“Enter.”
Mary cracked the door and poked her head inside. “Lydia sent me to retrieve you both. Other guests have begun to arrive.”
“We must join them,” Diana said to Hannah, smoothing her skirts. “Not a word about any of this, please.”
“Of course not,” Hannah replied with a genuine smile.
They made their way downstairs, where Marina, Tabitha, andJuliana were already gathered in the drawing room.
“There you are,” Marina called to her. “How are you feeling with everything that is going on?”
“I’m anxious about how different everything will be as a married woman,” Diana replied carefully, accepting a glass of wine from a footman.
“I imagine you are,” Tabitha said, studying Diana with obvious curiosity. “Though you seem surprisingly… calm for someone facing a forced marriage.”
“I’m making the best of the situation,” she blurted. “Besides, I find that I like him a great deal. I do believe I’m growing excited about marrying Graham.”
Marina scoffed. “You certainly are making the most of things.”
Diana’s wine glass stilled halfway to her lips. “What do you mean by that?”
Juliana intervened gently. “I think what Marina meant to say is we want to make sure you are going into this marriage with your eyes open. Last week you were considering Lord Ockham as a practical match, and now you seem quite taken with Lord Powis.”
“Would you prefer I behaved as if I were being marched to the gallows?” Diana snapped, taking a larger sip of wine than was strictly proper.
“Not at all, but I don’t want to see you lose your head over a man you hardly know who compromised you at the first ball of the season,” Marina said coolly.
“Marina,” Hannah warned.
“I’m merely pointing out that Diana seems remarkably enthusiastic about what should be a rather distressing situation.” Marina crossed her arms. “One might almost think she planned it. Similar to her ridiculous plan for Lord Ockham.”
“That’s enough,” Diana said sharply. “I didn’t plan anything. But since I must marry him, I see no point in wallowing in misery.Marriage will afford me new freedoms and experiences that I wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Marina’s expression softened. “I am not trying to be cruel. I just want to ensure you keep your head about you. I will rip him apart myself if he steps a toe out of line.”
“I have always been practical. More practical than the lot of you.” Diana lifted her chin. “But I am marrying the man regardless. We have little choice. And he’s offered me a partnership. Respect. He’s already promised to share estate management with me and wants my input as he makes decisions about his holdings.”
That surprised them all. Even Marina looked taken aback.
“He’s allowing you access to everything?” Juliana asked.
“We’ll go over all of it together. He values my knowledge of such matters.” Diana couldn’t hide her excitement about this prospect.
Tabitha shifted on her feet. “I hope he doesn’t have financial concerns. I heard that his cousin had quite a habit of running up gambling debts.”
Diana froze for a moment, recalling Elias’s concern that Graham had trapped her on purpose for her dowry. But she couldn’t believe he would do that. “I shall see soon enough. He promised me that I would get to go over everything with him.”
“It’s one thing to make such promises,” Marina said carefully. “Men often say what they think women wish to hear.”
“Graham isn’t like that. He is one of the most honest men that you shall ever meet.”
“You’ve known him less than a week,” Marina pointed out. “How can you possibly know what he’s like?”
The question hit its mark because Diana couldn’t refute it entirely.
“I can’t,” she admitted. “But I have to trust my instincts.”
“Your instincts led you into a dark garden with a stranger,” Marina said bluntly. “Perhaps they need refinement.”