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Felicity looked faint. “Yet you still will not marry him?”
“I can’t.” Her voice broke on the last word, and she turned away. “The dratted man is insisting that we are already wed! We are not in Scotland, and their laws do not apply here. He knows this but is still so…so infuriating!”
Felicity asked, “So we run?”
There was something steely in her voice, something that suggested it might be more suggestion than a question.
Perdie turned to Felicity, her shoulders thrust back, and her chin held high. “No. I’ve had enough of running. Let’s go home.”
Felicity pursed her lips. The corner of her mouth twitched as if she fought with several emotions, none gaining dominance. She spoke one word only. “Home?”
The hope in her voice made Perdie feel especially guilty for keeping them away. Even if her madcap adventure and flight had only been several days.
“London,” she confirmed, smiling with a mouth that trembled fiercely.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes…I was reminded of something. I have been using my courage and resilience to flee and forge my own path when in truth, I must face my problems and not run from them. Fleeing means losing everything that I love and cherish. I did not stop to think about that, Felicity. As papa used to say, courage always, and it is with that courage I will return home and apologize to my family. However, I shan’t allow anyone to persuade me to live a life that will make me unhappy,” Perdie whispered.
“In some ways, it feels easier to run and start over fresh…that way, I won’t have to face the pain of the people I love refusing to listen to me, refusing to take my cares and dreams as their own. I won’t have to face their disappointment in my conduct and how I have dashed their expectations. I now know the pain I must have caused Sebastian and Mama by leaving. It is a pain I regret so much to have caused.”
A teary Felicity nodded. “What about Lord Owen?”
“I will not marry him,” Perdie said. “Though he is my guardian and my older brother, I’ll not allow Sebastian to force me against my heart’s desire.”
“If I may tender a suggestion,” Felicity said, “Maidstone is nearer. I think I’d like a good night’s rest before we reach London, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Perdie could use the opportunity to reassemble her armor.
It was time to face her family again.
