Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When Jackie had accepted the duke’s request to join him for dinner, she had not once considered the fact that breakfast was a mere three hours later.

She had planned to eat, and then retire to her room and rest for a while longer, having put a lot of her hurt and confusion to bed. However, when she entered the room, she noticed the duke’s absence. It was, at least, an opportunity to meet her sister’s betrothed, as he had also been invited, even if she had not been planning on that for a while.

“Good morning, Lady Jacqueline,” the dowager duchess said warmly. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, quite, Your Grace. Thank you for asking. I apologize for my absence. I do not mean to show myself in a disrespectful light.”

“It is no trouble at all. Why, my son had a similar ailment himself and had to excuse himself. It is understandable, so you mustn’t think I am upset with you.”

Jackie dared to flash her father a victorious smile. She was liked there, whether he had been expecting it or not, and their family seemed to be full of love and forgiveness, just as her own had been when her mother was around.

“And where might the duke be now?” she asked. “Is he unwell now, too?”

She played the role of concerned betrothed well. She knew perfectly well that he had not been suffering from an ailment of any kind, and was the picture of health when she had seen him that morning, meaning that he had another reason entirely for his absence, but there was no need to pry.

“I believe he is recovered,” the dowager duchess explained. “I believe it was simply the nerves of the day. No, he is fine, but he is absent this morning because he does not tend to dine with me. Instead, he prefers to break his fast in his study, quite a while before I do.”

That explained, at least, why he had been awake at such an early hour.

“And he shall be quite busy today, he so often is,” she continued. “So please do not see it as a personal slight if you do not see much of him.”

It should have been a comfort to hear that he would not be too present, given the circumstances, but Jackie could not help but feel quite disappointed. After how gentle he had been with her that morning, showing her such kindness as offering to forget all about the arrangement, she had warmed to him a good deal. He was not the frightening man she had expected, that much was clear.

“That is a shame,” she replied gently. “I had been hoping for some time to speak with him.”

“Fear not,” her father said helpfully. “You shall have a few months here to speak with him. Surely that is sufficient time?”

Jackie tried not to glare at him. She was yet to tell him her thoughts on what he had done, and she did not appreciate his jovial tone as if he had not signed her life away.

Instead of saying anything more, she seated herself beside her sister and began to eat. She noticed Lord Greene, seated at the far end of the table, and took the opportunity to study him carefully.

He was a tall gentleman, with brown eyes like a stag, and blond hair, and it appeared, a quiet man. She could see why Elizabeth had fallen for him, but she was yet to talk to him and see if he truly was such a charmer that her own sister would be willing to betray her.

“I was wondering,” the dowager duchess said after a while. “If the two of you young ladies might wish to take a small trip with me this morning? There is a market nearby, and I was hoping that you would join me.”

“Certainly, Your Grace,” Elizabeth replied immediately. “That is so gracious of you.”

“I would also enjoy the trip very much,” Jackie nodded, though she had to admit she would greatly miss the rest that she had planned.

It would also mean that she would have to wait before trying to speak with her father with a clearer mind. Yet even though she wanted to speak to him about it all, it was a comfort knowing she would not have to do it as yet.

It was a frightening prospect; her father was a frightening man when necessary, and at times when it was not necessary. In any case, it would be a pleasant morning at the market, and Jackie excused herself to dress for the trip.

Her gown did not fit correctly, having been one of her mother’s old ones that she had found in the attic. All of their money for gowns had been given to Elizabeth, and even then, it had not been enough for what Jackie would have wanted for her.

Fortunately, Elizabeth fit Jackie’s older gowns well enough that she had enough to get by, and Jackie did not leave the house enough to warrant anything more than what she had. It was simply another thing that Jackie had sacrificed for her sister, not that it had made a difference.

As she opened her door, she was taken aback in an instant. She had never received flowers, even when gentlemen had wanted to court her, yet there in front of her was the grandest bouquet that she had ever seen. They were lilies, one of her favorites, white and perfect, untouched. They took her breath away, and as she regained her composure, she saw that there was a card attached.

“Lady Jacqueline,

I apologize for my absence this morning. I should have told you that I am otherwise occupied, and would therefore be in my study instead.

I am aware that my mother is to take you and your sister out today. I wish you luck, for she can be quite determined when she sets her mind to something. Should you want my advice, it would be not to try and tell her no. She means well, I assure you, and will only want to show you kindness. Allow her to, if it does not offend you too terribly.

With that being said, I hope that you and your sister have a good day. I would so like to hear about it upon your return. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank you. I wanted to before, but I could not make the words come. I am so grateful to you for what you did for me all those years ago. I shall never forgive myself for how I treated you in return, and now I hope to fix it. We can discuss it more later, if you wish.

For now, however, you are to enjoy yourself. I shall see you later.

Yours,

Philip Churchill, Duke of Creighton”

It was endlessly sweet of him to have gone so out of his way to arrange such a thing while she was downstairs, and it touched her greatly.

It seemed to be the sort of man that the duke was when he was not startled. Upon becoming comfortable with her that morning, he had been more than willing to forget it all, and he had thanked her for her aid even though it had been so many years before. He remembered things well, and she appreciated that.

One thing was for certain, he was not the man she thought he was. She had only just referred to him as her acquaintance, but already she was beginning to see him as a friend. It was strange to think that she might have a friend, as other than her sister and their staff at home she had not had any since she stopped attending events.

Another possible friend, it appeared, would be the duke’s mother, for she was determined to give Jackie what felt like most of the items for sale at the market.

“I cannot allow you to wear gowns like this,” she said briskly, waving a hand to make a seamstress take her measurements. “You would look lovely in anything, Dear, but there is no harm in giving you something to truly feel beautiful in.”

“It is quite all right,” she tried to explain. “This gown was my mother’s. It makes me feel more connected to her. It is a choice, I assure you.”

“It is not,” Elizabeth said.

“Elizabeth!” Jackie hissed.

“They are all aware of our situation, Sister,” Elizabeth pointed out. “There is no harm in honesty.”

Jackie scowled at her; her younger sister was not one to talk about honesty at that moment.

“There is no reason to feel any shame,” the dowager duchess smiled. “Consider it a gift. It would be my pleasure. After all, I bought your sister that perfume.”

It was true; Elizabeth had found a perfume scented with roses and marveled at it and then the dowager duchess had purchased it without second thought. A gown, however, was far more expensive.

“Your Grace, it is too much—”

“Anne,” she corrected her. “Please, I cannot have my daughter-in-law call me by such formalities forever, and so we might as well put an end to it now.”

The words rang in her ears. Daughter-in-law. Was the woman thinking too far ahead, or was she partaking in heavily wishful thinking? Either way, Jackie did not like it too much, in fact feeling quite threatened by it. She did not like the suggestion that she would be marrying the duke as yet, but she knew that the lady was harmless.

And so Anne it would be.

Jackie nodded, at last allowing the seamstress to take her measurements and write them down.

“Do you enjoy writing, Lady Jacqueline?” Anne asked. “I could purchase a quill for you, if you wish.”

“In truth, I have never been much good at it. I smear the ink all over the paper, and it is practically illegible at the end of it.”

“Then what do you enjoy?”

“I like painting well enough, as well as playing the pianoforte.”

“Then wait right here, and finish with this lovely lady. I shall be right back!”

“Anne, wait—”

But the older lady was surprisingly nimble for her age, and had disappeared before Jackie could stop her. Elizabeth, meanwhile, giggled away at her.

“I must say, it has been most enjoyable watching you receive the goodness for a change. You deserve this, Sister.”

“Be that as it may, this is too much too soon. I am not engaged to her son, even if that is her wish, and it concerns me how set she is on it.”

“But you are going to be his fiancée, are you not?”

Suddenly, Jackie could see fear in her sister’s eyes, and for the first time in her life she was not made miserable by it. For one short moment, she felt almost a sense of vindication, as that was precisely how her sister had made her feel of late.

“Who is to say?” She replied, neglecting to mention the duke’s offer. “After all, he might not fall for me and cancel it all. You know his terms; if he chooses to marry me, then we shall marry. If he does not, then we will be back where we started. There shall be no harm done though.”

There would of course, to Elizabeth, but under the circumstances her younger sister was not about to say as much. Jackie felt awful toying with her in such a way, but she knew that she would tell her the truth eventually. It was not revenge, exactly. It was more a matter of telling her sister the reality of the situation.

After all, it was not a given that she would allow the duke to help her regardless of whether or not they married. Elizabeth couldn’t know of the offer either, for she would be too set on Jackie leaving the duke behind and she was not ready to do that.

And the realization of that made her quite concerned, indeed.