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“Time shall tell us,” Elizabeth replied with a grin before she left the room.
She found her sister in her bedchamber, and she was already dressed for travel. Irene rushed to Elizabeth and took her hands. “I was looking for you.”
“I went to see Stella,” Elizabeth replied.
“Is she better?”
“Yes, she is, but we have to travel without her. Poor Helen must manage by herself.”
“Poor Helen,” Irene echoed before pulling Elizabeth to sit on a sofa. “I need your advice. Mother is insisting I do things to capture Lord Guildford’s attention.”
Elizabeth had already made a deal with Rhys that she would no longer interfere in his courtship, and she was unsure of how she should advise her sister. She thought of what she had done to capture his attention and realized that she had not done anything in particular. Everything had happened without either of them intending for it to.
“She showed me how to flutter my lashes behind my fan, but I dislike doing that, Elizabeth,” Irene continued. “I do not want to be artful.”
Elizabeth furtively took a deep breath. “How do you feel about Guildford, Irene?” she asked.
Her sister’s brows furrowed. “He has changed. He is not as charming as he was weeks ago. I still find myself blushing often in his company, but I feel as if he is distracted most of the time, as if something untenable has captured his attention.”
Guilt twisted in Elizabeth’s chest. “You do not have to do what Mother asked you to do to get his attention,” she said. “Act as you feel, and everything will happen as it should. Scheming is unnatural, and I do not believe you will win his heart through that.” She felt as though this was the best advice she could give her sister.
Irene smiled appreciatively. “I knew I could depend on you, Elizabeth. I shall do what my heart wants.”
Elizabeth straightened her shoulders and tried to take in as much air as her tightening chest would allow. “Irene, I have wron—”
“What do you think of Lord Mayton? Will you accept his suit?” her sister asked excitedly, seeming oblivious to Elizabeth’s distress. It was already difficult for Elizabeth to form the words, and now that she had been interrupted, she felt craven.
“I think I will,” she answered, her voice sounding brittle in her ears.
“I think you make a splendid match, Elizabeth,” Irene encouraged.
“Perhaps we do.”
Her sister’s fair brows knit. “Is something the matter?”
This was Elizabeth’s chance to make another attempt at confessing. “I did not mean to—”
The door opened, and their mother entered the room, causing Elizabeth to curse inwardly. “What are you still doing here?” Clarice asked with her hands on her hips. “The carriage is waiting outside, and you are yet to eat breakfast. We cannot be late to Guildford Castle.”
“We are sorry, Mother,” Elizabeth said, rising. “We got distracted.” She took Irene’s hand. “We will go and have breakfast now.”
“Good,” Clarice said, leading the way out of Irene’s bedchamber. “Irene, you will ride with the Dowager and Lord Guildford,” she said as they descended the stairs.
Irene frowned. “Must I? The Dowager is—”
“Yes, you must,” Clarice insisted.
Irene leaned close to Elizabeth. “I do not know why Mother forces me to do things. She never forced you.”
“She wants you to make the best match this season,” Elizabeth whispered with a small smile. “She is very excited for you to capture the heart of the most eligible gentleman this season.”
Their mother had never helped Elizabeth when she debuted even though there had been interested gentlemen that she could have encouraged her to accept. She had simply left her alone. When her second season came, there were neither interested gentlemen nor encouragement from her mother. The difference in the effort and attention Clarice gave Elizabeth and Irene pained Elizabeth, and she tried to dismiss the thought.
* * *
Brutus traveled with Elizabeth for half of the journey and the other half in Rhys’ carriage. Elizabeth told herself it was because the Dowager was fond of him, but she knew it was because Brutus was fond of Rhys now. Knowing she was not the only one under his enchantment made matters difficult for her, and with every mile that took them closer to Dorset, her discomfort grew.
They arrived in the afternoon three days after they had departed London, and when Elizabeth looked out the window, her breath caught at the sight of the castle they approached. She had expected to find a stone castle with battlements and perhaps even a moat, but the imposing structure that stood atop the hill looked like something one would find in Greece or Rome.
