Chapter 13

Frances took in her reflection in the mirror, tugging at the hem of her dress. It was made out of the finest fabric, embellished with delicate late, and it accentuated her curves perfectly.

She had never worn anything like it before.

"You look gorgeous, Your Grace," her lady's maid said in the background.

"Hmm." Frances stole another look at herself in the mirror. "Are you certain? I am worried it is a bit… out there."

She had always worn dresses that made her blend into the crowd, perfectly happy with not being the center of attention. But this dress could not be more opposite.

It drew attention just by the flare of the fabric alone. She felt nervous about making an appearance in it already, even though she had not left for the ball yet.

"Not at all. It is the perfect blend of elegance and luxury. Something that is quite becoming of a duchess like yourself."

"Do you really think that?"

The maid broke into a smile. "Yes, Your Grace. I do. I am sure that the Duke will be in agreement with me."

Frances felt her heart skip a beat at the mere mention of him.

It had been a few days since they had kissed, and both of them had gone out of their way to avoid each other ever since.

Barring the awkward run-in in the hallway, they had only seen each other at meal times. She swallowed sharply.

"Oh, he better believe the same…" Frances murmured under her breath.

"I did not quite catch that, My Lady?"

"Nothing." Frances turned around, a sweet smile on her face. "Perhaps we shall get started with my hair?"

The lady's maid was by her side in an instant. Frances sat down on the chair in front of her vanity, letting herself relax for a moment. She rubbed her temples.

Tonight, she was going to have to be by Christopher's side. It was their first official appearance as man and wife, and she felt nervous at the outset.

For one thing, she feared that they would be discovered, their little facade exposed to the world, and she would be embarrassed.

Her fingers gripped the sides of her vanity chair tightly.

"No…" she muttered under her breath, causing her lady's maid to give her a quizzical look before continuing styling the rest of her hair without question.

She could not let that happen. She had come too far and sacrificed too much to be discovered at this stage.

The future of her marriage and the children depended on how convincingly she appeared as Christopher's ever-devoted wife. She had to.

Even though the idea of appearing affectionate towards him made her a mess of nerves. She had scarcely stopped thinking of their kiss, and her face turned bright red whenever she saw him looking her way.

A question niggled at her.

Did he feel the same way? After all, he had been behaving strangely ever since it happened. More than once, she had caught him stumbling over his words whenever she had looked in his direction for too long at the dinner table.

But then, his having that reaction made no sense. He was a man, and if indeed he had been a rake before he married her, then it was not his first time kissing anyone. Surely, he would not be behaving so boyishly.

Her nails dug deeper into the raised upholstery of her chair.

Could there be another explanation, then? Did he regret their kiss altogether?

The thought alone made her sick to her stomach.

Luckily, her maid cut in, offering her a much-needed respite from her roiling thoughts.

"All done, Your Grace." She smiled.

"Oh…" Frances touched the side of her hair, which had now been done up into a bunch of curls. She seldom did her hair like this, even though her sisters frequently told her that it looked the best on her.

"Are you happy with it?"

Frances nodded, smiling at her maid. "Thank you. I love it."

When Frances looked at her reflection in the mirror, she no longer saw a maiden girl, even though she was still one, for all it mattered. She looked like a woman. Like a duchess.

As she rose from her seat, readying herself to head downstairs, she felt a strange sense of confidence bloom inside her.

Perhaps, just perhaps, tonight did not have to be so bad, after all.

"Let me guide you down the stairs." Her maid graciously helped her out of the room.

As they reached the landing, Frances saw Christopher waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

Even from afar, he looked quite nice in the suit that he had donned.

She self-consciously smoothed her skirts, wondering what he would think of her.

Christopher did not look up even once as she descended the stairs. But somehow, he magically knew when she reached the last step, as he came over to offer her his hand.

"Frances."

"Christopher."

And then their eyes finally met for the first time that evening. She noticed a flicker of emotion in his eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

It confirmed to her that her dress did get a reaction out of him. Now, whether or not it was a positive one remained a mystery.

"Shall we head to the carriage?" Christopher cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away quickly.

"Why, yes. Please lead the way."

He did not look in her direction again until they reached the carriage. Frances felt a small pang of disappointment. It would have been nice, after all, for him to compliment her once.

Was that not what was expected of gentlemen?

The carriage began moving to their destination, and Frances decided to strike up a conversation. Christopher was gazing out the window, apparently interested in anything else except the woman that was sitting across from him.

It offended her a little that the trees outside appealed to him more than she did.

"I have to say that I am quite curious about what will happen tonight…"

He nodded his head to acknowledge her words but still did not look at her directly. "What is there to be curious about? It will be like any ball. Drab, lengthy, but it is important that we make an appearance."

She folded her hands in her lap. "That last bit is exactly what I am referring to. This would be… our first appearance as a husband and wife."

"Oh…" Realization suddenly washed over his features. Had he somehow forgotten that they were married? "You are right. I did not consider the optics of it."

"I know how curious members of the ton are going to be, as most of them did not get invited to the wedding. I expect to be flooded with questions, as will you," Frances admitted, a tinge of nervousness in her voice.

It was something that she had thought about a great deal since this morning.

"Right, then. How bad could it possibly be?" He shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in his seat. "It is not as though it is an anomaly for the ton to be nosey."

Frances bit her lip, growing impatient. "Christopher, I do not think you fully understand what I am trying to convey to you…"

"What?" He finally looked at her.

"Do you not think that…" Frances fumbled for the right words. "Well… that we might be at risk of being discovered?"

Christopher raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly confused now. "Discovered? Frances, our marriage is not a secret. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is the most talked-about marriage this Season."

Frances breathed out a sigh of frustration. He did not understand what she was trying to say at all.

"What I mean is"—she gestured between the two of them—"this… this thing between us. I am worried that someone will discover that our marriage is not real."

Christopher's expression changed, from worry to amusement. "Frances, is that what you are worried about?" he demanded, looking at her closely.

"Yes. I am afraid that I do not think of myself as the best liar, and some of the women will definitely press me for details."

He leaned over and touched her shoulder gently. They both started at the contact.

"I think you are thinking too much." His voice was lower than before.

"Do you really believe so?" she pressed.

"I do. Besides, if anyone is too suspicious, then we can just put up a show for them."

His eyes lit up as he said the words, and she gulped loudly, not bothering to question him about what the ‘show' entailed.

"I just wanted to let you know," she clarified, "lest there is a problem that we will have to deal with later."

"There will be no problem," he assured her confidently. "You should have more faith in us."

She hung onto his words for the remainder of the carriage ride, which thankfully was not too long.

Faith in us? What is that supposed to mean, exactly?

She did not have much time to ponder over it, as they had arrived at the venue.

As soon as they entered, it felt like the room fell silent for a fleeting moment. Frances could feel the stares she was getting, particularly from the gentlemen in the room.

She was not accustomed to such attention, and she hid behind Christopher, feeling the weight of the stares and whispers. In this new dress, she felt every bit the Duchess she had become. But nervousness still churned inside her now that it was her moment to shine.

Even Christopher seemed to have a change of mind, too. He was unusually tense. He placed a protective hand on her lower back as they navigated the crowd.

Again, another thing that was unusual for him.

His usual easy smile was missing, replaced by a tight-lipped expression and a furrowed brow.

"Are you alright?" Frances whispered, leaning closer to him.

Christopher glanced down at her, his eyes softening momentarily. "I'm fine," he replied, his tone unconvincing.

"Are you certain? You look suddenly in a bad mood."

His head snapped towards a man behind her who seemed to be lingering longer than he ought. Christopher shot him a glare and then turned to face Frances again.

"You should not worry about it. It does not have anything to do with you."

Somehow, Frances was not too convinced of his answer. But they were interrupted by Phillip and Esther.

Esther beamed at her sister, pulling her into a quick embrace. "You look stunning, Frances," she said warmly, her eyes twinkling with pride. "And, Christopher, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise, Esther," Christopher replied, seeming distracted.

"Mind if I steal your husband for the night?" Phillip asked Frances directly, a smile playing on his lips.

"Oh, please do. I am happy to spend the time with Esther."

The three of them smiled, but Christopher was the only one with a sour expression on his face. Luckily, it did not deter Phillip as he led them to a corner to get drinks, leaving the two sisters alone.

"I cannot believe you are all grown up," Esther gushed, beaming at her younger sister. "You look like a vision tonight. That gown is an excellent choice."

"Thank you," Frances muttered, looking down at her dress. "It was Christopher's choice. Though I am not sure if he likes it very much…"

Esther shot her a surprised look. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Frances muttered. She did not want to bore her sister with her marriage woes. She spotted Harriet in the crowd with her mother trailing behind at that moment. "Oh, look who it is. We are here!"

She waved her in the air to get their attention. As they approached, Frances noticed that Harriet looked as if she was enduring yet another of their mother's lectures.

Frances nudged Esther gently, muttering, "I already know what she is going through…"

Esther laughed and then greeted their mother. "Lovely to see you, Mother, Harriet."

Albina smiled proudly at her two married daughters. "Ah, so good to run into you here. I am just dreaming of the day when I can do the same for Harriet—though, she is not making the process easy for me."

Frances shot her youngest sister a sympathetic look, but Esther decided to humor their mother.

"What is the problem, Mother?"

"Well, for one thing, she has a problem with everything. I was just telling her how she must meet Lady Eva this evening. She has the most eligible son," Albina began, frustration evident in her voice.

"Mother," Harriet interjected, her voice strained, "I'm sure Lady Eva doesn't want to spend the entire evening talking about her son."

"Of course she does. That is why she is here," Albina insisted.

Frances could feel the tension brewing between the two. "Mother, why don't Esther and I talk some sense into Harriet? You may go and greet your friends meanwhile."

"Oh, that would be lovely." Albina's face lit up. "See? Marriage has been such a positive change for you. You already know the right thing to say."

Albina happily trotted off to see her friends, while Harriet exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for that. I hope that you are not actually going to deliver a lecture, though," she noted.

"Oh, of course not," Frances assured her, and her sisters dissolved into laughter.

Arms linked together, the three sisters headed to the balcony. Once they were out in the fresh air and under the night sky, Harriet spoke up again.

"Mother has been relentless tonight. I could barely deal with her on the carriage ride here. Running into the both of you has been the biggest blessing for me," she admitted, looking severely relieved.

Esther laughed softly. "She means well, Harriet. But you know how she gets during the Season."

"Please. I would rather that she spares me…" Harriet shook her head, turning to Frances. "After all, does she not have a newly married daughter to pester? Speaking of, where is Christopher? I see that you have dressed up quite nicely for him tonight."

Frances blushed, looking away. "Phillip borrowed him for a moment. I suspect that they are still inside, getting drinks."

Harriet nudged Esther, a delighted smile on her face. "Do you see what I am seeing?"

"What?" Esther asked, smiling back.

"She is flushed like a little schoolgirl. Oh, there is something that our sister is not telling us." Harriet grinned.

Frances blushed even deeper.

"Is that true, Frances?"

Frances opened her mouth to say something, but then quickly shut it again. She did not know how to react when put on the spot like this. Harriet had always been observant, but it seemed like she knew how to read minds now.

"Iwouldrathernotsay," Frances mumbled quickly.

"What was that? I am afraid that was not very clear." Harriet grinned like a child who had just discovered a treasure at the beach. "No need to be shy, Frances. We are only your sisters, and we wish to know what is going on in that mind of yours."

Frances fiddled with the front of her dress. "I just… well, I feel like something has happened since you last saw me."

Esther and Harriet exchanged curious looks. She knew that she was building up too much suspense, but it felt too embarrassing to admit out loud immediately.

"Yes, which was not too long ago? Are you with child?" Esther asked.

Frances gasped at that. "No, no. You have it all wrong."

"Then, what is it?" Esther pressed.

Frances knew that she had to confess now, or else her sisters would never let her rest.

"I think that…" Her heart started to race, and she braced herself. "I think that I might have developed some very strong feelings for my husband."

Esther breathed out a sigh of relief, while Harriet broke into laughter.

"My goodness. You had me believing that something awful had happened for a moment," Esther said, her hand on her chest. "Why, Frances. That is great news. Is it not?"

"I think that it might even be love," Frances continued, horrified.

She knew that at least in front of her sisters, she did not have to put on a facade. She could be honest with her, without the fear of judgment.

"Love? But you've only been married for a short time. How do you know?" Harriet did not sound too convinced.

Frances gulped, her thoughts drifting back to him, and then a smile formed on her lips. "It is a lot of things. In the way he cares for the twins, and how he's always there when I need him. How he does not have the usual arrogance of someone born into nobility."

Esther clapped her hands together, beaming. "I knew it! I could see it in the way he looks at you too. He's smitten, Frances."

Harriet shook her head, trying to grasp the concept. "But isn't love supposed to be… different? More dramatic or something?"

Esther laughed gently. "Love comes in many forms, Harriet. Sometimes it's quiet and grows over time. It doesn't have to be dramatic to be real."

"Well then, I suppose as long as Frances is happy, I have no reason to interject…"

Frances bit her lip. Was she happy? There was no doubt that Christopher possessed the ability to make her the happiest she had ever been, but what about their agreement?

Would this not ruin everything?

"I suppose we will find out," she sighed, pushing the thought out of her mind.