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Chapter Five
Dinah slipped from her room and out into the corridor. She hadn’t left her room once in the past three days, not since that horrid night when she and Lord Stanton had been caught coming home together.
Of all the awful situations in which to find herself. Dinah had hoped, when she’d first come to London, that she might make a match. That was the whole purpose, after all. But what she’d truly longed for waslove. The thrill of courtship. The bliss of finding that one person...
Now that would never happen for her.
Dinah looked about as she noiselessly made her way toward the stairs. She’d been informed by Charlotte that Lord Stanton had come to see Father, that a common license had been obtained, and that matters were settled. Tomorrow was the day.
Tomorrow, she would be Lady Stanton.
Dinah’s stomach churned. She wasn’t at all confident she could make it through the day. And if Lord Stanton was feeling even half so lousy over this as she was, she needed to speak to him. Waiting until the night before was foolish, she knew. But the feeling, the need to see him, had steadily been growing inside her all day. At first, she’d shoved the idea away. Her intuition had gotten her into this mess, why listen to it again now? And yet, listening to her intuition was the only thing Dinah knew how to do. So now, only an hour before midnight, Dinah was slipping through the house.
Voices came from the drawing room. Dinah paused beside the nearly closed door. The floor here didn’t often squeak, but she wasn’t about to rush by the partially open door and simply hope for the best.
Who was still up this late, anyway? She moved closer to the door, pushing it slightly more open, and peered inside.
Father was seated, facing the fire, a half-empty glass of brandy beside him. Just to his left sat Charlotte. She had her needlepoint in hand but didn’t seem to be making much progress.
“Am I doing the right thing?” Father asked.
“It’s theonlything,” Charlotte replied.
“This wasn’t what I envisioned for her.”
“I know.”
They both were silent for a moment. Her father continued to gaze into the fire while Charlotte stared at the needlepoint in her hands. Dinah pulled back, her head feeling light and her stomach sour. The fact that both Father and Charlotte—two people whom she could not respect more—had doubts about her upcoming marriage did nothing to ease her nerves.
Eventually, Charlotte sat up straighter and pulled the needle through the fabric. “I suppose it is a small blessing that we’ve been attending St. James’s these past several weeks. A common license is not nearly as expensive as a special license.”
“I don’t care about the money,” Father said, his voice somewhere between a sigh and a growl. “My daughter is marrying a man she hardly knows. How could I have allowed this to happen?”
Dinah dropped her gaze. It wasn’t his fault. She should have been more careful—should haveinsistedLord Stanton allow her to return home alone. Insisted even more firmly than she had. She should have done...something.
“My marriage was arranged,” Charlotte said softly.
Dinah pressed harder against the door frame to better see.
Father was looking at Charlotte now. “I didn’t know.”
Charlotte offered him a small smile. “We came to respect one another, even care deeply for each other. It takes time and commitment, but such is possible.”
A new stirring, a new desire, took root inside of Dinah.
Could she find such happiness in marriage? Could she and Lord Stanton learn to care deeply for one another? Love one another?
She honestly didn’t know.
Father sighed loudly enough that Dinah could easily hear. “Even so, will she ever forgive me?”
Charlotte’s expression turned sad. “That will have to be up to her. Only,” she paused for a moment, then reached out and placed a hand on Father’s arm, “don’t give up.”
Dinah pursed her lips and pushed noiselessly away from the door frame. She needed to speak with Lord Stanton. She needed to ask him the same thing Father had just asked Charlotte—was this truly the best thing to do? She was glad Charlotte had found joy in her marriage to her late husband, but Dinah never would if Lord Stanton desired something different.
She’d learned from Eliza’s husband, Adam, where Lord Stanton lived. It wasn’t hard for her to saddle a horse and find her way there, middle of the night though it was. Ladies of thetonprobably weren’t used to such independence, but Dinah had been raised the daughter of a tradesman. A very busy and often away from home tradesman, at that. This was hardly a fearsome feat.
Dinah reached Lord Stanton’s house. Though she was still well within London’s boundaries, this was no small townhome. Dinah had been quite surprised when they’d first removed to London to see the size of the place Father had let for them. And yet, it seemed everyone else lived in a house far larger than theirs. She both loved the opulence of London and couldn’t fully see past the waste of it all.
