Page 64 of The Duke's Sinful Deal
Cissie said nothing, though her attention sharpened.
Arabella folded her hands loosely in her lap, her expression composed though steadier than before.
“You asked me,” she began, “whether I was content.”
Jane nodded.
“And I told you that I was,” Arabella continued. “Which is true.”
Cissie tilted her head. “But not complete.”
“No,” Arabella said. “Not complete.”
She paused, as though considering her next words more carefully than she had the first.
“I do not think I understood what that question meant when you asked it,” she said. “Or rather, I answered it as one is expected to answer.”
“And now?” Jane asked quietly.
Arabella exhaled, her gaze lowering briefly before returning to them.
“Now I think I would answer it differently.”
Neither of them interrupted.
“My husband is not… easy,” she said. “He does not offer comfort for the sake of it. He does not speak unnecessarily. He does not behave as though affection is something to be displayed.”
Jane’s brow softened slightly. “That does not sound particularly promising.”
“No,” Arabella agreed. “It does not.”
A faint smile touched her lips.
“And yet,” she continued, “he listens. He stops when asked. He considers before he acts. He does not take what is not given.”
The distinction settled between them.
Cissie leaned back slightly, her expression thoughtful now rather than sharp. “That is not nothing.”
Jane studied her more closely. “And so I ask you again, is it enough?”
Arabella held her gaze.
“I think— yes. I think it is more than enough,” she said. The breeze lifted a strand of hair loose from Arabella’s arrangement. She did not move to fix it.
“I think,” she continued, more quietly now, “that I would rather have something real, even if it is uncertain, than something easy that is not.”
Cissie’s lips curved faintly. “That is an odd preference.”
Arabella met her gaze. “I am beginning to think that I like that description.”
Jane’s voice softened. “And you are willing to accept being an outcast in your decisions? Society is not kind.”
Arabella did not answer immediately. Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her skirt before easing again.
“I am not certain it is a matter of willingness,” she said at last. “Only that… I chose this marriage— we both did. Nothing else matters.”
The silence that followed was brief, but meaningful.
