“You just need to be patient,” her grandmother encouraged. “Everything will work out exactly the way it is supposed to.”
“I’m afraid that is just wishful thinking. Not every person is destined for a happy ending.”
“You are still young—”
“I am twenty-two years old.”
Her grandmother gave her an amused look. “That is hardly old.”
“It is when I am competing with a new crop of debutantes every year.”
“I married your grandfather when I was twenty-eight years old,” her grandmother revealed.
Arabella lifted her brow. “You were twenty-eight?”
Her grandmother nodded. “My parents were adamant that I would never wed, despite receiving many offers over the years.”
“Why did you turn them down?”
“I had no desire to enter into a marriage of convenience.”
“But weren’t you afraid of becoming a spinster?”
“I was not,” her grandmother replied. “I knew what I was looking for in a husband, and I refused to compromise.”
“What were you looking for?”
Her grandmother walked over to the settee and sat down. “My father was rather a strict man, but he fiercely loved my mother,” she shared. “I knew from a young age that I wanted a love match.”
“You were most fortunate to have obtained one.”
“It was not without hard work,” her grandmother shared. “Henry and I met at a country ball, and for him, it was love at first sight.”
“But not for you?”
“Heavens, no,” her grandmother replied. “Henry was handsome, but he was entirely too cocky for his own good.”
“Is that so?”
“But he was relentless in his pursuit of me,” her grandmother said. “He called on me every day until I accepted his offer.”
“It sounds as if he wore you down.”
Her grandmother smiled. “Sometimes our first impressions are not correct,” she remarked. “I was wrong about Henry, and he became the love of my life.”
“How I envy you.”
“True love will only get you so far,” her grandmother shared. “It is easy to fall in love, but staying in love is an entirely different matter.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“The first few months of marriage are utter bliss, but it all changes once you start learning about your spouse’s annoying habits.”
“Did Grandfather have any annoying habits?”
“Yes, he was a loud chewer,” her grandmother revealed. “It would grate on my ears as I ate with him.”
“What did you do?”
