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Chapter Nineteen
Evelina’s willpower left her stewing in her bedroom for the majority of the afternoon, all the way into evening. She skipped lunch, and turned down tea when a subdued Matilda attempted to deliver it later in the day.
It wasn’t until Diana arrived after supper with Evelina’s portion that she dared to soften.
“You could have gotten a servant to deliver this,” Evelina told her sister, after coming to the conclusion that she didn’t have the heart to send her away and accepting the steaming hot dish.
Diana sat down at the little stool at Evelina’s vanity. She offered a small smile. “Had I sent Matilda again, you would have just turned her away a second time. What benefit does it serve for you to starve yourself?”
“I am not trying to starve myself. Father said I am not to leave my quarters until I ‘come to my senses.’ Unfortunately, he and I have a very different idea as to what counts as ‘sensible.’”
Diana nodded slowly. “So, I’ve heard.”
Evelina had just begun to pick at her food—a rich beef stew with hearty potatoes—when Diana’s words landed. The food instantly took on a sour appearance, and Evelina’s appetite evaporated. “You’re here on our parents’ behalf, then.”
“Does it have to be so divided?” Diana asked. “I would like to think the four of us are always at leasttryingto operate on one another’s behalf.”
Until recently, Evelina had thought the same. Yet Father’s cruel insinuation—that Evelina’s marriage to Jerome was a good match purely because of how it might serve their business interests—weighed heavily.
She wondered whether her parents had shared the full details of their conversation with Diana, and if they hadn’t, whether it would be cruel, to do so now. She did not want to burden Diana with her own problems, or speak ill of their parents.
“I saw you dancing with that auburn-haired gentleman at Almack's,” Evelina said instead, shifting the subject. “Do you see any promise there?”
She need not have requested a vocal answer; Diana’s heavy blush was answer enough. “He is a Marquess. Mother finds both him and his family rather charming.”
“And by ‘Mother,’ I take it you mean yourself as well?”
“It…would not be untrue.”
Evelina smiled at Diana’s shyness. It seemed months ago now that they had attended that first dress fitting at the start of the Season. How had it only been two weeks?
“I’m happy for you,” Evelina said, setting her plate aside, largely untouched. “It has taken me three seasons to find a gentleman who truly captures my interest. It brings me joy to know you likely won’t have to repeat such an arduous process.”
Diana’s face lit up. “You mean to say you are coming around to the Marquess of Newhey after all?”
Evelina’s attempt at benevolence soured. When she brought up the man who had caught her attention, why did everyone keep assuming she was speaking of Jerome?
Diana frowned. “Have I…said something wrong?”
Despite her moment of irritation, Evelina could not stay mad at Diana. Out of everyone, she knew her little sister truly did have her best interests at heart, even if she did not always know how best to show it.
“No, no, Diana, it is no fault of yours that I am frustrated. The fact of the matter is, at Vauxhall Gardens and at Almack’s ball, I have been… conversing…with the Duke of Elvington, Thomas Russell. He has said that he means to come calling and begin a proper courtship, but our Father and his apparently had some bad business together, and now…”
For the first time since her father had called her to his study that afternoon, Evelina’s anger flipped into sadness. She wasn’t really mad; she never had been. It wasn’t even really about Thomas.
Evelina was grieving the agency she thought she’d had within her own family. Father’s insistence that she marry Jerome, with complete disregard to her own preferences, had proven that it wasn’t only potential suitors who saw her as no more than an object. It was her own parents as well.
She knew she’d taken a long time to find a man she wanted to marry. She knew Mother especially had been growing impatient over the situation.
But how could they do this to her?
Diana must have sensed Evelina’s growing distress, for she left the vanity and came to sit alongside Evelina on the bed. She took Evelina’s hands in her own and stroked her knuckles. “It will be all right, Evelina. If you are truly so against the Marquess, I am sure Mother and Father will come around.”
“I thought so as well, but now I am beginning to doubt it more and more.” Evelina realized she was crying. She wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. “Father seems quite set in his intentions. And Mother would hardly allow an engagement to be agreed to, only to break it later on.”
Diana nodded slowly. She opened her mouth once, then closed it, apparently recognizing that any protest she might make would be a weak one. At last, she repeated, “It will be all right, Evelina.”
For the first time, Evelina felt the full weight of her situation. A sob wracked her chest.
“Oh, Evelina,” said Diana, and took her into her arms. Embarrassed and afraid, Evelina cried openly into her little sister’s hair.
She still had faith in Thomas; he would get to the bottom of the bad blood between their families, and once he did, he would win over her father, as well. He was kind and charming and intelligent; anyone would see that, if they just gave him a chance.
Yet if Jerome solidified the engagement pact with her parents before Thomas could make the situation right, Evelina’s hands truly would be tied in the matter. If only they had moretime.
Evelina’s tears cut off. She pushed herself back from her sister. “Diana,” she said, desperate to cling to this sudden spark of hope, “I have an idea.”
