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Frederica laughed. She went to the bed and practically jumped onto it, giggling as she bounced.
“I’m sure these mattresses are softer than the ones we have at home.”
“Well, your Uncle Mark is a marquess, while your father is a viscount. He would be able to afford something better.” Dorothy approached the bed. “How’s your room?”
“Just incredible. I love it.” Frederica lay on her back. “Oh, Aunt Annabelle said she was giving us two maids to help with dressing and whatnot. I’ve got Alyssa, and you’ve got Teresa.”
“That’s fine. Although we could have brought up our own maids.”
“No, we couldn’t. Our parents gave them time off while we were here, and your maid is making the most of it to go on the honeymoon she and her husband had to put off.”
Dorothy had to concede that. Clarice had married just after Christmas, but they wanted to save up for a small honeymoon later on. Dorothy being in Derbyshire meant this was the perfect opportunity for them to go to Hunstanton and see the sea for the first time.
She sighed.
“That was a big one,” Frederica commented. “What was that for?”
“I suppose it’s just wondering about how my life has been right now.” Dorothy sat on the bed, curling her legs under her. “Everyone around me, even my maid, is getting married, and then there’s me.”
“Oh, Dorothy.” Frederica took her hand. “It’s going to happen soon. And you’ve been given a chance to choose for yourself. It’s not going to happen immediately.”
“I know. I just feel like I’m going backwards.”
“That’s not true. It takes time to find love and happiness. You might not even know it’s happening. It will just jump out at you like that.” Frederica clicked her fingers. “Just be patient. It’s going to come along.”
Dorothy hoped that was the case. She liked the fact that, for the first time since she came out three years ago, she could look for a husband on her own. She had the freedom to choose who she wanted to court her, and who she wanted to be around. There was nobody telling her to do one thing when she wanted to do something else, making her meet people Dorothy wanted nothing to do with.
And no getting let down by an arrangement she hadn’t wanted in the first place.
“Things could have been different,” Dorothy said quietly. “I could be married by now to that Lucas Dashwood. I’d be Lady Dashwood.”
“And you’d probably have at least one child by now or about to have one.”
“God, not that!” Dorothy shuddered. “I don’t think I want to contemplate children!”
“It’s perfectly natural.”
“It’s positively terrifying! Didn’t you hear the horror stories those ladies were telling about their births back in London? I felt nauseous hearing it all.”
Frederica laughed.
“Childbirth is not meant to be easy. And you don’t need to be scared about it.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Dorothy grumbled.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that for a while. Otherwise, you’d be preparing for a little Dashwood.”
Dorothy rolled her eyes. Having the child of someone she would have met for the first time at the altar did not appeal to her at all. Neither did marrying someone she had never met. Dorothy only knew that he was the son of an earl and was a little older than her, but she didn’t know how old.
For all she knew, he could be ten years older; his parents were far older than hers. And it was happening so fast that Dorothy didn’t get much time to object. She knew she didn’t have much say over it, but nobody would listen. She was simply dismissed when she expressed her concerns.
Then the engagement had ended. Dashwood’s father, the Earl of Letchworth, had met with Dorothy’s father, and they both declared that the engagement was off. That left Dorothy feeling annoyed and relieved.
Annoyed that she had wasted a whole Season unable to do as she wanted because of this impending marriage that never happened, and relieved that she didn’t end up becoming the wife to someone she had never even met. Even though she had met the earl and his wife, she had never met the son.
And she doubted that she would now.
“I don’t know what my parents were thinking of,” she said, picking at a thread on the eiderdown. “They were so intent on getting me married that they rushed to the wedding part without taking part in the formalities. I didn’t even get to meet him.”
