“Me? All I am doing is trying to help you, Isolde. Why can you not see that?”
Isolde scoffed. “Perhaps you should ask yourself that question.” She turned and started to walk away.
“Isolde! Where are you going? Come back here!”
Isolde did no such thing. She filtered through the crowd, soon lost among the array of colorful gowns.
What has gotten into that girl!
It was becoming too much for Celestine to handle. She wanted to help her two sisters, but they did not want to be helped. She had never noticed before just how argumentative they were, and how determined they were to do the exact opposite of what she asked them.
Or had it always been this way? And was it only just now that Celestine was starting to realize it…
That was a damning realization and one that Celestine had suspected for some time, ignored fully because she did not want to consider the reason. But as this week had proven resolutely, Celestine was nowhere near as happy and content in her life and her role as she liked to believe.
“Celestine…” her mother’s voice spoke from just over her shoulder.
Celestine suppressed the urge to groan. She was certain her mother was going to snap at her again for having not found her two sisters, and she braced herself as she forced a smile and turned.
“Oh.” Celestine said in surprise. “Mother…”
“There is someone I would like for you to meet,” her mother said curtly. “Lord Grundon, this is my second eldest daughter, Celestine.”
“Charmed,” Lord Grundon said as he took Celestine’s hand without asking and brought it to his lips.
Lord Grundon was a man who Celestine had seen before but did not know personally. He was tall and lithe like a blade with a sharp chin and a long face to match. His dark blonde hair was perfectly combed, and his outfit was expensive and tailored tomake his shoulders appear wider than they were. And his eyes were small and dark and just a little too close together.
Mostly, he was regal in every sense of the word. He stood with a straight back, a pronounced chest, and his face was expressionless in a way that suggested a perfect control of his emotions. Indeed, as he looked Celestine over, she saw no light behind his eyes, and no sense at all that he was the least bit interested in meeting her.
“I am so sorry, Mother,” Celestine said. “I was unable to find Isolde or –”
“Never mind that,” her mother waved her down. “I was telling Lord Grundon all about you and he was so interested in making your acquaintance.”
She blinked at the uptight lord. “Why?”
He chuckled but there was no humor in it. “I have seen you about the ton, Miss Celestine. And where certain rumors drift, I prefer to find out for myself the truth of them.” A smile touched his lips, but it was lifeless. “One rumor I know to be true, however, is that of your beauty. It is unparalleled.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “Thank you.”
“Your mother has been telling me all about you,” he continued plainly. “She has painted quite the portrait. I was wondering ifyou might join me on a small walk? It would be wonderful to get to know you better.”
“I…” Celestine blinked in surprise. “Why?”
He chuckled again; and again, it held no humor. “You were right, Lady Fairbrook. She is as blunt as a hammer. But I find it endearing.”
Celestine looked pointedly at her mother as if demanding an explanation on the spot. Her mother widened her eyes at Celestine and glanced at Lord Grundon as if to warn Celestine off doing or saying anything perverse.
Is she being serious? What would make my mother think that I wanted anything to do with Lord Grundon? Or anybody?
Reality crashed upon Celestine’s shoulders like a tidal wave.
She had been a fool to believe that her recent reputation might save her. She had been a fool to think that there was anything she might do at all. She could cause alarm. She could embarrass herself. She could scare away half the ton. But at the end of the day, she was still a lady, and things like this were expected.
It was just so frustrating! Celestine had convinced herself that she need only worry about her sisters – sisters who did not want to be worried about in the first place! She thought that she was above this nonsense and that she had finally found her place and her calling in this world.
Ultimately, nothing she did would make a difference. Her life was not her own… her sisters’ lives were not their own… they were tools to be used, and nothing was going to change that.
“I… I need…” She looked about the garden party, desperate to get away. “I need to visit the retiring room.”
