Mercy couldn’t respond. Rosalind was making no sense. In no version of her world did Rosalind and Richard not belong together.
“Oh.” Rosalind patted Mercy’s shoulder. “I’ve worried you. Don’t fret. If you don’t want to marry this duke, I can wait a while longer. Not too much longer, mind you. Richard is bound to start talking at some point, and I’m positively dying to get on the boat to Austria.”
“Austria?” That wasn’t even in the country, and already Rosalind’s letters had been arriving less and less frequently. How would she survive with her sister so far away? “Rosalind, why are you going to Austria? It is so far away from us, and from Richard—”
“I need you to stop speaking of Richard.” Rosalind’s face had a hard edge she’d never seen before. But then it softened in to the dreamy-eyed sister she’d always loved. “I’ve fallen in love with someone else, and Mercy, it is as if the whole world was dull and now I see the brightest of colors. And not just colors, the sounds, oh, the beautiful sounds that follow me now.” Rosalind grabbed Mercy by the shoulders. “If the duke doesn’t make you feel as though you would burn the world for him, don’t marry him. Especially not on my account.”
Mercy was going to be sick. How could the world be full of light one minute and then fog the next? “Who is it?” Were the only words Mercy could muster.
Rosalind’s smile widened. “That is the best part. You know him. Or rather, you know of him. If you could meet one composer, just one, in your whole lifetime, who would you pick?”
A composer? What in the world was Rosalind talking about? Mercy had never been as proficient at the pianoforte as Rosalind. But she did know which composer Rosalind would pick. “Dobler?”
Rosalind clapped her hands and then hugged herself. “Yes! Dobler, Martin Dobler.”
“But . . . Dobler is married, isn’t he?”
Rosalind waved a hand in the air. “He was, or rather he has been, a few times. But we don’t care about that.”
Mercy opened her mouth to ask another question, but the look in Rosalind’s eyes told her she would not appreciate Mercy questioning her about the man’s age. He had to be at least as old as Papa. Mercy stood. Her legs shook beneath her, but she had to leave. She couldn’t sit with Rosalind while she had that look in her eye. “I need a minute. I need to speak with Mama and Papa, I need to...” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence. There wasn’t anything she could do to fix or even understandthis situation, but she needed to try.
Rosalind pulled her face into a pout. “Oh, all right, but hurry back. I haven’t seen you for ages.”
Mercy ran back down the corridor. She must have misunderstood Rosalind. Or perhaps the whole business was some sort of sordid trick Rosalind was playing on her. Richard waseverythingto Rosalind. She wouldn’t throw that away simply because some other man could string notes together.
Mercy threw open the door to Mama’s room. Both of her parents were still there. “Papa, you must stop her. She loved Richard. I know she did.”
Papa shook his head. “I tried. Mercy, you must believe me. I tried. I brought her here to try to speak sense to her and get her away from Dobler, but she screamed for the first half hour of our journey and assured me that she would scream all day while in our home and escape the first opportunity she had. She nearly jumped from the carriage multiple times. I did everything I could, save from drugging her or putting her into an institution. And it isn’t like Dobler has no power. If I had put her in a home, he would have used his influence to get her out.” Papa’s head fell to his hands again. “I couldn’t lock up my child. And she promised us she could be discrete until you were wed, as long as it did not take you too long.”
Mercy’s head would not stop shaking. She couldn’t believe it. Not any of it. None of this could be true.
Mama made a strangled noise in her throat. “This is all our fault. Your father and I have been so happy in marriage. We wanted the same for our children. We always encouraged you to use your hearts, but we should have encouraged you to use your heads as well.”
“No, Mama.” Mercy shook her head harder. “That’s not true.”
But flashes of her time alone with Nicholas only a moment ago made her breath catch. She had received the attentions ofan upstanding young gentleman. A man any woman in London would be happy to marry, and not only for his position in Society, but for his looks and character as well. And she had nearly let him go because she hadn’t felt properly pursued. What if a man like Dobler had entered her life first? Charming and smooth, with stolen kisses expected, not warded against.
She’d been ripe for the taking. It wouldn’t have taken much persuading for a man to convince her she was hopelessly in love with him.
The fact that Nicholas had been such a gentleman with her, when she had encouraged him to be otherwise... She started pacing back and forth. Her feet would not be still. It was as if everything she’d ever believed in was crashing down around her.
And Nicholas. What must he think of her?
She shook her head. No. It was all right. They were engaged. Or practically engaged. Other than some breathtaking kisses, they hadn’t done anything truly wrong. Luckily one of them had made certain of that.
Papa brushed a stray tendril of hair off her face. “I didn’t want to tell you, but I don’t know how much longer Rosalind will be able to keep her double life a secret. Richard has already left the country, she is alone, and I have heard that Dobler has taken up residence near her. It would be best if you were safely married before her scandal becomes public knowledge. Scandal won’t bother your mother and I. Our hearts are broken by your sister’s choices, and we cannot fathom her new path leading to the type of happiness we had always hoped for her. But it isn’t too late for you. Harrington will protect you. His name can absorb a multitude of sins without facing the consequences that any other husband might face.”
“What?” Mercy’s legs stopped their frantic movements.
Mama smoothed down her hair. “The duke is perfect for you. Don’t you see? No one will dare spurn you. There will be talk.There is always talk. But as a duke, he can be surrounded by scandal without it really affecting him.”
Mercy’s hands started shaking, and moisture started pooling in her eyes. Scandal would most definitely affect Nicholas. Just not in the way Mama thought. He’d spent the past three years building an impeccable reputation. He counted on it, and even though he’d shown her how thoroughly attracted he was to her, it was her name and title that had first put her in his path.
He wanted to marry in order to solidify his upstanding reputation.
Mercy would destroy it.
He would be forced to do the one thing he hated more than anything in the world—use his title as a shelter for indiscretions.
