Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

The Engagement Party

Prevost Manor

"Y ou are here!" Bridget shouted. "You are the guests of honor!"

"I know," Leah complained. "You have only written and told me four times already. I feel extra honored."

Bridget ran over to her sister, careful not to trip over her engagement party gown, and hugged Leah.

"I'm so glad you are here, Leah. Did you have a wonderful time on your trip out of London with your new husband?" Bridget's voice became higher pitched as she made her way through the sentence.

"Oh, it was wonderful," Leah lied. "We had the best time together, and I think we really got to know each other on the trip."

"Yes, I'm sure you really got to know each other," Bridget said before giggling.

Leah reminded herself to smile as the embrace came to an end, and she tried to look mischievous as she looked at Bridget again. It had been another disappointment on the trip. Save for almost making love on their first night in the country cottage, they had not been intimate.

"Your Grace, thank you so much for coming. It is such a pleasure to have you here," Bridget said to Solomon.

"Yes, a complete pleasure," Frederick said, joining his fiancee's side. "We never imagined we would have someone of your stature at our engagement party. We are so happy you both met each other."

"You are too kind, sir. I am happy to have met Leah when I did. She came into my life at just the right time, and I can see that is the same for you. From the way you look at each other, I know you are going to be as happy as we are."

Frederick stuck out his hand for the Duke to shake, and he took the Duke's forearm in his other hand as he shook.

"Your Grace, you are too kind. My life has been changed since I met Bridget, and I can see that your life has been changed by Her Grace. Love is a wonderful thing."

"Yes, it is," Solomon agreed. "As men, we can stand up to many things, but we are powerless in the face of love."

"Oh, my goodness!" Bridget exclaimed.

Leah liked around frantically. "What is it? What has happened."

"No, it was when Frederick called you Her Grace. I had not thought about it at all. Should I be calling you Your Grace?" Bridget asked.

Leah laughed. "You must never call me that. It would sound weird coming from you. You are my sister, and you have always called me Leah. You must only continue to do so."

"Oh, good," Bridget replied. "I was not sure if I had offended you."

"You did not offend me."

Bridget let out a long sigh of relief. "Come, the two of you must meet our guests. I never knew that Frederick had so many friends or such a large family, and Grace and the Viscount are here, of course. I am sure Grace is beginning to show up, even if she won't admit it. And Father has new business dealings he wants to talk to you about, Your Grace. Oh, and I have a friend?—"

"My love," Frederick interrupted, "how about we allow our guests of honor to relax a little and have some refreshments before we demand too much of their time."

"Oh, Frederick, I am so glad to have you by my side. I would get myself into quite a muddle if I did not have you," Bridget admitted.

"It is the opposite for us," the Duke said. "It is Leah who helps me to understand the world better."

Leah looked at her husband and smiled, even going so far as to kiss him on the cheek.

This is much easier for you than it is for me, isn't it? You fall into your charming way so easily while I struggle. I shall leave it all to you.

"Come with me, and I shall get you both some refreshments," Frederick said. "Your Grace, I cannot offer you as grand a cognac as Lord Prevost has served you, but I hope what I have will suffice."

"I often find it is the company that makes a drink taste better," the Duke told him.

Frederick looked from Bridget to the Duke and grinned.

It is not only women who fail under your spell, is it? You can charm just about anyone and fool them into believing what is not true. Perhaps you are truthful in this instance.

"I shall get you some sherry," Bridget told her sister. "That is if you can have some."

"Yes, I can have some. Why would I not be able to have some?" Leah asked.

"Well, Grace cannot have any," Bridget clarified.

"Bridget! It has only been three days. I am not with child yet."

"Well, you don't ever know, do you?"

Leah felt the Duke's hand on her back, and she realized that she needed to make more of an effort. This was to be the last time.

"No, you are right, Bridget," Leah said, leaning in. "You never really know. I shall risk it this time, but only for you."

Bridget giggled and blushed a little—more to do with her happiness than any embarrassment. "Come on; we should go and find Grace so the two of you can talk about such things."

Bridget looked back at the Duke and held out her hand. "I am not sure I can be away from my beloved for too long."

"We will take good care of him," Frederick said, patting the Duke on the shoulder.

Leah looked her husband in the eye, enjoying the short time they had been in her family home a lot more than the three days they had been at the cottage. She enjoyed the pretending even though she knew it would come to an end. She held his gaze and wished it could all be different.

Maybe we can fool ourselves and pretend for the rest of our lives.

Leah let herself be dragged off, and she went with Bridget to be with Grace. It was some relief from having to pretend. It was fun to be in a loving marriage for a brief moment in time, but if she had to keep up the act, she knew she would crack.

"There will be music later, and we shall dance," Bridget told her sister. "And you will get to meet all of Frederick's family, and there is wonderful food. I wish this night could go on forever."

"The night might not go on forever, but your life with Frederick will," Leah said.

"We will be just like you and His Grace," Bridget said. "You two are in love, and it is wonderful. Isn't it wonderful, Grace?"

Grace turns from the conversation she was having with an older lady. "What is wonderful?"

"I am in love, and you are in love with a child on the way, and Leah is in love and will soon have a child, and it is the best thing ever."

Grace smiled pleasantly and looked at Leah. She was one of the few people who knew a lot of the truth.

"Every marriage is different," Grace said diplomatically. "It is fine that Leah is married, and I can't wait for her to have a family. I know that she will soon."

"Thank you," Leah replied.

It was the only certainty in her life. She would eventually have a family with the Duke. She looked across the large hall to find him. He was good with Frederick and a couple more lords. He looked happy.

Leah had never felt more alone. Both of her sisters were in love, and they thought she was, too. She was not happy with her life, but her husband obviously was.

"All three of you together!"

Leah turned to come face to face with her father. His cheeks were red, and his eyes a little glassy. He'd had one too many glasses of brandy to celebrate.

"How are you, Father?" Leah asked.

"Never better," he replied. "Two daughters are married, and the third soon will be. I always thought the measure of a man was in creating wealth for his family, but I now see that the true wealth comes from the family a man's daughters create."

"I think I understand the sentiment," Leah said, smiling. "We are glad to make you happy, Father."

"And we are glad to have you as a father," Grace added. "You have shepherded us through life and into our relationships."

"Yes, you are wonderful, Father," Bridget added.

"Three beautiful daughters, and soon, there will be three beautiful families. And you must have lots of grandchildren for your mother." Ernest leaned in a little. "I am not sure she can cope with only me for the rest of her life. She is an angel, and she needs to care for children. With you three leaving the next, we need grandchildren. Do you hear? Grandchildren!"

Bridget giggled at her father.

"Let me take that from you," Grace said, taking the glass from her father. "We need some other refreshments if you are to do your speech later."

"Ah, yes, good idea," Ernest replied.

Grace shepherded him off, leaving Leah and Bridget alone.

"I must thank you again," Bridget said. "None of this would be possible without you."

"There is no thanks needed," Leah claimed.

"For a while, I was not sure you liked His Grace, and I had my doubts about him, too, but you have shown us all what love can be. Thank you for that, sister."

Leah felt the tears fall down her cheeks.

"Oh, no, what did I say?"

"It is nothing," Leah lied. "I am so happy to be here with you today and for you to have found a man who loves you just as I have. And you love him just as I love Solomon. You will have a perfect life just as I do."

Leah could not stop the tears as she lied to her sister.

She felt a hand on her back, and when she turned around, the Duke stood behind her.

"Tears of joy," Bridget told him.

"There is almost too much joy," the Duke said with a laugh. "They are about to play some music. I thought I could steal you away for a dance or two. Then I will be the only one to see your tears."

Leah nodded as she tried to stop crying.

"They are not tears of joy, are they?" the Duke asked as he took Leah to the dance floor.

"Please, I don't want to talk about it right now. I am trying my best to pretend, but I want a few minutes to be myself. Can we dance and do nothing more?"

"Of course," the Duke told her. "We can do whatever we want. And the moment you want to get out of here, we will leave, and we don't need to give an excuse if we don't want to. I will tell them I have food poisoning and I am about to throw up all over the dance floor. How about that?"

Leah chuckled through her tears. She nodded.

The Duke took her hand in his when they reached the dance floor and placed his other hand on her waist. Oh, how welcome that touch was for her grief. Leah responded by placing her hand on the Duke's shoulder, and she ached for his touch. It was the only thing that would take the pain away.

Her vision was still blurred as the dance started, but as she blinked, the tears were removed, and she could see again. She saw this handsome man before her that had become so much more than she had expected. She thought the worst of him when they first met, but since getting to know him, she understood who he was.

She wanted more with him, needed more with him. She had to keep herself closed off, or she would suffer. Leah gripped the Duke tighter, clinging to his body as the dance intensified. She looked at her husband again, and she didn't see the man everyone else saw. She saw his wonder, strength, and caring nature. He had not shown anyone what he had shown her, and that had to count for something.

There had to be some feelings toward her if he had shared himself with her—he had made her feel things that no one else had made her feel or would ever be able to make her feel. Now, all he caused was despair.

He acts so easily as if he is truly in love with me, and every time we pretend, I have a glimmer of hope that fizzles out to nothing. Because that is exactly what we have: nothing.

The music came to a halt abruptly for Leah, as he had not been paying attention. Solomon looked at her with doting eyes, with the eyes of a man who was in love, and everyone around them saw it. Everyone thought they knew the truth about him, but only Leah did.

"I can't, I can't, I can't," Leah muttered.

"What is wrong?" the Duke asked.

"I know it is only one more time, but I can't do it," Leah said, trying to keep her voice down.

"Do you need to go home?" the Duke asked.

The large hall suddenly felt stifling, and Leah could barely breathe. The air in the room pushed down on her, and the stares from all around were oppressive. If she didn't get out of there, she would crack under the pressure and scream the truth at everyone.

It is only one more time. I only have to feel like this one more time!

Before Solomon could tighten his grip on her, Leah ran from the dance floor toward the exit. She did not look back at anyone but knew everyone was staring at her, especially her family. It was easy for him to pretend, but not for her.

Leah burst out into the cool evening and gasped, finally able to breathe again. She would have screamed out into the night if someone had not grabbed her shoulder.