The third eldest girl was more interested in books than in men. However, Cathy could understand her concerns. It was one thing to be given the opportunity to say no, and another to be completely discarded. The outburst was replaced by silence. Cathy could now judge her life based on the noise and silences, the approvals and disapprovals.
“Perhaps there is still hope if...” Lady Marlow suggested, her voice low and somewhat calculated. Cathy was familiar with this tone. The other girls merely gaped at her grandmother.
The baroness placed her cold hand on Cathy’s shoulder, her face softening. Was that pride that she saw?
“The Duke of Baxter has been attempting to call on you for two days now,” the old woman continued. “He sent three messengers, Cathy. He was obviously not asking for your father; he was asking for you. If you are fortunate, he might beinterested in marrying you.”
“I told you, Grandmama, I cannot do that!” Cathy protested, backing away as if the very suggestion had become a physical threat. “He is a rake! I would never tie myself to a man like that.”
“Except during that night of the competition,” Madeline murmured, then darted a guilty glance to her right.
“The Duke of Baxter left a woman at the altar in front of the wholeton. He was challenged to a duel. Yet, he still walked away from her. That is proof of strange desires and questionable loyalties, do you not think? I would not want to become a wife in a marriage of convenience, being the charity case. Can you imagine my humiliation, Grandmama?”
“Please think clearly, Cathy!” her grandmother said with urgency. “It is not just about your pride anymore. Look at your poor sisters! Madeline is the most optimistic of all the young ladies I know. To see her distraught means the end of the world. Her future is now tied with a father who ran away because he chose drink over his daughters and with an older sister who caused a scene at a chapel, no less!”
“Grandmama!” Madeline exclaimed. “You are being as dramatic as Cathy!”
“Portia may need someone to fund her books and further education. On the streets, she would never see a library again. The girl could curl in your library, perhaps, if you married the Duke.”
“I am not a cat,” Portia complained. “I could always carry some of my best books with me.”
Cathy gave her sister a grateful nod, but their grandmother’s tirade was still not over.
“Then, there is our dear Selina, with the face of an angel and a belly that has never grumbled for lack of food. Now, she will be covering that face with soot as she becomes a chimney sweep with chapped hands and lips!”
Cathy raised her eyebrow at that.
“Chapped lips?” Madeline sounded both outraged and curious.
“Because of dehydration,” murmured Portia.
Selina looked appropriately solemn.
“Do you want to see Selina’s beauty sold for a loaf of bread? Beggars cannot be choosers, Cathy!”
“While that solution may have been stuck in your head, the Duke of Baxter does not want to marry me,” Cathy argued. She did not know why she had to explain the obvious. Her heart stuttered in her chest. It was like the world was about to crash on her head, and more rocks were being pelted on her. “The only thing he is interested in is proving he can conquer Miss Priggish. After that, he will tire of me. My reputation is already in tatters. He probably wants to make me his mistress, or worse!”
“Let him find a dozen or so mistresses if it means that you become a duchess. We need bread on the table and security for the rest of your sisters. Once we have found them good husbands, you can lock yourself in your own bedchamber while he comes home with women. I do not want to tell you to sacrifice yourself, but it is the only way we can save this family.”
“Grandmama, he told me himself that he did not want to marry Miss Longrove because he did not want to marry anyone at all!”
Lady Marlow fell silent, as if genuinely contemplating Cathy’s words. Madeline, Portia, and Selina huddled together. Their wide, red eyes revealed they were finally grasping what had truly happened. They were terrified, silently pleading. And one thing Cathy realized then was that the silence was an even greater challenge. It crushed her to see her family’s fight fading away. Four women waited silently for an answer.
“You must convince him to marry you. When he comes to visit you once more, you will usher him into the remains of the drawing room. He will offer you marriage. It will not be an arrangement for him, but a choice. Do you know that Miss Longrove was shoved into him?”
“I am being shoved into him as well.”
“No, my darling. You are the only woman with the stature and grace to stand beside the Duke of Baxter, notbehindhim. Save us. Become the Duchess you were meant to be since you were born.”
Cathy felt cold all over. It was like she was slowly being prepared for burial. She thought that by following the rules all her life, she would be safe. Since she was little, she had dreamed of having a man as a partner. Not a master. And yet, their lives depended on what men did. Her father was certainly proof of that. He stole not only the coffers, but also her ability to choose her future. Perhaps she could play this game, but within the marriage bond. She would have to find a different way to reclaim who she was.
“Fine, I will do it,” she spat out the words. It felt like defeat. It felt like the end of who she was meant to be. “I will marry the Duke of Baxter if he is offering.”
Selina rushed to her, clinging to her with tears, while Madeline gave her a tentative smile. It was Portia who remained frowning at her sister’s decision.
I know, Portia. I know.
After all that, Cathy felt numb. Miss Priggish had become something else that morning. She had become a lamb to the slaughter.