Winston’s heart started to ache with unspoken words and unrealized dreams. He had to find a way to live with his feelings, to accept that Mattie could only ever be his friend. Yet deep down, he knew that would never be enough. Not for him.
But for now, he would have to be content with her friendship, even if it meant hiding the depth of his love. It was a small price to pay to keep Mattie in his life, and he would bear it, no matter how much it hurt.
Mattie stepped into the cottage. Her mind was filled with a whirlwind of questions. What had just happened between her and Winston? They had been so vulnerable with one another, and she felt as if they had truly connected. But then, it appeared as if he had pushed her away. Again. Why did he keep doing that?
She couldn’t help but care for him deeply, even though she knew it was not reciprocated in the same way. They were nothing more than friends, and she tried to be content with that. She refused to spend her days pining after a man who would never fully let her in.
As she entered the drawing room, Emma jumped up from the settee to greet her. “Where have you been?”
“I went for a walk with Lord Winston,” Mattie responded, knowing she didn’t owe Emma an explanation.
“You were gone for quite some time,” Emma observed. “What did you two discuss?”
Mattie raised an eyebrow, having no intention of betraying Winston’s confidences to anyone, much less her sister. “Why do you ask?”
“Did Lord Winston happen to mention me?” Emma asked eagerly.
With a perplexed look, Mattie inquired, “Why would Lord Winston mention you?”
Emma shrugged her shoulder. “No particular reason,” she replied.
Mattie turned her attention towards Franny, who was engrossed in a book on the settee. “Would you like to go for a walk with me before supper?”
Franny looked up from her book. “That sounds lovely.”
“What of me?” Emma interjected. “Can I not come along?”
Suppressing a sigh, Mattie replied, “If you wish.”
Emma lifted her chin. “I think I shall,” she declared. “I am dreadfully bored, and Father won’t allow me to go into the village to shop for more ribbons.”
“Do I need to remind you, yet again, that we are in mourning?” Mattie remarked.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t wear pretty things,” Emma retorted as she turned to show off the pink ribbon in her hair.
Mattie rolled her eyes. “You aren’t supposed to wear such bright colors in mourning.”
“Who is going to notice, Mattie?” Emma drawled. “The woodland creatures?”
Rising from her seat, Franny said, “Let me go grab my shawl.”
As Franny walked up the stairs, Mattie gave her sister a disapproving look. “You should at least make an effort to mournproperly.”
“I think this is a good compromise,” Emma argued as she reached back and touched the pink ribbon in her hair.
Mattie saw no point in continuing this argument, so she was relieved when her father stepped into the drawing room. “May I speak with you for a moment in the study, Mattie?”
“Of course, Father,” Mattie responded before she followed him into the study.
Her father closed the door behind him. “I was hoping to keep this conversation private,” he said.
“Is everything all right?”
He went to sit down behind his desk. “Emma has been rather relentless about her debut,” he began. “What if you both debuted together?”
Mattie’s eyes went wide in disbelief. “Surely, you cannot be in earnest?”
Her father raised a hand to silence her objections. “Hear me out,” he responded. “You and Emma are very different, and it is not as if you are competing for the same type of suitors.”
