was a chance for them to get past this last week?
If I am capable of such a thing.
It was when Marcus appeared at the doorway that he came to realize just how much he had underestimated Lucy and Lady Beatrice’s relationship.
“You were always an ungrateful little cretin,” Lady Beatrice said to Lucy. “Ever since you were a girl, nothing was ever good enough for you.”
“No!” Lucy cried. “That is not –”
“And you have always hated your sister.”
“You have!” Lady Amelia was there also, and she pointed an accusing finger at Lucy. “You have always been jealous of me. Admit it.”
