Society's Expectations & Too Many Complications {Finalist}

Chapter 27

Six days of no consequence passed, six days of restless waiting, endless pacing and various other activities that I had hoped would pass the time.

They didn't.

The whirlwind of my mother no longer appeared in the patchwork of my life: ripping seams and stitching ones that suited her better, and 'complemented my natural colour far better'. Strange to say.. I missed her meddling. Well, not so much the results of that meddling, but more that she had cared enough to mix her fingers into my marriage.

Now, she stayed in her bedroom, permanently with headache, as Father would tell me. I considered going up there myself, to speak with her, but I feared... I feared that it would not be what I hoped for. That she would stare at me with empty eyes, the ghost of the Duchess.

The way Josephine had even disregarded her, had unarmed her. Josephine was the good daughter, the willing daughter. But Mother had gone too far to even have forgiveness from my sister. Because all of Josie's sweet young dreams had been blown away by hushed secret orders, that she had gone along with, purely because she had not the slightest knowledge how terrible her actions were.

Despite her terrible mistakes, her pernicious hand in Josie's undoing, I could not command my heart to stop loving her. She may have been horrible, in her actions, but she was my mother. The Duchess of Westershire.

It seemed that even the highest may fall, and when they do, it is the farthest they fall. It was a sad saying, and one that applied exactly to her.

Sebastian, was healing, able to walk around the room, though he wheezed like a crone when he did so. The man was determined to fence, though my warning had been passed over to Lady Darrows and she had behaved expressly to it, posting guards by his doors, and outside his windows at all times.

Sebastian had not quite forgave me for that particular loss of his freedom.

I believe he would thank me, when he sailed through his recovery with high health, and not more blood loss. Though perhaps more grudgingly, than anything else.

According to Lady Darrows, he would still be attending the Ball; his health increasing, as his spirit no doubt willed it to. Determination was quite the tenacious trait of the Darrows.

Today, however, would be busy day for me. After near going wild with waiting, I had been invited out to lunch today by Victoria. She had taken the loss of Lord Hugo Darrens very badly, staying at home and not attending any societal functions for a great deal of time. I took this gesture to be a brave one from her, though a relieving one for me.

Afterwards, I had a Gentlemen's Club meeting, which Sebastian insisted on attending. Lady Darrows was a very hardy woman and would not stand him going however, I would think. I doubted that Sebastian would be able to hobble out of his bed-chamber, no matter a daring climb out of the window and past the guards on watch.

But right now, I was expected at Hotel High Society, an odious place to be sure, but a destination that Victoria had insisted upon. I let her have this, for there was nothing harsher than losing a husband, I would know.

Walking along the main streets quickly, I wondered on whether I had made the right choice. To have her marry him; I mean, would it have been right to have let her? If no one had breathed a word of his ill-virtue, then perhaps, would she have been happy? Everyone knew men had... needs, that required satisfaction, so was it perhaps just a detour before he walked down the marriage aisle, for Lord Darrens?

When inside the bonds of marriage, he might have settled down, might have consigned his bed to only Victoria. I had told Daniel, knowing that the insult to his family name, was far more than he would ever have endured. That he would make absolutely sure, that she would not marry him.