Chapter 19

Wedding Surprises

"Ithink I could marry Nigel in rags and still feel like the most beautiful woman in the world." Olivia twirled in the dressing room of the modiste, beaming at Jane and Lady Cotswalts behind her.

"Well, this is a far cry from rags; you will both feel and look like the most beautiful woman in the world." Jane smiled at Olivia as she gestured to the dress she was wearing. "Once the final alterations are made, of course."

Olivia stopped twirling and looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was alight with a giddy confidence, and as she took in her full reflection, she felt as though she could fly.

She had chosen a dress made of delicate white satin hemmed in silver lamé. She had chosen short, puffed sleeves, and her dress had a wide neck. Jane, who was rather skilled at embroidery, had worked with the modiste to create the swirl of embroidered flowers and leaves that decorated the gown.

Her train was made of delicate white muslin, and her shoes were white to match. It is everything I imagined when I was a little girl. As she stared at her reflection, she imagined herself walking towards Nigel, her brother Alexander by her side before he took up his place as best man.

"You look wonderful, darling Olivia." Lady Cotswalts wiped a tear from her eye. "You shall be the envy of every woman in the ton! Not least because few of them could afford such decadence."

"I do not care what they think. Just that I am to be married to a man that I love in a dress that is perfection." Olivia twirled again, loving the movement of the fabric as she did so. "I never want to take it off."

"Well, you shall have to." Jane laughed. "The modiste still has some adjustments to make, the waist needs cinching, and we need to hem everything properly."

Olivia sighed dramatically but grinned at her friend. "And of course, there is the risk that being seen by Nigel in my gown could bring us ill fortune."

"Indeed. And we would not want anything to get in the way of our happy couple." Lady Cotswalts took the dress from Olivia and returned to the modiste, calling over her shoulder as she did, "I have an errand to run in town. I shall see you at Pembleton Manor later."

"Of course, mother. I expect we shall head straight home," Jane called after her as she helped Olivia back into her clothes.

As the two women linked arms and began to leave the shop, Olivia said, "You know, I am rather surprised by your mother."

"Oh?" Jane tilted her head at Olivia curiously. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Well, your mother has been remarkably agreeable about my marrying Nigel, despite the fact that she had plans for my courtship of another." Olivia frowned. "And while I am very grateful she has been so agreeable, I confess I had rather expected… well I am not sure what I had expected but certainly not this."

Jane opened her mouth to reply, but before she could do so, a shadow fell over them. Olivia turned to see Lord Briston step in front of them. Although he was smiling, Olivia felt a peculiar unease. It is not a pleasant sort of smile; it is the kind of smile made of knives.

"Ah. Lord Briston. We had not expected to run into anyone." Jane smiled brightly at the man, ever the picture of politeness. "We were just shopping for Olivia's wedding dress."

Olivia noticed an odd look in Lord Briston's eyes at Jane's words and was puzzled. I suppose it must be hard to be reminded that I did not choose him — though he barely made an effort to court me. "It is good to see you, Lord Briston."

"Miss Jane. Lady Olivia." Lord Briston inclined his head towards them, the same ugly smile on his face. "Might I accompany you for a moment?"

Olivia glanced at Jane but could see no reason to deny the man his request. "Of course, though the carriage is only a little way from here."

"Oh, this will only take a moment." Lord Briston gestured to the carriage. "After all, I just wanted to offer you my congratulations. I hope you and my cousin are very happy."

"Thank you." Olivia smiled.

"Truly, it is a noble thing you are doing," Lord Briston said, giving Olivia a serious look.

"I hardly think marrying the man I love is noble." Olivia canted her head towards Lord Briston.

"You are being modest." Lord Briston waved away her words. "Few women would want to choose a few months of happiness for a lifetime of loneliness. My cousin is lucky to have earned the love of someone like you. Although, perhaps it is not nobility that has made you agree to this."

"What are you implying?" A jolt of anger sparked in Olivia. You think I only want his title.

"Oh nothing, just… well, perhaps it is less for love and more his title that you would choose to put yourself through such pain." Lord Briston flashed her that same unpleasant smile. "Though I confess, that would be rather surprising; I did not think you were that kind of woman."

"Sir, I assure you my friend cares not for the Duke's title. She loves him most earnestly." Jane put a hand gently on Olivia's arm.

"My apologies, I meant no offence." Lord Briston shrugged. "Only that I suppose a title would make widowhood rather more easy to bear."

Something in Olivia's chest tightened. Is he threatening Nigel? "Widowhood? What exactly are you saying?"

"Come, do not be coy with me, Lady Olivia. As my cousin's betrothed, I am sure he has made you only too aware of his curse?" Lord Briston's eyes narrowed as though he did not quite believe what he was hearing. "After all, it shall affect you most tragically."

"What curse?" Jane asked before Olivia could say anything.

Lord Briston looked from Jane to Olivia, an expression that looked as though it was trying to be apologetic formed on his face. To Olivia, it seemed like poorly disguised glee.

"Oh. Oh dear. I thought you knew." Lord Briston ran a hand through his hair, his tone not quite hiding his happiness. "After all, you arranged everything with such speed. Marrying with a special license. I assumed you knew that he was not long for this world."

"Get to the point." Olivia's patience snapped as blood roared in her ears. He is just jealous. That is all.

"He is dying. Like his father before him and his father before him and so on. All of them, dead at 27." Lord Briston held Olivia's gaze, taking a moment before he asked, "Truly, he did not tell you?"

"Perhaps the Duke did not know. Sometimes families shelter people from such secrets." Jane looked desperately between Lord Briston and Olivia.

Lord Briston shook his head, looking away from them but not before Olivia saw the traces of a smile on his face. "The Duke knows. Why, that is the whole reason he has been so desperate for a wife this season!"

He knows how upsetting this is to me, and he is enjoying it. Olivia felt a lump form in her throat but refused to give in. I will not give him the satisfaction.

Lord Briston walked with them in silence, and though he tried to conceal it, Olivia kept catching glimpses of his satisfaction. As they moved towards the carriage, and she caught one too many looks, she found her composure snapped.

"You are enjoying this, aren't you?" She felt anger rise up in her and took solace in it.

"Why, good lady, I would never take joy in seeing another's pain. Much less someone as lovely as yourself." Lord Briston affected a mortified expression.

"You are not as good a liar as you think, My Lord." Olivia clenched her fists, letting the anger fill her. "I had thought you a kind man, a little uninteresting perhaps but stable. Yet now, now I see the truth of you. You are a spiteful, jealous man who cannot bear another's happiness."

"And you are an impudent girl who was too blinded by ambition or naivety to see she was marrying a doomed man." Lord Briston's eyes flashed angrily before he seemed to get a hold of himself. "I… I am sorry. That… I did not mean that."

"No. Do not apologise; that is the most honest thing you have ever said to me." Olivia met Lord Briston's gaze. "You have shown me your true colours, and for that, I am immeasurably grateful."

They had reached the carriage, and the coachman held the door open for them. Before Lord Briston could say anything further, Olivia climbed into the carriage.

"Good day, Lord Briston," Jane spoke firmly before climbing in after Olivia and nodding to the coachman to shut the door. "Home, Mr. Green."

"Very good, Miss Jane," Mr Green called back as he jerked the carriage into motion.

Olivia felt the anger that had sustained her moments before fade. An odd numbness settled over her, and she felt as though she were entirely separate from her body. He is dying. Surely, surely Nigel would have told her if this was true?

Jane was watching Olivia, and as if she had read her thoughts, she said, "Don't listen to a word that horrible little man said. I'm sure he is just jealous. Nigel would not keep something like that from you, I'm sure he would not."

Olivia nodded her head, feeling as though someone else was nodding in her stead. Yet even as she heard Jane's words, she could not bring herself to believe them. She remembered the Duke's insistence that he could not marry her. His continued remarks about the kind of life it would bring to her.

It would be a most terrible fate. Nigel's words rang through her head. The doubt was no longer some fledgling thing, but it had taken root and spread through Olivia.

She remembered Alexander telling her that the Nigel had lost his father at a young age. But that was hardly unusual. Many people lost their father at a young age. Had Nigel's grandfather also died young? Was it really true? It would be easy enough to discover.

She thought back to their conversation in the garden. When she had talked of their future and the odd look on Nigel's face when she had spoken of their children having their father. Guilt.

She needed answers. Snapping herself back to the present, Olivia shook her head and banged her fist hard on the side of the carriage, making Jane jump in fright.

"Mr. Green?" she called.

"M'Lady?" the coachman answered. "Are you unwell?"

"No, I… I... I need you to take us to the Duke Glassley's London house, not Pembleton Manor." Olivia's heart was hammering in her chest. "I have urgent business to which I must attend."

"Of course, M'Lady," Mr. Green called back, and Olivia felt the carriage lurch slightly as he changed direction.

"Olivia…" Jane looked at her friend. "Please, do not tell me that Lord Briston's words have made you doubt Nigel."

"How could they not?" Olivia clenched her hand into a fist, a ball of rage and sadness welling up within her.

"Because he was obviously jealous. You said so yourself — he was obviously trying to cause you distress." Jane glowered at the memory.

"That does not mean his words are untrue." Olivia felt a sadness steal over her. "Why make up a lie so fantastical that it would be easy to refute? Why not tell me something more sensible?"

Jane bit her lip. "If it is true… would it matter?"

"It matters not whether it is true, the pain is that he did not tell me himself. That he did not give me the chance to make my own decision." Olivia felt tears stream down her cheeks. "How could he profess to love me and yet keep something like this from me? How can we marry if there is no trust between us?"

Jane opened her mouth and closed it, clearly at a loss for what to say. Olivia turned from her friend and stared out of the window. The carriage ride passed in silence, and almost before she knew it, she found herself standing outside the door of Nigel's study.

She raised a hand to knock, ignoring the protests of the steward that the Duke was not to be disturbed. She could hear the sound of voices behind the door. Nigel and someone else.

Nigel's voice was muffled through the door, and the protests of the steward drowned out the first part of his words, but what Olivia heard, was like a knife in her heart. "I cannot tell her that I am a dying man."