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The lady looked at it curiously. “I daresay it is quite remarkable,” she murmured, as she held it up to the light and inspected it.
But when a sharp gasp came from the other side of the room, Olivia looked over to see that Isadora was clutching her skirts and her face had leeched of all color. Her focus was riveted on the ring. “Where did you get that?” she breathed, a slight tremor in her voice.
“Miles found it in Father’s desk in the study. I had never seen it before, so…” Olivia’s voice trailed off, for her sister had such an odd look on her face. It was like nothing she’d ever seen. Isadora was normally so careful in concealing her true emotions, but it was obvious that this particular piece of jewelry disturbed her because she knew exactly what it was—or perhaps, what it represented.
“Isadora?” Araminta addressed her. “What is it?”
“That ring…” That was all she got out before her throat worked as she swallowed, as if trying to gain the words needed to explain, or maybe it was the courage to do so. “I recognize it…”
She drifted off once more and Araminta prompted. “We gathered that, dearest. But can you tell us why it seems to upset you so?”
Isadora’s voice was haunting. “Because father had intended to marry again, and that was the ring he bought for his intended bride.”
Chapter Seventeen
Olivia nearly dropped the ring after Isadora’s pronouncement, as Araminta and Calliope’s eyes slid to the item in question and silence fell across the room.
Isa was the first to break the trance that seemed to capture them all as she strode forward and took the ring out of Olivia’s frozen fingers. She laid it in her palm and then closed her hand around it, as if that might close it off from memory.
“Are you quite certain you aren’t mistaken, Isa?” Araminta was the next to recover. “I never knew of any plans that father had to marry again.”
Isadora nodded her dark head. “Yes. I happened to stumble across the jeweler’s receipt when I was assisting with the ledgers just a few weeks before he passed.”
“But he said he would never marry again,” Calliope interjected somberly. It was the first time in years that her voice didn’t carry a sarcastic mien, which told Olivia that this was serious, indeed.
“Apparently, he changed his mind,” Isadora noted dryly.
“I daresay he wasn’t away from home long enough to court anyone,” Araminta said thoughtfully, obviously trying to make sense of this shocking revelation. “His visits to London to see the solicitor were few and far between.” She looked at Isa. “Do you know who the woman was?”
“No,” Isadora returned flatly. It was apparent that it wasn’t a subject she wanted to discuss and had rather hoped to forget. Olivia was feeling very much the same. She could only imagine what the duchess was thinking at this moment, for she was merely sipping her tea and remaining silent on the matter.
“I suppose there would have been nothing wrong if he’d wanted to marry again,” Araminta continued. “He was seven and fifty when he died. It stands to reason that he might have envisioned a lonely life once we were gone.”
Olivia wanted to point out that she would have remained at Marlington Hall as long as her father would have allowed it, but she kept her thoughts to herself, knowing that it wouldn’t help the current situation.
“Do you think he had fallen in love again?”
Olivia glanced at Calliope, who had spoken, but had no comment. It wasn’t something she had even considered, but perhaps he had met someone in London without their knowledge. After all, he wasn’t under any obligation to discuss such things with his offspring, no matter how close they might have been.
“I can’t say,” Isadora demurred. “Although I was under the impression that there was evidence of a possible marriage contract.”
Araminta blinked, her gray eyes widening. “How is it that this information never reached the rest of us?”
Isadora lifted her chin. “Because I asked the solicitor not to mention it. I saw no reason to upset the rest of you unnecessarily when the issue was no longer of any concern. Father was gone and there was no need to add more confusion to our grief.”
“But surely something of this magnitude—”
“Enough, Minty!” Olivia blinked when Isadora rose her voice. It wasn’t in her character to do so. She normally kept a level head and allowed Araminta to do most of the scolding. But this was obviously a sensitive subject for her. She clutched her hand where she still held the ring and turned away. “If you’ll excuse me…” she murmured, and then quit the room.
Araminta stood and bobbed a quick curtsy to the duchess, who still had yet to say anything. “Pardon me, Your Grace.” She rushed out of the room.
“Well, that was certainly… interesting.” Calliope noted with a bright smile that didn’t quite meet her green eyes. She stood, and although she gave Olivia a regrettable glance, she offered her respects to the duchess. “I should make sure they don’t murder each other,” she muttered.
Olivia’s nerves were strung tight as Calliope departed, but considering she was the last one left to entertain the duchess, and considering they had been in the process of discussing wedding plans, it didn’t matter how much she might want to escape, it was her duty to play the gracious hostess. It was just unfortunate that she had to be party to such an intimate family discussion.
In order to try and break up the sudden awkwardness in the room, she turned to the lady. “I’m sorry about that, Your Grace. I daresay it was a conversation best left for another time.”
She smiled gently. “Please, call me Alexandra. I think it’s past time for the formalities, especially considering we are about to become family ourselves.” She paused and set aside her teacup and saucer, her expression turning thoughtful as she returned her green eyes to Olivia. “And don’t concern yourself over this recent issue. Everyone suffers from some sort of disparaging past, even if most of the people in society would like to imagine that they never made a misstep or had any sort of trouble befall them.” She sighed heavily. “I forget that sometimes my own life has been littered with tragedy. Not only did my husband die, but I had to watch Miles fight for his life after the war. I was worried that he might never recover, and I am not referring to any outward scars.”
