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She looked away. “My marriage was… complicated.”
I watched her, waiting for her to continue.
“My husband was not a violent man, and he was not cruel, at least not deliberately. I was spared that at least. But he had very distinct ideas about marriage, and about a woman’s place and a man’s rights.”
“Oh, Aunt. I had no idea. Did he,” I hesitated, “did he force you to do things you did not wish to?”
She looked down, then out the window. “He would never have considered it force. Coercion and guilt were more his style.”
I reached over and grabbed her hand. “I am so very sorry.”
She took a deep breath and met my eyes. “That is why it is important you pay attention to the character of the man you will marry in addition to his position. You cannot choose blithely, Elizabeth. You cannot think his position will protect you. It will not. It is the very thing that will shield him should he turn out to be less than you thought him. And the sad truth is that most men are not as principled as we like to think they are.”
Her words sent icy fingers down my spine.
“Rupert was not an evil man. He merely thought he was talking me around to his way of seeing things. He saw himself as persuasive, not manipulative or demanding. The meeting of minds I had hoped for was impossible with a man like that. A man who viewed his wife as another one of his possessions. Another title to add to his name. Gentleman, master, husband.”
There was one substantial title missing off that list that I could not bring myself to ask about: father. I supposed a man like that not having children was the almighty’s way of preserving the world from another like him.
“We could not have meaningful conversations when he dismissed everything I said. We could not truly enjoy one another’s company when I was being so careful with every word and action.”
I shook my head. “That sounds awful. Did he change after the wedding? Or did your father arrange the match?”
“It was mostly arranged. He made a moderate effort to court me shortly after we met, but then he simply spoke to my father. I was a great beauty in my day, and he wished to possess that beauty for himself. I was not a person to him. Merely a vessel he wished to…” she trailed off. “He was not a considerate man. Let us leave it at that.”
I shook my head. “You deserved consideration, aunt. And love and kindness and gentleness. You deserve every good thing.”
“Yes, well, dying young was very considerate of him. And he left everything to me, though he thought women incapable of tying their laces without assistance.” Her eyes sparkled behind the tears she refused to let fall and I had to laugh with her. “Though I imagine I had my father to thank for that. Everyone always said he drove a hard bargain in the settlements.”
“No one can say you do not know how to look on the bright side of things.”
She smiled and patted my hand. “Remember what I have said, my dear. Character above all. I have made it so you need not worry about practical matters. You will always have a home and food on the table. But the wrong husband, for you even more than your sisters, can ruin your life. Choose wisely, my dear.”
“I will, Aunt.”
“And remember. A single woman of fortune is always respectable. There is no shame in never marrying.”
I had to laugh at that. “I will remember.”
17
Darcy
Istillcouldnotbelieve it. Richard was well and whole, and a strange woman had been in my house, supposedly singing to my cousin. After the high emotions of yesterday, I was not entirely certain what was real and what was not. Had he ever really been injured? Had it all been a terrible nightmare?
I dressed and made my way to the breakfast room. Richard was already there, cheerfully eating a kidney and reading the broadsheet.
“Good morning, Darcy!”
“Good morning. How are you feeling?”
“Wonderful! You know, it is strange, but I feel even better than I did before the accident. It is as if my leg was not the only thing healed.”
“Did you have other complaints?” I asked, suddenly worried.
“Not truly, but I was sore from years in the saddle, and my stomach was not always settled after the indifferent diet we subsisted on. But now, I feel like I am seventeen! Practically bursting with vitality.”
I looked around to make sure no servants were about. “Be careful what you say, cousin. You sound—”
