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“Why do that?” Marcella’s father asked. “You could attend Cambridge like your father and I.”
“I don’t know if I’d feel at home in Cambridge,” Lord Reginald replied, “although learning is always a worthy goal.”
“Well,” Claudia said. “In truth, I wanted to surprise the both of you with something. There is a special license which you can obtain, which allows for a very quick marriage. You need not wait very long for a marriage at all.”
Marcella felt as though her heart had plummeted right into her stomach. She could sense precisely where her stepmother’s words were going. Not only was her stepmother intent on forcing her into a marriage, but she was intent on doing so quickly, which left Marcella with less time to convince Lord Reginald to break the engagement.
“That is something which Lady Marcella and I will certainly keep in mind to look into,” Lord Reginald replied. “Thank you for recommending that.”
“You don’t need to look into it at all,” Marcella’s father replied. “My dear wife has already taken care of it.”
Of course she had! Marcella clenched her jaw, indignation sparking a fire inside her. Hadn’t Claudia herself gotten to choose who she wanted to marry? Hadn’t she been given the freedom to make her own match?
How can she, a woman, take this choice away from me?
“That’s…very thoughtful of you,” Lord Reginald said.
With some satisfaction, Marcella noted that he seemed to be at a loss for words. He wasn’t especially thrilled with the two of them hurrying into marriage, either. That was better than his whole-hearted agreement.
“I think that will please your father,” Marcella’s father said. “Don’t you? A quick marriage to my dear daughter.”
It all somehow stung worse knowing that her own father was also turned against her. He’d never been the most emotional of men. Marcella had never been entirely sure that her father enjoyed her company. He loved her, of course, but his love had always felt like a sort of paternal obligation to Marcella. To see him do something like this, though, to continually side with Claudia…
“What do you think of this, Lady Marcella?” Lord Reginald asked.
He looked at her with his fine-boned face and bright eyes, and Marcella heard the sound of her own heartbeat echoing inside her head. She didn’t dare speak. If she did, no one would like the words which came from her lips.
“I fear we’ve stunned her, and now, she has no words for us,” Claudia said.
Oh, you know exactly what you’ve done!
Marcella stood and braced her hands against the table before her. She was slow to anger, and she’d never felt such raw, unbridled fury before. What was she to do with it? She wanted to scream and rage like some wild, trapped thing. Not only was it quite clear that neither her father nor her stepmother cared if she wanted to marry Lord Reginald, but now, they were determined to make the process happen more quickly!
They hadn’t consulted her with their plan, either. Instead, they’d done it without her andthenchosen to reveal it right in front of Lord Reginald. With a rush of anger, Marcella realizedwhy.
They hoped I wouldn’t argue in front of my intended. They hoped this would keep me silent, so that I’d happily agree and be unable to find a way out of this.
“What are you doing?” Claudia asked. “Sit down, dear.”
How could she? Marcella took a steadying breath. She needed to say something, but she didn’t want to say something that she might regret later. So many words flew through her mind, and she dismissed them quickly. She didn’t want to be cruel, even iftheywere going to be cruel.
A knot seemed to tie itself inside Marcella’s chest. She should’ve expected this, but the whole situation felt like such a deep, profound betrayal that she couldn’t even find the words to describe it.
“I’m going for a ride,” Marcella said, her voice shaking.
Claudia let out a nervous laugh. When Marcella looked at her father, he seemed shocked, as though he was seeing her for the first time. It was impossible to tellwhatprecisely he saw in her, but Marcella was beginning to feel as though she was an utter disappointment, regardless of what she might do. When Lord Reginald was gone, her father would probably tell her how she’d embarrassed him. He’d call her a disappointment, and Marcella would see that same unspoken desire in his eyes that she’d seen for years.
Her father had only ever wanted a son, and because Marcella wasn’t that desired heir, he’d never loved her quite as much as she wanted. There was a little solace in that. Even if Marcella had been a perfect lady, she still doubted that her father would’ve loved her with all his heart.
“Then, let’s go for a ride,” Lord Reginald said. “That sounds delightful. I’ve forgotten much in my absence, but I am still quite good in a saddle.”
He didn’t know the full story of what he was witnessing, and Marcella couldn’t fault him for trying to make the best of an awkward situation. If he’d been courting Adeline instead of herself, she might’ve even admired the quickness of his thoughts. He was a man who found problems and sought solutions. That showed an admirable amount of initiative.
“I didn’t saywe,” Marcella replied, moving quickly. “Please, My Lord. I—I’m sorry. I know I’ve been cruel to you, and I oughtn’t have. But I—I just need a moment.”
Lord Reginald stared at her for a long moment. Finally, he gave a tiny, consenting nod.
“We’re speaking with Lord Reginald, who’s come all this way!” Marcella’s father exclaimed suddenly. “You cannot possibly go on a ride right now! What on Earth are you thinking?”
Marcella halted at the drawing room entrance. She dug her nails into the palms of her hands and steadied herself. Years of doing what she was told and her own inevitable marriage loomed behind and before her, and she felt that if she turned around and looked at her father, she’d never be able to defy him.
She forced down the lump in her throat and fixed her eyes forward. Marcella imagined herself a Joan of Arc, preparing to lead the French armies into victory. “I am going for a ride. This isn’t open to discussion. I’m well aware that Lord Reginald has come all this way, and I’m not preventing him from speaking with either you or my stepmother. But I—I am sorry if I’ve ruined his trip or if I’ve hurt him. That’s all, though.”
Then, drowning out the protestations that rose behind her, Marcella left the drawing room.
