Chapter 20

“Ihave never been so humiliated in my life.” The calm, icy tone Fanny used made all three of the sisters wince. William stared at his wife with an incredulous frown. They were in the sitting room assigned to the ladies, the room that connected Ivy’s bedchamber to Juniper and Betony’s. “How could you agree to this, Ivy? Marrying an Irish baron? And announcing it like that, after your inappropriately emotional performance!”

The memory of Teague’s arms about her, his look of pride when he announced their engagement, kept Ivy from apologizing. Her betrothed had praised her performance and found beauty in the way her emotions influenced the music. She much preferred his kindness to her sister-in-law’s criticism.

Fanny’s reaction was not at all what Ivy expected; she acted as though personally insulted by Ivy’s decision. Ivy cut a look to William but found him staring at his wife with perplexity.

“His Grace thought it a good time to make our engagement known,” she said slowly, clearly.

“But you said yes to him. Without consulting your brother or me first.” Fanny clutched a handkerchief in one hand and the arm of her chair in the other. Her knuckles were white. “After we brought a suitable husband with us, practically delivering him into your hand, this is how you repay our generosity? Our thoughtfulness?” Perhaps that was the issue at hand, then. Fanny didn’t like her own plans circumvented.

Ivy kept her spine straight as a steel rod. “I am of age. When Lord Dunmore proposed, I knew nothing of your coming, nor of Lord Martin. I made the decision that best suited me. I still think it best, too.”

The scornful, sharp laugh Fanny emitted made Ivy wince. “A selfish, foolish decision. You cannot let her go through with this, William.” When she turned to her husband, Ivy did as well.

William stared at his wife with a bemused expression and said, slowly, “We are already in negotiations. Lord Dunmore is a fine choice, and he offers much for Ivy in both stability and respectability. I have no objection to the match. She will be a baroness.”

“An Irish baroness, which may as well be an Irish scullery maid,” Fanny insisted, tone growing petulant. “Honestly, William. How can you condone this?”

Never before had Ivy seen her half-brother and his wife at odds with a decision. That he didn’t fall in step with Fanny this time surprised her, and likely the others in the room, too. “I gave Ivy my preferences for her marriage prospects before she left London. Lord Dunmore fulfills all my expectations. What’s more, he seems to genuinely like her. I think he will make my sister quite happy.”

Fanny’s eyebrows threatened to become one with her hairline. “Like her? Happy? They barely know one another. Think of the scandal.”

“The Duke and Duchess of Montfort have overseen their interactions and have vouched for Lord Dunmore. I cannot think of anyone who could object under those circumstances.” William’s tone crept toward impatience. “The Frost family is already connected, intimately, with the Dinards. Lord Dunmore’s sister is the future Duchess of Montfort.”

The red in Fanny’s cheek marked her as someone who objected to all the circumstances. Strongly.

Daring a glance at Juniper, Ivy saw her sister as startled by the unfolding conversation as herself. Betony’s hands gripped each other tightly. It seemed Fanny and William had not discussed the matter at all. Fanny had not even known of the engagement until they had announced it before everyone went home or turned in for the evening. William had not thought to tell his wife, and she had not thought a monumental decision regarding his sisters would be made without her.

“Be that as it may, it was wrong of her to keep us ill-informed of her intentions. If she meant to chase after an Irish baron, she ought to have told us.”

Heat flared from Ivy’s chest up her throat and into her cheeks. “I did not chase after anyone,” she said, her words firm. “I behaved myself as a lady ought.”

“I somehow doubt that.”

Juniper opened her mouth, her brow furrowed, and Betony looked ready to jump to her feet, so Ivy moved first. She stood, chin up, arms at her side. “I have conducted myself in a manner that is appropriate for a lady and I have been respectful to my hosts. I have done nothing wrong. In fact, for the first time in ages, I have happily been myself. Lord Dunmore found that to his liking and proposed. I found him to my liking and agreed. After discussing several important points, I might add, including his acceptance of my sisters into his household.”

Better to get it all out now, she knew.

Fanny gaped at her, then looked at William. “What does she mean, husband?”

“Lord Dunmore has agreed to take over guardianship of Juniper and Betony until they come of age or wed.” William massaged his temples. His forehead was wrinkled and his mouth turned down in a frown. “As you have made it quite clear that looking after them is a drain on your energy and time, that you would rather focus on our own children, I thought it an excellent suggestion. I have already agreed.”

“Without speaking to me first?” Fanny’s voice went uncomfortably high for all of them, but William managed not to wince. “We cannot give your sisters into the control of a near-barbarian.”

A spike of indignation prodded Ivy to speak before William formed a response to that unflattering opinion.

“Lord Dunmore sits in Lords,” Ivy said, tone cool. “He is a respected Peer of the Realm. He is a guest of the duke and a gentleman. Do not call him anything less within my hearing again.”

Betony’s happy gasp was immediately drowned by Fanny’s impatient huff.

“How dare you speak to me like this? After everything I have done, all the sacrifices I have made, the patience I have shown. What ingratitude and disrespect?—”

“Fanny.” William’s low warning tone caught them all by surprise. “What is the meaning of this? Why are you acting as though Ivy’s engagement is a personal affront to you? To us?”

“You cannot mean to say you approve of how she spoke to me?—”

“She will be a married woman in three weeks. She has every right to defend her husband, as I would hope you would speak to defend me if someone called me a barbarian within your hearing.” William no longer looked perplexed so much as weary. “It is done, Fanny. The negotiations are underway. Ivy will marry Lord Dunmore and become Lady Dunmore. So long as Juniper and Betony have no objections, they will go to live with her after they have returned to our home and supervised the packing of their things. Of course,” he turned to his younger sisters, “if either of you are uncomfortable with the circumstances, we may discuss them. You will always have a home with us.”

“Thank you,” Juniper said. “I would like to go with Ivy, please.”

“As would I,” Betony added quickly, perched on the edge of her seat. “Ireland sounds lovely.”

Fanny finally rose to her feet, hands clutched over her heart. “After everything we have done for you.” Then she turned to William. “You would trust Ivy to look after the other two?”

“She will be married.” William gave his wife an incredulous frown. “It is perfectly appropriate, and they all seem to have turned out well enough. Fanny, I thought you would be relieved.”

So had Ivy. Fanny had only really ever made her feel like a burden. William had tolerated them all, with occasional moments of fondness, but really, he had mostly left Fanny to see to them.

“We are grateful, Fanny,” Ivy said, having to keep her head still lest it shake and deny the words as she spoke them. “You took care of us after Father’s passing. Now you are free to see to your own concerns.”

For a moment, Fanny looked affronted, then she glowered. “An Irish baron. Well. You have made your bed, Ivy Amberton. I hope you enjoy your lie-in.”

Ivy shocked herself and everyone else by laughing. “I truly think I will. I feel happier and more myself in this moment than I have felt in years.”

Fanny gasped. “Well, I never!”

Ivy thought of Teague, of his wit, his quick tongue and charm, and said with a grin, “That is a shame, Fanny. Perhaps you will in future.”

Fanny sniffed in offense and swept out of the door without waiting for William.

He stood, slowly, and looked at Ivy. “Perhaps she is merely shocked. It will be a significant change in our household.”

Ivy voiced her thoughts on the matter with more gentleness. “She needs to feel important, I think. A new project may help.”

William looked at his three sisters, appearing somewhat concerned for them, as though he did not know if he ought to leave them or if there was something more he should say. “Ivy. Congratulations. I am certain Fanny will come to see the good points of your match. Juniper. Betony. Good night.”

She had never felt so thankful for Teague’s place in her life. In the weeks since she had met him, he had told her to trust to her own happiness and judgement. Without his kindness, his gentle encouragement, she would have crumbled completely under Fanny’s disapproval, if only to keep the peace.

After the door shut behind him, Ivy looked at her sisters. “I had not expected this evening to go in that direction. Not in the least.”

Juniper’s smile was soft and encouraging. “Well, it seems our evenings have become far more thrilling than any society ball. Who knew our sitting room could rival the theaters of London for drama?”

Betony, quick to find the humor in any situation, chimed in with a wistful sigh, “And here I thought our lives would be limited to choosing ribbons and attending teas. Now we’re to be the heroines of our very own adventure, living among the barbarians of Ireland.”

Ivy, despite the seriousness of their discussion, could not help but smile at her sisters’ attempts to restore their good humor. “Indeed, we must ensure our decorum is impeccable, lest we scandalize the Irish with our English manners.”

Their shared laughter was a gentle balm to the evening’s tensions, a reminder of the joy and resilience that lay at the heart of their family.

“I daresay,” Ivy added with a twinkle in her eye, “our experiences in Ireland shall make for the most captivating theatrical. The Amberton Sisters: An English Adventure in the Wilds of Ireland. How does that sound for a title?”

Betony nodded, her eyes alight with mischief, “Splendid! But let us not forget to dedicate a scene to navigating the perilous waters of family gatherings. Or it could be its own play entirely. The Great Engagement Announcement: A Comedy of Manners.”

As their laughter filled the room once more, Ivy’s profound gratitude for her sisters kept her worries over Fanny’s reaction at bay. She and Teague would marry, her sisters would be with her, and they would build a new family. A happier one. Imagining Teague sitting with her, laughing as Betony went on dramatically and gently teasing Juniper into sharing her own thoughts, came quite easily. That she could picture him as part of their conversation, seamlessly fitting the sisters into his life, made the last of her anxiety over Fanny’s outburst fade away.

She had made the right choice. She knew it. Felt it in her heart. Teague was the right choice. He was everything she had hoped for, and quite a few things she had not even thought she needed.

Thinking of him made something inside her feel aglow, like a lamp in the window lighting her way home.

All would be well.