Page 30 of Two Blessings For His Duchess
Euphemia rubbed her temples, looking between her two sisters with a weary, heavy heart. “It is fine if we all have our reasons for being here. Leonora is right about that. But, Leo... you need to let this go. You are dwelling far too much on something that should have been left behind. Sure, our fathers died tragic deaths, and there were so many terrifying things we did not understand growing up, but we need to move forward. We need to be happy, moving forward.”
Euphemia lowered her voice, desperate to keep the hovering shop assistants from catching their words. “Our fathers suffered a terrible stroke of misfortune, yes, but we turned out fine, didn’t we? We survived. We are well. I want you to be happy, Leonora.”
Leonora looked at Euphemia, a deep, painful fracture appearing in her usually sarcastic facade. “It is easy for the two of you to stand here and tell me to let it go. You both have your answers, I don’t! You know the sequence of events that led to you both to living under Lady Byron’s roof. You can account for everything, and everyone. But I do not. I am completely in the dark, and I refuse to live my life pretending that I don’t want to know.”
Before Seraphina or Euphemia could offer an answer, the heavy velvet curtain of the fitting room rustled. The head modiste glided back into the center of the room, her arms laden with a fresh cascade of silk linings, effectively shattering the fragile, heavy bubble of their argument.
Instantly, the three sisters smoothed their faces. Beneath her calm front, though, Euphemia understood Leonora perfectly. She knew that if she were in Leonora’s shoes, she would alsowant to know the truth. She didn’t really want to argue or tell Leonora to stop, because her sister had every right to look for answers.
The real issue was that she and Seraphina were just terrified. They were scared that if Leonora kept chasing these buried secrets in her birth family, she would end up getting badly hurt by whatever she found. Nobody knew exactly what had actually happened back then, and they just wanted Leonora to live a safe, happy life. But Leonora was like an onion with too many stubborn layers, and stopping her from ruining her own peace was going to be nearly impossible.
Hoping to steer the conversation away from familiar arguments, Euphemia stepped between them, adjusting the fall of a pale green muslin sleeve on the dressmaker’s dummy.
“Have you heard anything from Lady Byron lately?” Euphemia asked. “I have written several letters to her since the wedding, but her responses are always incredibly brief. I can tell she is still quite upset with me over how everything happened.”
Seraphina sighed, smoothing down her skirts. “She hasn’t said much to us either, though her silence speaks volumes.”
“Perhaps we should go and visit her soon,” Euphemia suggested, looking between them. “Just to smooth things over. Don’t you agree? I mean, she did not want us to come to London, but I have to admit she has tried to support us in her own... stubborn ways.”
“All right,” Seraphina said. “We should. She’d be glad.”
“She might not let us leave again, if we go back,” Leonora pointed out. “You both know that, right? She’ll lock us in the library and bury us with books. Are you sure visiting is the best idea?”
Euphemia inhaled sharply, noting that Leonora made a valid point. “Perhaps, we continue to write her letters until she warms up to us.”
“Good,” Leonora said, but Seraphina said nothing in return. “Right, before I completely forget. I wanted to let you know that your uncle is doing much better, Effie. Seraphina and I did visit him a couple of days ago. I heard the Duke has graciously stepped in and is paying for a proper nurse and a physician to take care of him.”
A wave of warmth washed over Euphemia, though it was instantly chased by a flurry of curious concern. “Yes. His Grace mentioned he would do that once we wed,” she murmured. She looked at Leonora, tilting her head. “This new person... the nurse. Do you know if they read to him?”
Leonora blinked, slightly caught off guard by the question. “I... I believe so. I understand she is quite attentive. Why do you ask?”
A small smile broke across Euphemia’s face. “Because he will be utterly insufferable if they do not. He is terribly stubborn about it.” She chuckled softly. “We used to read together in the evenings when he was well enough. I quite miss it.”
She smoothed the front of her gown. “Perhaps, one of these days very soon, I shall go and pay a visit to him. If for nothing else, so we can read together again. I can handle his stubbornness better than a stranger can.”
Leonora nodded. “That would be good.”
“What about the two of you?” Euphemia asked, changing the subject. “What have you actually been up to while I was away on my honeymoon?”
“Nothing,” Leonora said flatly, leaning against a display table. “Absolutely nothing.”
“We have just been staying at home, doing nothing at all,” Seraphina agreed. “We haven’t attended a single social event.”
Euphemia gave Leonora a knowing look. “I assume that means you have just been buried in your books, doing your own research and investigations again?”
Leonora simply offered a tight, mysterious smile, neither confirming nor denying the accusation.
Euphemia looked at both of them, exasperated. “Even if you are both upset about being forced to come to London, you cannot just hole up in the house like hermits. The entire reason I was so enthusiastic about rushing into this marriage was to ensure the rumors didn’t ruin your social standing, and here you are, ruining it yourselves by refusing to step outside!”
Seraphina waved a dismissive hand, cutting her off. “Effie, that is not even the conversation we should be having right now. Why are we talking about us?”
She stepped closer to Euphemia, a sharp, curious gleam entering her eyes. “You are the one who just got back from a honeymoon. How was it? What did you actually do? Did the two of you do things that married people are... well, supposed to do?”
Leonora stepped closer, her curiosity completely piqued now. “Right! You just had a honeymoon, Effie. You know, all the books I read are terribly vague about that period. They don’t really give enough information as to what actually happens. The novels just say it is the honeymoon period where the couple makes love. But what does it even mean to make love?”
Euphemia blinked and tilted her head to the side. “Well,” she began, trying to sound as knowledgeable as possible, given that she was the only one with any experience in these matters. “What happens during the honeymoon is that you get to know each other really well. You meet the family, and if your husband happens to have children, you meet their children.”
Seraphina looked utterly confused, her brows knitting together. “That is bizarre, Effie. I thought that was what the courting stage was for. Why do you still need to use an entire phase called the honeymoon just to get to know each other?”
