smile, the way it
didn’t stop at his mouth but went all the way to his eyes. He understood
himself. There was a confidence about him because he didn’t take himself too
seriously. Duke’s son or not, he understood he was a man like any other when it
came right down to it.’
That sounded like her brother—confident and laughing. It was
good to know her memories were intact, that she hadn’t made up a person to fit
her fading recollections.
‘Around here, everyone has known everyone all their lives and
their families’ lives,’ Phaedra ventured. ‘We don’t marry for smiles or
laughter. We marry because we know each other’s histories and place. There
aren’t a lot of secrets between a couple.’
‘Like Giles and Lily?’ Alicia said kindly.
‘Yes, like Giles and Lily, although the match wasn’t planned
and they certainly hadn’t spent their lives falling in love with each other. I
don’t think Lily liked Giles very much at all until now. But they knew each
other.’
‘I think there must be a great comfort in that.’ Alicia sighed.
Was that wistfulness she heard?
‘Or great boredom,’ Phaedra said, thinking of Bram and how he
didn’t fit the conventional standard. She had no idea where he’d come from, what
place he called home. Was that part of his novelty? The idea that he was
new?
Alicia laughed. ‘Boredom is underrated, Phaedra. Many a good
woman has been led astray by the promise of something exciting and new.’
Like Aunt Claire’s first marriage, Phaedra thought instantly.
Aunt Claire had married away from Castonbury and that had been a disaster. She
hadn’t known her husband well at all. As a result, she had fallen victim to his
good looks and smooth charm, a cautionary tale against falling in love with a
stranger. Better to marry as Giles was doing and taking a mate who’d shared your
life and your land.
‘Jamie was exciting and new,’ Phaedra argued. ‘He would have
taken care of you. There would have been no risk.’
‘You’re wrong. There has been tremendous risk. He died,
Phaedra, and now my life is in limbo. People doubt me, doubt that I am who I say
I am. And truly, I don’t know what will become of me or my son if I am not
believed.’ It was the first time Phaedra had ever heard Alicia break from her
quiet calm. She was always so composed. Not even Giles’s questioning had ruffled
her when she’d first arrived.
Phaedra’s heart went out to her. Whatever suspicion surrounded
Alicia, it could not be doubted that she suffered. It was there in her blue
eyes, that constant shadow of sadness or perhaps despair. Phaedra had not fully
realised until that moment how precarious Alicia’s situation was.
Since her arrival in the fall, Alicia had been part of the
problem, part of the devastating tragedy that had haunted the Montagues: two
sons dead, one of them the heir. And her , a woman the family had no knowledge of, Jamie’s widow
and mother of his son, who would become the future duke. All of them, herself
included, had treated Alicia as if she was the calamity, a woman not to be
trusted. Somehow Alicia’s claims had made her the enemy.
But today, Phaedra began to see a new depth to the dangers and
risks from Alicia’s point of view. By her own admission, she’d married a man she
hadn’t known well. She’d known even less about his family and still she’d come.
Alicia was brave, just as Kate was brave to sail off into the unknown. But Kate
had Virgil by her side and once Alicia must have counted on having Jamie to help
her navigate the new world facing her as his wife. Without Jamie, the world must
have seemed bleak indeed.
Beside her, Alicia took a deep breath and regained her
composure. ‘I’m sure this isn’t what you wanted to talk about,’ she said.
Phaedra hesitated. ‘What makes you think I wanted to talk about
anything in particular? I saw you across the field, that’s all.’
Alicia smiled. ‘You saw me across the field and decided
didn’t stop at his mouth but went all the way to his eyes. He understood
himself. There was a confidence about him because he didn’t take himself too
seriously. Duke’s son or not, he understood he was a man like any other when it
came right down to it.’
That sounded like her brother—confident and laughing. It was
good to know her memories were intact, that she hadn’t made up a person to fit
her fading recollections.
‘Around here, everyone has known everyone all their lives and
their families’ lives,’ Phaedra ventured. ‘We don’t marry for smiles or
laughter. We marry because we know each other’s histories and place. There
aren’t a lot of secrets between a couple.’
‘Like Giles and Lily?’ Alicia said kindly.
‘Yes, like Giles and Lily, although the match wasn’t planned
and they certainly hadn’t spent their lives falling in love with each other. I
don’t think Lily liked Giles very much at all until now. But they knew each
other.’
‘I think there must be a great comfort in that.’ Alicia sighed.
Was that wistfulness she heard?
‘Or great boredom,’ Phaedra said, thinking of Bram and how he
didn’t fit the conventional standard. She had no idea where he’d come from, what
place he called home. Was that part of his novelty? The idea that he was
new?
Alicia laughed. ‘Boredom is underrated, Phaedra. Many a good
woman has been led astray by the promise of something exciting and new.’
Like Aunt Claire’s first marriage, Phaedra thought instantly.
Aunt Claire had married away from Castonbury and that had been a disaster. She
hadn’t known her husband well at all. As a result, she had fallen victim to his
good looks and smooth charm, a cautionary tale against falling in love with a
stranger. Better to marry as Giles was doing and taking a mate who’d shared your
life and your land.
‘Jamie was exciting and new,’ Phaedra argued. ‘He would have
taken care of you. There would have been no risk.’
‘You’re wrong. There has been tremendous risk. He died,
Phaedra, and now my life is in limbo. People doubt me, doubt that I am who I say
I am. And truly, I don’t know what will become of me or my son if I am not
believed.’ It was the first time Phaedra had ever heard Alicia break from her
quiet calm. She was always so composed. Not even Giles’s questioning had ruffled
her when she’d first arrived.
Phaedra’s heart went out to her. Whatever suspicion surrounded
Alicia, it could not be doubted that she suffered. It was there in her blue
eyes, that constant shadow of sadness or perhaps despair. Phaedra had not fully
realised until that moment how precarious Alicia’s situation was.
Since her arrival in the fall, Alicia had been part of the
problem, part of the devastating tragedy that had haunted the Montagues: two
sons dead, one of them the heir. And her , a woman the family had no knowledge of, Jamie’s widow
and mother of his son, who would become the future duke. All of them, herself
included, had treated Alicia as if she was the calamity, a woman not to be
trusted. Somehow Alicia’s claims had made her the enemy.
But today, Phaedra began to see a new depth to the dangers and
risks from Alicia’s point of view. By her own admission, she’d married a man she
hadn’t known well. She’d known even less about his family and still she’d come.
Alicia was brave, just as Kate was brave to sail off into the unknown. But Kate
had Virgil by her side and once Alicia must have counted on having Jamie to help
her navigate the new world facing her as his wife. Without Jamie, the world must
have seemed bleak indeed.
Beside her, Alicia took a deep breath and regained her
composure. ‘I’m sure this isn’t what you wanted to talk about,’ she said.
Phaedra hesitated. ‘What makes you think I wanted to talk about
anything in particular? I saw you across the field, that’s all.’
Alicia smiled. ‘You saw me across the field and decided
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