Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

T he dinner party got off to a very awkward start.

Hannah had tried to organize the arrival of her guests so that her sisters and their husbands would be the first to arrive, providing a much-needed buffer for when their aunt and their father were in the same room together. But for reasons that she would learn later—a sick child, and a horse that had thrown a shoe—her sisters ended up arriving late .

That left Hannah and Frederick to entertain her aunt Teresa, her cousin Selina, and her mother and father alone.

Upon their arrival, the two parties were directed to the drawing room for pre-supper drinks and what Hannah hoped to be some light conversation. She sat on a sofa with Frederick, making sure to hold his hand and stay close. Her mother and father sat on the sofa beside them, while her aunt and cousin sat directly across from them.

Close quarters. Father and aunt sitting opposite. Brandy flowing. The fire crackling. In retrospect, it was always going to be tense.

“This is delicious brandy,” her father said awkwardly, raising his glass and then taking a sip. “Where is it from? If you do not mind my asking.”

“Northern France,” Frederick answered. He had been quiet all evening, contemplative and very clearly not having as good a time as he might.

“Ah…” Lord Ramsbury nodded in understanding and waited for an explanation, but got none, so he cleared his throat and tried again. “You will have to give me the name of your supplier.”

“Gladly.”

“I thought you were cutting back on the drink, Phineas,” Teresa said politely. “We all know how you get when you have one too many.”

Lord Ramsbury narrowed his eyes at her. “Not that it is any of your business, Teresa, but I have made strides in that department. This here is my first drink in…” He turned to look at his wife. “How long has it been, dear?”

“Two weeks,” Lady Ramsbury said, taking his hand and squeezing it as if in warning. “And you have done very well.”

“Ah, but that is the way of it, is it not?” Teresa sighed as if she truly cared. “It starts off as just one, and the next thing you know, we’re being forced to carry you out the door. I think we all remember what happened two years ago at Christmas.” She tittered.

“That was not—” ’Lord Ramsbury bit his tongue, taking a calming breath. “I had food poisoning.”

“There is a difference between food poisoning and eating so much that you get sick, Phineas. And I think we all know which one it was.”

“I was in bed for three days,” Lord Ramsbury growled. “Your chef is to blame, and I told you to fire the man.” He looked around the drawing room for support. “I asked him personally if the veal had turned, and he assured me it had not.” He blew through his lips.

“I promoted him, in fact,” Teresa said with a smirk. “The man should not be punished because your eyes are bigger than your stomach.”

“It was food poisoning!”

“Paired with an entire bottle of brandy. Your Grace…” She turned and smiled pleasantly at Frederick. “I should warn you against giving Lord Ramsbury the name of your supplier, for once he gets his talons into him, the chances are that he’ll drain the poor fellow’s supply within a week.”

“Speaking of talons…” Frederick muttered under his breath, fixing her with a pointed look.

Hannah nudged him and chuckled, hoping he might smile at her playful reaction, but he continued to watch her aunt coldly.

“And I told you, I have quit!” Lord Ramsbury cried.

“Says the man with a glass of brandy in his hand.”

“That is not?—”

“Mother!” Hannah spoke loudly over her aunt and father’s bickering. “How are Nathanial and Stephen? I have not heard from them in so long.”

Nathanial and Stephen were Hannah’s younger brothers. Sixteen years of age, they did not live at Ramsbury Estate, having spent the past year studying in the south of England.

“They are well,” her mother said, seeming relieved to change the topic. “They were sorry that they missed your wedding, however. They made sure that I let you know.”

“I was sorry not to see them. Weren’t we, Frederick?” Hannah stroked her husband’s arm.

“We will have to invite them over when they return home,” he agreed simply, saying no more to the matter.

Hannah frowned, sensing the tension and beginning to wonder if this dinner party was such a good idea. More so when her father spoke up.

“Just one of many noticeable absences that day,” Lord Ramsbury said pointedly as he looked in Teresa’s direction. “A very small reception.”

“I am surprised you were not too drunk to remember,” she shot back smoothly.

“On my daughter’s big day?” Lord Ramsbury responded coolly. “I don’t expect you to understand the importance of such an occasion, Teresa, but I would not dream of doing anything to ruin it.”

Teresa stiffened at that, curled her upper lip, and she looked just about ready to respond in a typically scathing manner.

“Mother!” Hannah started quickly, again speaking over her aunt and father. “Are you and Father still planning a trip to Spain at the end of the Season?”

“We are, dear…” Lady Ramsbury gave her husband’s hand another tight squeeze and a warning glare to match. Not that he noticed, as he was glaring at his sister. “And we are both looking very forward to it.”

“Where will you go?” Hannah asked quickly, before anyone else might interject. “I know Frederick has been to Spain many times, so if you have any questions…” She looked pointedly at her husband.

“Hmm?” Frederick murmured, having not been paying attention, still glaring at her aunt.

“Spain,” Hannah said pointedly. “Mother and Father are going there in a few months.”

“Oh.” He blinked, snapping himself back into the room. “Yes, I have been often. A lovely country, if not a little hot. I would be happy to recommend places to stay and dine in, of course.”

“How generous.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Hannah kissed him on the cheek. “One of his many qualities. Certainly not his humor, that is for sure.” She chuckled, to which Frederick frowned.

Frederick was proving impossible to get a reaction out of. He wasn’t rejecting her completely, but it was similar to how he had been behaving for the last two days. Barely present. Distant. Mind clearly on other matters…

“Very generous, Your Grace,” Teresa interjected the moment she had a chance to. “Is there nothing my brother won’t use you for? He’ll be asking to move in here next time.”

Hannah suppressed a groan, once again forced to consider if this dinner party of hers wasn’t one of the worst ideas she’d ever had.

Her father and her aunt’s bickering was expected, even if it was worse than usual. But that was only half the problem. To her aunt’s right sat her cousin Selina, who since arriving hadn’t so much as looked at her. She sat with her eyes cast downward and her shoulders hunched over in an effort to look invisible, which suggested to Hannah that her cousin was still angry about what had happened but possessed more tact than her mother and knew better than to cause a scene… thankfully.

As to Frederick? He was a mystery that Hannah was still struggling to solve, even though she was beginning to understand his intentions toward her and their marriage. Hannah needed her sisters here. She needed to change the topic. She needed… she needed… She needed a miracle, truth be told.

“… all I am saying is that His Grace has surely done enough for you, Phineas,” her aunt was saying. “You keep pestering him like this, and he would be within his rights to cut you off.”

“You make it sound as if I am hounding him day and night like some overzealous innkeeper! I have done nothing of the sort.”

“Some gratitude, perhaps,” Teresa huffed. “The way you treat His Grace, it is as if you think he owes you, when the opposite is true.”

“Your bitterness gives you away, Teresa. Green is a most unbecoming color on you.”

“What bitterness? Selina could not be happier about what happened—isn’t that right, dear?” She nudged her daughter.

“W-what?” Selina looked up, her eyes wide in shock.

“In fact, it might interest you to know that she has received many offers of courtship from many interested gentlemen. The past is behind us, which is where I will ask you to leave it.”

“Me!”

Hannah leaned into Frederick and whispered in his ear, “I am so sorry about this. I should have known inviting them here would result in such foolery as this.”

“Is it fine,” Frederick assured her, a soft smile on his lips, and he squeezed her hand, though he didn’t look at her. “I have met your aunt before, remember.”

“It isn’t fine,” Hannah insisted. “But you are being wonderful about it.” She squeezed his hand back, begging him to look at her, to give her a hint that he was fine and not looking for a way out. “I will be sure to make it up to you.”

“I told you, it is fine…” He finally looked at her, offering a gracious smile, followed by a soft kiss on the cheek. “I am having a good time, I promise.”

Again, to anyone watching, that alone would have signaled that the two were happy and nothing was amiss in their marriage. And indeed, Hannah caught her aunt eyeing them ruefully, which should have made her feel better if she hadn’t caught her cousin frowning. The guilt rose within her once more.

Lucky then that moments later, Hannah’s sisters and husbands arrived, which gave them an excuse to adjourn to the dining room, where the seating arrangements had been pre-designed to keep her father and aunt at opposite ends of the table.

And for a few minutes there, the evening finally began to look like what she had envisioned initially. Pleasant chatter. Everyone getting along. And, of course, the conversation shifting to the one topic that Hannah had hoped that it would, spoken in a way she knew could only bolster her conviction that she had made the right choice.

“… and would you believe that Henry wants another one?” Charlotte was laughing as she looked at her husband with love in her eyes.

“Can you blame me?” The Duke of Hayward chuckled as he kissed the back of his wife’s hand. “Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Who would have guessed that raising children could be so easy.”

“Easily said when you are not the one who has to carry them for nine months,” Beatrice chided from across the table.

“Exactly!” Charlotte piped up.

“Careful now.” Beatrice’s husband, the Duke of Walford, laughed. “It will just give your wife something else to hold over you. Are you sure you want such a thing?”

“Oh, she likes to pretend that it was the hardest thing in the world, but from what I saw, it was nothing too taxing,” Henry chided his wife.

“Excuse me?” Charlotte rounded on him. “What did you just say?”

“Just making a joke, dear.” He chuckled and held up his hands in surrender.

“I thought the prerequisite of a joke was for it to be funny.”

“They think it is so easy,” Beatrice sighed as she took a sip of her wine. “Men. What they do not realize is the work that we must put in long before the babe is born. It doesn’t just appear one day, you know.”

“Is that why your stomach was so swollen all this time?” The Duke of Walford grinned and nudged her. “I just thought you were getting fat.”

“How dare you!”

“Careful now, Your Grace,” Lord Ramsbury interjected. “I must ask that you treat my daughter with respect. Especially if you wish to see more little ones running about the place anytime soon.”

“Exactly,” Lady Ramsbury chimed in. “Do not dare deny me of it.”

“You, Mother?” Beatrice snorted. “I had no idea your considerations were to be taken into account.”

“Of course, they are,” Lady Ramsbury said rightly. “As a grandmother, it is my right to request as many grandchildren as possible. From all of you—” She looked over her three daughters. “And I will remind you each that you owe me.”

“And how is that?” Charlotte laughed.

“Why, I gave birth to all of you, is how. I brought you into this world, so it is the least you can do.”

“Agreed,” Lord Ramsbury said with a proud nod.

“Oh, please, Phineas,” Lady Ramsbury sighed. “Do not act as if you had anything to do with it. Well, apart from the obvious.” She smirked coyly.

“Letitia!” Lord Ramsbury gasped, his cheeks flushing.

“Mother,” Charlotte groaned, “please do not go there.”

“Oh, I am only joking.”

“Enough wine for you, I think,” Beatrice said with a giggle.

Her family was in the swing of things, a sight that Hannah recognized well. Growing up with them, and seeing how other families often acted around one another, she had always been thankful for how close she was with her sisters and parents. How well they all got along. How happy they were. This, more than anything, was vindication for the dinner party.

Across from them sat her aunt and Selina, both notably silent. With the sisters taking over the conversation, there was little chance for Teresa to interject. She looked terse the whole time, seeming to become more frustrated as the conversation continued, and Selina… well, she was still acting sheepish.

And as all of this was happening, Hannah held Frederick’s hand and looked at him time and again, making sure to smile and check that he was enjoying himself. And in a way, he seemed to be, chuckling lightly here and there, smiling to himself, nowhere near as distant as he had been.

It was almost as if her plan was working…

Yes, he was still not entirely present. And yes, he was not involving himself as she might have liked. But he was listening, hearing what her sisters and their husbands were saying, seeing for himself what married life could be like.

Now, all Hannah needed to do was hammer the point home.

“Speaking of children.” Charlotte looked quickly at Beatrice and winked before looking back at Hannah. “Can we assume that you and His Grace are planning on bringing a little one into the fold soon, Hannah?”

Holding Frederick’s hand, Hannah could feel him stiffen at the question. No doubt this was the last thing he wanted to talk about. Although surely by now, he realized what she was doing?

“And what makes you say that?” she asked innocently.

“Natural curiosity,” Charlotte said. “You have been married for two weeks. I think it is a fair question to ask.”

“Charlotte,” her husband warned. “That is none of our business.”

“I disagree,” Beatrice piped up. “I rather like the idea of being an aunt.”

“Which you already are,” her husband reminded her.

“Still…” She fixed her gaze firmly on Hannah and Frederick. “Come on, tell us truly, has it been discussed?”

Hannah shrugged casually. “For now, Frederick and I are simply happy to take each day as it comes. Happy being the key word.”

She smiled at Frederick, who did the same, albeit with less enthusiasm.

Beatrice snorted. “That is dodging the question.”

“Just a statement of fact.”

“No need to be coy,” Charlotte pressed. “I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t for what I see with my own two eyes.”

“And what is it that you see?” Hannah asked, knowing where her sister was going, and glad for it.

“How happy the two of you are, of course! Are they not?” Charlotte looked around the table for support. “I’ll admit, coming here tonight, I was somewhat worried it might not be the case.”

“Charlotte…” Her husband groaned.

“But I am wrong,” she said rightly. “Why, with the exception of you and I, dear, I might go so far as to say they are the happiest couple at this table.”

“I will pretend you did not say that,” Beatrice chided.

“We are happy.” Hannah looked at Frederick and smiled, squeezed his hand, willed him to play along. “And for now, that should be enough. Right, Frederick?”

All eyes were on Frederick, waiting for his response. He had been silent for much of tonight, happy not to be involved with the chatter. But now that he had been asked directly, he had little choice in the matter.

And Hannah held her breath.

“We are indeed happy,” he said carefully. “I know that lately there has been some…” His eyes flicked to her aunt, lingered on her for a moment—a harsh glare—and then he looked back at the table. “… rumors about our marriage, things said that I hope you all know to be lies.”

“Of course,” Lord Ramsbury assured him.

“Nobody listens to rumor anyhow,” the Duke of Walford said. “Who has time for it?”

“Good,” Frederick uttered, seeming to relax considerably. “It is as Hannah says. We are happy.” Another quick glare at Teresa, which had her lip curling. “And that should be enough, I would hope.”

“Oh, nonsense.” Charlotte waved him off. “As happy as you are, a child will only add to that. Right, dear?” She nudged her husband.

Frederick stiffened again. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. As you said, it has only been two weeks. So why discuss something such as that so soon?”

“I do not think we waited so much as a day.” Beatrice laughed as she nudged her husband. “Right, dear?”

“We have discussed it,” Hannah cut in, seeing her moment. “And let’s just say…” She looked at Frederick, who eyed her warningly. It was a look she was half-expecting, but one that she decided to ignore. He was stubborn, but surely tonight had shown him what could be? What he could have if only he would allow it? “Nothing is discounted yet.”

“That’s a yes!” Charlotte laughed.

“Wonderful!” Lord Ramsbury beamed.

“I knew it!” Beatrice squealed. “Did I not tell you, dear?”

It was a sneaky ploy but a necessary one. Everything tonight was going so well, and Hannah knew Frederick well enough to know that he would not risk causing a scene—not with her aunt present. His insistence that he did not want a child was based on an unfounded fear, and he needed to see that. What was more, he needed to see the positives that such a thing might bring.

Hannah knew that later, they would have another discussion. Possibly a fight. But she also knew that she would be able to use tonight as an argument in her defense, reminding Frederick of the positives of starting a family together.

Really, she was just betting on his love for her as keeping him from doing or saying anything rash.

“Hannah,” Frederick spoke out the side of his mouth so that only she could hear. “What do you think you are doing?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she said simply, not looking at him as she addressed the room. “I told you all, it has not been discussed. We are happy as is, and that is enough for now.”

“Yes, yes.” Her father waved her off. “As you say…” He could not stop smiling.

“So, a boy or a girl?” her mother asked. “Which would you prefer?”

“Mother!” Hannah sighed but could not keep from smiling. “Do not start.”

“It is just a question. Your Grace.” Lady Ramsbury looked at Frederick again. “Any preference?”

Frederick looked like a deer caught by a huntsman’s bow. His grip on Hannah’s hand tightened. His back stiffened. The urge to denounce the claim was brimming inside him. But he was nothing if not controlled, which meant that he would likely see himself through the night without losing his temper. Surely.

“It is as your daughter said,” he began carefully. “We have not discussed it.”

“Oh, come now.” Lady Ramsbury waved him off. “You are among family here.”

“Still…” The corner of his mouth twitched. “This is a conversation I’ll only have with my wife.” He eyed Hannah warningly, and she responded in kind.

“Perhaps a toast?” Lord Ramsbury raised his glass. “To new beginnings or something of that sort?” He looked at his sister and smirked. “Oh, do not look so glum, Sister. I am certain that one day, you will be lucky enough to be making a toast like this.”

Teresa glared at him. “I consider myself lucky that I am not.”

Lord Ramsbury grinned. “I see someone is still bitter.”

“How dare you!”

He shrugged. “It is quite all right, Teresa. As you said, Selina has many gentlemen chasing her. I am sure you will have grandchildren of your own soon. Do not be petty.”

“I am just grateful that you do not have any more daughters,” she snarled. “Lest they steal another husband from my daughter.”

“Mother!” Selina gasped suddenly, the first time she had spoken all night. “Please, don’t.”

“No, I am sick of this,” Teresa hissed. “All night, my brother has acted like a bore, and this is the final straw. Anyone with two eyes can see how uncomfortable His Grace is.”

Lord Ramsbury snorted. “Shows what you know. Tell me, Sister, have you spread any more rumors lately? Or did you give up when every man and his dog realized the source? No doubt they knew the true reason you were saying such things.”

“I… that is not…”

“Face it, His Grace and my daughter are happy,” Lord Ramsbury said proudly. “I am sorry for what happened, but it really is time that we move on. Would you not agree, Your Grace?”

Frederick’s jaw was clenched so tight. Hannah eyed him fearfully now because this was not a topic she wished to broach. And the way he was beginning to shake… she could not imagine what he might say. Or how.

“Your daughter and I are happy,” Frederick said carefully and slowly. “That is all that matters.”

“They might not be if they knew the truth!” Teresa said suddenly.

“Mother!” Selina gasped. “No!”

“Truth?” Lord Ramsbury barked. “What truth?”

“Mother, please!”

“No, I am sick of this, Selina! Sick of my brother holding this over my head like some victory!” Teresa glared at her brother. “Do you wish to know the real reason your daughter was in His Grace’s room that night?”

Lord Ramsbury frowned. “We know the reason…”

Hannah’s eyes went wide as she looked at Selina, who dared to meet her eyes, a look in them that spoke to how sorry she was for what was about to happen.

“My daughter set the whole thing up!” Teresa cried. “Not wanting to marry His Grace, she tricked Hannah into going into that room dressed as she was. She made sure we would all see it. She was the sole cause of this marriage, which you, Brother, have been rubbing in my face since the second it was arranged. A marriage which…” She smirked as she looked at Frederick’s stricken face. “I am suspecting is nowhere near as happy as we are being led to believe.”

Silence rang through the room. Heavy. Thick with tension. A truly shocking statement that had Hannah looking at her husband, desperate to see how he might react. But his expression was indecipherable, even if she could see the shadow passing behind his eyes…