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With as much courage as she could muster, she told her sister everything that her father had said to her. When she had finished, her sister’s chin was quivering, and it was all she could do to still her own.
“Oh, Sister,” she said, throwing her arms around Cecily.
Cecily patted her, fighting with all her might to hold back more of her own tears.
“Everything will be alright,” she said. “It does not have to be such a horrible thing. You will see.”
Agnes pulled back and cupped her older sister’s face in her hands.
“You do not need to be strong for me,” she urged. “You can let me know how you truly feel.”
Just then, the dams broke and she did just that. She collapsed into her sister and let her tears fall. How would she ever survive in London’s high society with no sense of sight?
Chapter One
“Are you sure you would not rather rest this evening?” Agnes asked, squeezing Cecily’s hands. Her voice was fretting and distraught, and Cecily was determined to reassure her younger sister.
Cecily smiled, gazing in the direction of the younger woman’s face. It was well light in the music room of Dervinshire Manor, and Cecily could see partial features on her sister’s face, though terribly blurred. She remembered how beautiful her sister was, and she was filled with pride.
“Are you mad?” she teased, squeezing her sister’s hands gently in return. “I would not miss your debut ball for the world.”
Cecily could practically hear her younger sister chewing on her lip. She reached up slowly and extended her fingertips until they rested on Agnes’s cheek. She cupped her sister’s face, which felt flushed, likely a mixture of excitement and concern.
“I love you for that, Cece,” she said, using the special nickname that only she used for Cecily. “But I do not wish to make you unhappy or uncomfortable by being forced into a social event.”
Cecily patted her sister’s cheek fondly.
“I would endure the worst torture for you, Aggie,” she said. “A ball is hardly the worst punishment in the world.”
The younger woman fell silent, and Cecily knew what she was thinking. With the way thetonhad treated her since her own debut, it might as well be torture to be attempting to mingle with them. But she meant what she said to her sister. There was nothing in the world she would not do for Agnes.
Cecily laughed and pulled her sister into an embrace.
“Stop worrying so much, Aggie,” she said softly. “If anyone gives me any nasty looks, I will not see them.”
At this, Agnes laughed, but it sounded nervous and on edge.
“You do joke a great deal about your condition,” she said, pulling back to put her face close to her sister’s. At this distance, Cecily could almost see the blue of her sister’s eyes, which mirrored her own eyes, and the dimples in the younger woman’s cheeks, which she herself did not have. Her heart ached, longing to see her sister’s face clearly, just one more time.
Cecily nodded, giving Agnes a brave smile.
“I joke to let you know that I am all right with what has happened to me,” she said. “It is serious, to be sure, but there is little that can be done to help it. I would rather smile and be positive than turn dark and gloomy all the time. And that is yet another reason why I am looking forward to your debut ball. So, there.”
Cecily tried to convince herself as she spoke that she meant her words. She did mean that she was thrilled to witness her sister’s coming out ball. She was not, however, looking forward to the stars of theton. It was true that she would not see them clearly, but she would very well feel them. And though she was mostly blind, her hearing worked just fine. Any snide remarks made would not fall on deaf ears.
Agnes hugged her sister again, and Cecily felt the tension in her body. She was clearly torn about the situation. Of course, she wanted her older sister at her debut ball. But she was struggling with guilt because of the scrutiny Cecily would surely endure.
“If anyone makes you upset, you must tell me at once,” Agnes compromised. “I will see to it that they are removed at once.”
Cecily laughed. It was strange to hear her younger sister being so protective of her. And yet she could not help admitting that it filled her with even more love for Agnes.
“I am sure that will not be necessary,” she said. “But if it is, I will be sure to tell you.”
There was a pause, during which Cecily imagined that her sister nodded.
“I insist that you do, Sister,” she said. “That is the only way I will be able to relax and even try to enjoy myself tonight.”
The sisters were silent for a moment. Cecily knew that her sister would spend more time worrying about her than anything. And Agnes likely knew that Cecily would never say a word if someone made her unhappy. Still, the ball would begin in a few hours, and they both still needed to get ready.
