Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

“ W hat about this one?” Sally asked, pulling out a modest pelisse in a sensible duck’s egg blue. It wasn’t fancy or fashionable, but it wasn’t too dull either and Elizabeth was desperate to avoid the embarrassment of having to reuse her wedding dress too soon.

She also suspected that one could hardly wear a gown one had been married in on a perambulation around a park, but it was one of the things that she could only suspect and not be sure of.

“It will have to do,” she said heavily. “It’s not like we have a great range to choose from.”

In fact her room had come with a very large wardrobe and a cunningly fashioned dresser but her possessions were so small in number that she still kept them in her cases out of fear of how sad and foolish they would look against such grand backgrounds.

“If we had a little more time,” Sally said, shooing her to her feet and helping her on with the pelisse with a critical eye. “I could have done more than a little magic with some lace or a bit of ribbon, Your Grace, on my oath I could. And I shall do so this very evening so you shall not be caught out like this again!”

Elizabeth smiled at her friend. “I appreciate it, Sally. I don’t want to be seen to be embarrassing the Duke and his family by being too shabby to be out with them.”

“Maybe he should give you an allowance to get the right clothes then,” Sally said, a saucy note in her voice and Elizabeth looked over her shoulder. She was constantly worried that someone might just walk in as they had back in her old home, and it would be a terrible thing for Sally to get into trouble with the Wilkins family.

“Be careful what you say,” she said softly but firmly. “He has no obligation to do any more than he already does, and I am grateful that we have as much freedom and peace as we have had so far. Is this not better than living under my father’s roof?”

“That’s not a big stile to climb over, Your Grace,” Sally said, pulling back and pursing her lips over the ensemble that they were creating. “There’s not many places that could be much worse.”

“Nonsense,” Elizabeth said briskly. “I have everything I need and more than I expected. Now help me with my hair and let’s talk about what we need to do to prepare for the trip to London in the next few months.”

It was a carefully chosen topic change and Elizabeth smiled to herself as Sally flew into a state of raptures.

“Oh Your Grace, I’ve got shivers just thinking about it! London! To think that I would ever go somewhere so fancy! And you’ll be at all the best places with all the best people, too!”

“I’ll be supporting Diana,” Elizabeth said, feeling a flurry of nerves at the thought that she might be expected to be on show herself as the new wife of the Duke of Westall. “It’s not really about me. It’s her season and we will all do our best to make sure that it is a lovely one for her.”

“Of course, and Lady Diana is a lovely lady, so genteel and sweet to everyone,” Sally said firmly. “She deserves to shine like a star, Your Grace, but you shine like the sun and I hope His Grace will let your light be seen.”

Her hair was fixed cunningly and pinned and Elizabeth took a look at herself in the mirror. While she would hardly turn heads and was far from being a fashion plate, she looked respectable which was exactly what she was hoping to achieve.

“I shall head down to the drawing room,” she said, taking her bonnet and gloves from Sally. “I hope it goes well.”

It had been only the previous evening that Stephen had told her that a young Mr. Dewsbury would be coming to pay court to Selina on the morrow and that he would be accompanying them on a promenade with her at his side.

It had not been a request so Elizabeth did not view it as one, and she hoped dearly that this would be the right gentleman for Selina. Her sister-in-law was loud and forthright about how she felt about women’s rights, the need for more education and inclusion of ladies in various fields, but Elizabeth suspected that the fact that her first season had been six years back was beginning to bother her.

Sally waved her off and Elizabeth hurried down to the drawing room, her heart fluttering at the thought of walking arm in arm with her husband in public. It would be her first appearance as his wife and she was only glad that it was not exactly Hyde Park they would be walking in yet.

“I was reading the other day about that child who discovered those astonishing bones in Dorset,” Selina said, her face animated. “Some scientists claim it is a crocodile, though what a crocodile would be doing on the coast of England puzzles me to no end. I have looked over the bones at length and I do not think they could possibly be a crocodile, I have seen pictures of them and they are lizard like creatures while this beast has a long - sort of like a beak and fins at once, is that not incredible?”

Mr. Dewsbury, a fashionable young man related to a well-placed marquess, had a glazed expression on his face any time Elizabeth caught sight of it from where she and Stephen were walking behind the couple. He nodded a little and Selina continued talking.

“I would love to go out there and look at the bones myself. I think it must be terribly thrilling to be able to find ancient things in the earth and learn about the secrets of the world that way.”

“Indeed,” Mr. Dewsbury said slowly.

“Of course we simply must get more women into the field. When I think of the steps that women scientists have taken, leaps in some cases it makes me shudder to think how many brilliant minds we may have lost over the years to the foolish idea that women’s place is not in learning, it makes me sick to my soul.”

Elizabeth glanced at Stephen and saw him watching his sister in a mixture of fondness and concern. It was strange to see a man so fond of his family, it was certainly not anything she had experienced growing up. The Duchess was fond of her children, but distant and her father had a note of cruelty to all his interactions.

“Do you read a lot of books, Lady Selina?” Mr. Dewsbury asked suddenly, and Selina looked taken aback.

“As many as I deem good for my mind, Mr. Dewsbury,” she said quickly, her tone tart. “Do you not?”

“By Jove no, I much prefer to be out doing than to be staying home and thinking,” he said, a little pompously, Elizabeth thought. “Give me my horse and a hunt any day, or a fine ride over the heath or a shoot at one of my friends’ estates.”

“I believe I could tell that about you, sir,” Selina said slowly. “You had the air of a man who does not prefer thinking about you.”

There was a moment as everyone on the walk waited for Mr. Dewsbury to understand that he had been insulted, but it didn’t seem to happen. Instead he looked rather pleased with himself. Stephen turned his head to glance at Elizabeth, an expression of foreboding on his face. On an impulse Elizabeth squeezed his arm quickly, hoping that this would be comforting.

“It’s understandable that you would want to stay in the home,” he said to Selina, missing the dangerous way her posture shifted. “It’s what all ladies should do, sweet fragile things, but I’m a man. And men are meant to be out doing. And also books just aren’t good for the mind, Lady Selina. You will find that you become sick.”

“I did not know that you had studied medicine, Mr. Dewsbury,” Selina said. “But perhaps you are right. I’m beginning to feel sick now. Perhaps you will excuse me while my brother takes me home.”

“Of course, of course, I see a few of my friends, I hope you feel better,” he gave a cursory bow and was already walking on towards some young men as Selina turned back to Elizabeth and Stephen.

Stephen looked thunderous, and Selina looked both cold and disappointed at once. It was as disastrous a moment as it could be, and Elizabeth’s caution about engaging with her siblings-in- law melted a little in the face of the hurt feelings she could see Selina was hiding.

“I cannot think that the loss of his attentions will be a great loss to you,” she said quietly. “He is one of the most boorish men I have met.”

“Considering who your brother is, that must be saying something,” Selina said sharply, moving up to take Stephen’s other arm, who shot her a quelling glance.

Elizabeth was taken aback and unsure how to respond. It wasn’t really a jab at her, but it also felt like it was directed at her, like she and Dudley were connected in more ways than their father.

“I will communicate that you are not interested in continuing the courtship,” Stephen said firmly. “If that is what you want.”

Selina nodded. “I can overlook some things, but not a detestation of books, of learning.”

“Nor should you,” Elizabeth burst out. “It’s a part of who you are. Who you marry should be in harmony with that.”

They were walking underneath canopies of trees, the branches tangling overhead into a beautiful green dappled tunnel. The weather was warmer than expected, a sort of golden day of crisp air and gentle winds that would have felt perfect if it weren’t for the tension in the air.

Elizabeth was consumed with the desire for a few minutes to walk through the trees on her own, perhaps to dip her hand into the running brook or to seek out birds' nests or squirrels to watch.

She had spent so much of her life cooped up in her room or sneaking out into the estate to watch the wildlife that she had not realized how much becoming a duchess and not being able to disappear for hours on end would affect her.

There was so little freedom in her world, no matter what she did.

“Thank you for your advice, sister ,” Selina snapped. “But considering that you did not do any courtship of your own, forgive me if I do not value it above my own thoughts on the matter.”

“Selina,” Stephen said warningly. “Enough.”

It was a familiar feeling, this. Not being able to do anything right. No matter what she said it would be twisted and used against her. Elizabeth pursed her lips and fell silent, letting the other two take the lead back to the coach. Once they were inside she fell into silence and looked out the window.

Stephen was telling Selina that she would find the right man and that he would ensure that she was supported in what she wanted to do, a luxury of freedoms that Elizabeth couldn’t even dream of. Was it possible for two women from the same household to be so different in position? She was a duchess and yet she had less say in her life than her husband’s sister.

“No, I shall say something!”

Elizabeth realized that she had fallen into her thoughts so deeply that she had stopped listening to her companions completely. They were drawing up to the house, the graceful lines of the building beautiful against the backdrop of gardens and woodlands.

It was such a beautiful house. Somehow it felt less grim than the Rosenburg estate, less poisoned by cruelty. It felt like a place that had been made by people who had summer in their hearts.

Selina was looking at her, her eyes ablaze with anger and Elizabeth could not think of what she had done to get this reaction.

“You do this every time,” Selina said forcefully. “We cannot move or speak without you going quiet and mournful and sulking as though it is us who are the villains persecuting you!”

“I assure you I don’t…”

Selina cut her off. “You do! You wouldn’t even come eat with us without Stephen forcing you to, I heard how he had to order you to come. And you make no conversation no matter how much we try to make you feel welcome. You sit there and you suffocate us and I have had enough of it.”

“Selina,” Stephen said warningly. “Stop this.”

“No!” she got out of the coach and Elizabeth followed, full of confusion and not a little anger. Why couldn’t they see that all she was doing was trying to be polite to them, trying to keep them happy and not to overstep!

“Lady Selina,” she said as evenly as she could. “Do you think your current behavior is friendly? I attempted conversation and you rounded on me, you cannot be surprised that I am not pleased with your treatment!”

“We will have this out,” Selina said, rounding on Elizabeth. “Have we called you out for coming from a family that murdered our parents? Have I told you how my first season I couldn’t focus on any of my suitors because my older brother was trying to get himself killed? Have I railed at you for Herbert’s near miss with death? What is it?”

“You act as though I have been responsible for any of those things,” Elizabeth retorted, quivering with fear and anger. “I haven’t done anything to you!”

“No, but you haven’t done anything for us either,” Herbert said, striding up from the house and standing with his sister, aligning himself against her. “You haven’t made any effort to reach out to us. You avoid us at every turn.”

“Stop this!” Stephen stepped forwards and Elizabeth was startled to find him standing next to her, supporting her. “I have spoken on this before and I do not want to have to do so again. You will respect my wife in my house!”