Chapter Text
“It’s been nine days!”
Anthony paced his study as Benedict lounged on the couch.
“She sent a note,” his younger brother pointed out. “They’re trying to sort things out. I would assume a jilted fiance takes quite a bit of sorting.”
“Her note didn’t strike you as odd?” Anthony demanded, snatching a well worn paper from his desk. “Things are tense here as we try to figure out the best path forward. I will write when we have a plan in place. Yours, Kathani.”
“It sounds like Kate is dealing with the fallout of a failed wedding. That cannot be pleasant.”
Anthony growled, throwing the paper down and running his hand through his hair. The door opened and Violet joined them.
“Anything?”
She shook her head and Anthony threw himself into his chair.
“I should just go over there,” he announced, “lend my support.”
“If she thought you could help, I’m sure Kathani would have summoned you,” Violet told her son. “She is navigating a very difficult situation. You must be patient.”
“Could you not invite her for tea?” he pleaded.
“I have tried,” she admitted with a sigh. “Danbury House is not accepting any invitations. Even the Duke has not been permitted.”
“And that doesn’t worry anyone else?” Anthony demanded. “Lady Danbury has never barred Hastings from her house!”
“They are regrouping, Anthony,” Violet told him. “How they manage this will make or break Miss Edwina. You must be patient .”
Anthony slouched in his chair despondently.
“You and Kathani are a love match, dearest,” she told him comfortingly. “You will have the rest of your lives together. Allow her this time to focus on situating her sister.”
“Yes, mother,” he agreed grumpily.
“Good. Lunch will be served presently.”
With that, she swept out of the room, leaving her two eldest children alone again.
“Benedict, I want you to go to Danbury House,” Anthony announced.
“Brother - “
“Go to the servant’s entrance if you have to,” he continued over him. “Find out what is going on in that house. Just…please. Find out if she is alright?”
Benedict sighed. “I will do this, but only because Kate is my friend and I’m worried about her too.”
“Thank you,” Anthony said, letting out a sigh of his own.
“Let’s hope you two are never separated for any amount of time after you’re married,” his brother told him with a smirk. “I don’t think the family would survive it.”
“Out,” he ordered, pointing to the door.
Benedict got up and headed to the door with a lazy salute and Anthony leaned back with another sigh, unable to shake the feeling that there was something very wrong in Danbury House.
Kate was seriously considering sororicide. Given all that had happened, surely the courts would understand? Either way, it would be worth it to get out of the house and away from Edwina.
The last nine days had been a battle in Danbury House while Edwina insisted that returning to India, obviously accompanied by Kate and Mary, would solve all their ills and Kate used all her will to not strangle her little sister. After the third day of her sister insisting they would all be happier in India, Kate began to seriously consider that the stress of the Season had caused Edwina to have a break from reality.
“She’ll realize that running away from her problems will not solve them,” Mary told Kate as they sat in the garden. “You just need to give her time to come to terms with all that has happened.”
“In the meantime, we can make strides in mitigating the damage the wedding did to our reputations.” the younger woman replied. “She acts as if she did nothing wrong by jilting Lord Morrison! If it wasn’t for Anthony, you know he would be dragging Edwina’s name through the mud! Yet she acts as if it was no more than an embarrassing faux pas, to be quickly swept under the rug as she moves to the next ball. We’ll be lucky if we’re not barred from the ton completely!”
Mary was quiet for a moment. “Have you heard nothing from the Viscount?” she asked softly.
Kate’s shoulders dropped and she shook her head. “I told him I would send a note when things were more settled,” she told her. “He cannot come here, not with Edwina behaving as she is, but what if he thinks I am as inconsistent as her?”
“He knows you love him, dearest,” Mary assured her. “I am sure he is just concerned about you and wants to give you the space you need to navigate this.”
“I miss him, mama,” Kate admitted, her voice barely more than a whisper. “It’s like I can’t breathe.”
“I know, dearest,” Mary comforted her, wrapping her arm around her eldest daughter’s shoulders. “Edwina will come to terms with her current situation and we will be able to focus on your wedding. Just hold on a little longer.”
Kate nodded and Mary squeezed her shoulders before getting up and heading back inside. Kate watched the door swing shut after her before closing her eyes and turning her face to the sun.
“Psst!”
She jumped and looked around wildly before spotting Benedict half hidden at the garden gate.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed, looking around to be sure they were alone.
“Making sure you’re still alive so Anthony doesn’t get it into his head that he needs to storm the front door to rescue you,” he hissed back. “Seriously, you two are not allowed to spend more than a day apart once you’re married. My health can’t take it.”
“My family are pariahs at the moment,” she told him, moving as stealthily as she could to the gate. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“You’re still Anthony’s fiancé,” he replied dismissively. “That will cover a lot of sins with the ton .”
“Benedict - “
“Anthony is going out of his mind with worry and taking the rest of us with him,” he interrupted. “Seriously, I heard Gregory asking Colin if he could stay with him for awhile because Anthony was so annoying, sighing constantly. You need to send me back with some sort of message or I’ll be forced to smother him with a pillow for the good of the rest of us.”
Kate felt her heart swell at the thought of Anthony driving his brother mad with worries about her and she smiled for the first time in nine days.
“If you smother him, you and I will never be family,” she pointed out, making him chuckle. “We both know that can never be allowed to come to pass.”
“That is a valid argument. Very well, give me your message.”
Kate thought for a moment. “Tell him…tell him…tell him I love him more than reason and will send a message as soon as matters are settled here. Tell him I am waiting eagerly for our wedding day.”
“I will deliver your message, kind savior of my sanity.” Benedict assured her before turning serious. “If there’s anything we can do to help, do not hesitate to call on us. You’re a Bridgerton in all but name and we support our own.”
“Thank you, Benedict,” Kate said, blinking back tears.
He reached out to gently squeeze her arm before slipping away. Kate took a moment to gather herself before heading back to the house. She slipped inside, quietly shutting the door behind her.
“Oh, Kate!”
She signed before turning to face her sister. “Yes, Edwina?”
“I was just wondering about the progress of booking our passage home. I noticed you have not begun packing yet.”
Kate once again reminded herself that it was frowned upon to kill one’s sister.
“I have not begun packing because I am not returning to India,” she told her slowly, as if talking to a particularly stupid person. “If you are curious about travel plans being made, you should speak to Mama or Lady Danbury as I, once again, will not be making that trip.”
“Why would you not travel with us?” Edwina asked, seemingly genuinely confused despite this being the third or fourth time they’d had this exact conversation. “I would think you’d be the most excited to return. You would be able to see the Rajkumar once again!”
“I am marrying Lord Bridgerton,” Kate told her incredulously. “My home will be with him, either here in London or in Kent.”
Edwina dismissed this with a wave of her hand. “We’ll be much better off at home away from this English riffraff. You’ll see. I’ll go speak to Mama about our passage.”
She flounced off and Kate just stared after her.
“Every day, it becomes more apparent that your sister is the Sheffield’s granddaughter.”
Kate didn’t even look at her as Lady Danbury joined her, still staring after Edwina.
“How do we make her see reason?” she asked, her voice tinged with desperation. “There is nothing left for us in India, even if I was willing to return. I cannot support both of them as a governess and she is not fit for an occupation. We raised her to be a high born lord’s wife. We have left her utterly unprepared to be anything else.”
“You did what you thought would give her the best future,” Lady Danbury consoled her. “You are not to be blamed for the current situation but, unfortunately, you will be necessary to clean it up. And until she can be brought to see the reality of the situation, she cannot be allowed into polite society.”
“What do you believe can be done?”
“I believe it is time, long past time, we stop coddling Miss Edwina,” the matriarch declared. “If she will not behave in polite society, then she will be forbidden from it.”
“Won’t that just make any rumors that are swirling worse?” Kate questioned.
“I do not see how they could get worse. Our excuse of illness is already wearing thin.”
She thrust a pamphlet at Kate, who winced when she saw the Whistledown name.
Dearest Gentle Reader,
With all the ton still reeling from the failed wedding recently hosted by our dear Queen, we all expected Miss Edwina Sharma to offer at least some explanation for why she left poor Lord Morrison standing alone in front of the altar and, yet, she hides away in Danbury House with the rest of her family. Why, no one has seen them in over a week! Rumor says Miss Edwina has been taken by some mysterious illness, but surely she must be at death’s door if she is still abed. But if she is not truly ill, perhaps the fault was not with Lord Morrison, as we’d all assumed, but with Miss Edwina herself!
Is the Queen’s Diamond nothing more than a glass bauble?
Kate threw the pamphlet on a nearby table and sighed, rubbing her forehead. “What do we do?”
“We rally our allies, name the Bridgertons,” Lady Danbury replied briskly. “We endure that the ton believes our version of events.”
“And what is our version of events?”
“That is what we must decide.”
“Oh, my dear!”
Violet swept Kate into a hug and Kate gratefully returned it. “I know this must be a trying time. Anything you need, you need to only ask.”
“Your support is what we desperately need at the moment, Lady Bridgerton,” Lady Danbury told her.
“It is yours, of course,” the other matron replied, cupping Kate’s cheek.
There was a commotion at the door and the women turned to see Daphne thrusting her cloak at a maid and rushing to Kate, practically pushing her mother out of the way as she threw her arms around Kate.
“I”ve been so worried! Simon almost killed Anthony, he’s been so annoying!”
Kate laughed, tears threatening to fall as she hugged the Duchess in return.
“I would ask that the Duke restrain himself,” she said, her voice thick. “I would still like to have a groom when this is all said and done.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Daphne assured her.
“Shall we go through to tea?” Lady Danbury suggested and Violet nodded, linking her arm with Mary’s as Daphne did the same with Kate.
The women made their way into the parlor and situated themselves on the couches.
“How is Miss Edwina?” Violet asked, taking a sip of her tea and the ladies of Danbury House exchanged a look.
“She is..well,” Kate slowly said finally.
“Let us be blunt, shall we?” Lady Danbury interjected. “She refuses to acknowledge the reality of her situation. She is determined that running back to India will solve all her problems and is unwilling to accept that everyone might not agree with her.”
“It will not,” Mary said softly. “We were afforded a place at court first because of my husband’s position and later because of the love the Maharaja held for Kathani and her mother. She will find her situation much diminished were she to return, especially without Kathani.”
“Kate can’t leave!” Daphne exclaimed and Kate patted her hand comfortingly.
“I have told her multiple times that I will not be returning to India, but my sister is nothing if not stubborn.” she assured her.
“What made her break off the engagement, especially at such a late stage?” Violet asked.
“She has not shared her reasoning with us,” Lady Danbury said, clearly annoyed with the younger woman. “One can assume she finally woke to the fact that Lord Morrison was not the type of husband she desired, a fact Miss Sharma did try to impress upon her before we reached this point, but that is moot now. I also harbour a suspicion that the Queen indicated she would not support so much as not punish Miss Edwina for breaking the engagement.”
“Surely that should protect her?” Mary asked, but Lady Danbury shook her head.
“She will not bar her from society, but she will not protect her from the gossip of the ton .”
Violet confirmed this with a nod. “We will need to concoct a story to try to spin this in our favor. Miss Edwina must come out of this with her reputation at least moderately intact to protect Miss Sharma. Any smear to Miss Edwina will present a stumbling block to Kate’s - I’m sorry, Kathani’s entrance as Lady Bridgerton.”
“We will spread any story you come up with,” Daphne declared. “Morrison left immediately for the country, so I doubt he will provide any contradiction as long as we stay away from actual slander.”
“My thought was to spread that Miss Edwina took ill during the ceremony and that the delay allowed both parties time away from their whirlwind romance to realize they did not truly suit. An illness also allows us to explain her continued absence from society.”
“Is she truly unfit to return to society?” Violet asked, surprised.
“She seems to believe she has done nothing wrong,” Kate said with a sigh. “She refuses to consider that there might be consequences to her behavior. She also refuses to entertain the idea that we will not simply bow to her wishes. I am forced to admit that we were much too lax in establishing boundaries with her as she grew. She never faced consequences for her actions as a child, why would she expect different now?”
“We are not talking about running through the palace,” Mary protested. “I tried to raise both of you to be women of good sense. Until now, I thought I had accomplished it.”
“Blame and guilt will not solve the current problem,” Lady Danbury told them, not unkindly. “All we can do is try to fix it going forward.”
“Well, Lady Whistledown seems to be on your side,” Daphne told them. “Besides the recent allusion to there being more to the story, she has honestly said very little about the whole situation.”
“There is an art show in two days,” Violet said. “The illness story also explains your absence, but you need to be seen. Anthony will be ecstatic to accompany you, I’m sure.”
“I don’t think we could stop him without calling up the army,” Daphne interjected with an unladylike snort.
“I propose we plan an outing,” Violet continued, ignoring her daughter. “Can Miss Edwina be trusted here alone at least?”
Mary and Lady Danbury exchanged a look.
“I will stay with Miss Edwina and attempt to disabuse her of her current notions,” Lady Danbury decided. “Lady Mary will accompany you.”
“I would suggest you begin accepting invitations, perhaps promenading, to get a lay of the land.” Violet hesitated for a moment. “If Miss Edwina cannot be brought to see reason, perhaps a trip to the country for her health would be recommended. She, of course, would be welcome at Aubrey Hall.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Kate said with a sigh. “Despite everything, I would still like my sister at my wedding.”
“Of course she should be at your wedding,” Mary agreed, taking Kate’s hand in her own, “but Edwina will make her own choices. She is the one who will have to live with not attending her sister’s wedding if it comes to that. What is most important is that you get to begin your life with the man you love. Do not take responsibility for your sister’s behavior onto yourself.”
“Nothing and no one will stop Anthony from marrying you,” Daphne assured her, taking her other hand. “He would take you to Gretna Green tonight if he thought he could get away with it. There is no situation where Anthony backs out of this wedding, so you’re rather stuck with him. There is absolutely no reason to worry on that account. Everything to do now is to simply ensure you have the smoothest launch as Lady Bridgerton as possible. Mother is on the right track with the art show, and Simon and I will join you, but we must begin planning the wedding in earnest. We can show no other sign of delay to the ton .”
“I will begin reaching out to vendors,” Lady Danbury announced. “I assume you have the local decision in Kent handled, Lady Bridgerton?”
“Of course,” the other matron agreed. “Daphne, you still plan to host the engagement ball?”
“Just try to stop me,” the Duchess replied, squeezing Kate’s hand. “I’ll send out the invitations by the end of the week. I would appreciate your assistance, Lady Mary.” The older woman looked surprised and Daphne smiled. “I would like to include some of Kate’s home and customs, if possible.”
“I am at your disposal, Your Grace,” Mary replied gratefully.
“We will take care of all of it,” Lady Bridgerton assured Kate kindly. “All you and Anthony need to worry about is being happy and in love. Everything will fine.”
“Thank you,” Kate said, her voice thick with barely held back tears. “All of you. Thank you so much.”
Daphne reached over and wrapped her arm around Kate’s shoulders. “You aren’t alone, Kate,” she told her softly. “We are all here to support you…and Anthony, I suppose.”
Kate laughed, leaning her head into Daphne’s shoulder. The women spent the rest of tea planning as much as they could and making plans for further planning sessions.
No one noticed as Edwina snuck away from the door.
Lady Danbury did not wait for a response to her knock before entering Edwina’s room. The young woman didn’t even acknowledge her, just kept staring out the window.
“You know, I usually pride myself on my judgment of someone’s character,” the matron told her conversationally. “It is rare for me to be so mistaken about a young lady, but you, my dear, you were very good at hiding your true face.”
“I am sure I don’t understand your meaning, my Lady,” Edwina replied dully.
“I believe you do, Miss Edwina.” Lady Danbury came and stood in front of her, leaning on her cane. “I was assured of your goodness and sweetness and so I did not seek to look beyond the surface. Tell me, child, when did you first realize just how jealous you were of your sister?”
Edwina scoffed. “What have I to be jealous of?”
“Many things,” the other woman replied easily. “Your sister is poised, well educated, accomplished, beautiful, and, best of all, lucky in love. Many would be jealous of her, but one would expect someone who claimed to love her to be happy for her instead of setting out to ruin her. Or perhaps it isn’t jealousy. Perhaps it is simply profound selfishness. Perhaps you simply cannot stand that your sister may get to have a life in the sun after years of willingly submitting to your shadow.”
“How petty you must think me, my Lady, to believe such a thing of me,” Edwina said with a sniff.
“I can only form my opinion from my own observations,” Lady Danbury told her. “This Season, I have observed a small, spoiled young woman who feels slighted because her sister has the audacity to form a life outside of her. I see a young woman who has been coddled by her family for so long that she believes everything she wants is hers by right with no thought to how it might affect anyone else. Worst of all, I see a sister who actually begrudges her sister finding love and family outside of her.”
“How dare you say these things to me?” Edwina demanded, surging to her feet.
“You are still under my roof, Miss Edwina,” Danbury said, pinning her with a stare. “Sit down.”
Edwina petulant did as ordered.
“Now, whether you approve or not, your sister will be marrying Lord Bridgerton, the man she loves and who clearly loves her. That is lucky, because it means he is willing to overlook your current scandal out of love for her, but he will not allow any more bad behavior from you and neither will I. You will behave yourself and show nothing but support for their union or you will find yourself locked in this room until the ton departs at the end of the Season and your sister is safely installed as the new Lady Bridgerton. Am I understood?”
“You cannot treat me like this!”
Lady Danbury gave a derisive laugh. “Child, neither your mama or your sister will protect you from me. You yourself saw to that with your conduct. Now, are you going to behave as the well mannered young woman you have purported to be or will you be acquainting yourself with my walls for the next several weeks?”
“If I am such a bother, why not divest yourself of me entirely?” Edwina demanded. “Grant my wish and send us back to India.”
“Because your sister deserves to have someone think of her first for once. I am disinclined to let you ruin her happiness because you feel you have been slighted in some way.” She leaned on her cane. “I will give you the evening to consider your options. If you decide you would rather behave as a functioning member of society, you may join us for promenade tomorrow morning and we will begin attempting to recover from your blunder. A pleasant evening, Miss Edwina.”
With that, she left the room, leaving Edwina to stew in her own unhappiness.
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Kate fretted as she pulled on her gloves. Lady Danbury had announced at breakfast that they would all be going on promenade, Edwina included. “Surely this is still too soon for Edwina to be forced to confront the ton .”
“It will only get harder the longer she waits,” Mary replied. “But that is not your concern, my dearest. Leave your sister to Lady Danbury and me. Simply focus on your fiance and your happiness.” She took Kate’s face between her hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “All will be well.”
Kate sighed and managed a small smile. “Yes, mama.”
“Good girl.”
“Are we all ready?”
The two women turned to watch Lady Danbury approach, Edwina trailing subduedly behind her.
“Yes, my Lady,” Kate replied with a deep breath.
“Then let us be on our way.”
She led the women out the door, a footman and maid trailing behind them. They made their way to the park and Kate’s nerves grew with every step.
“Are we truly to just pretend nothing has happened?” she asked. “Two weeks is surely not enough to have the scandal fade.”
“We are not pretending nothing has happened,” Lady Danbury told her. “We are choosing to deal with it in private, in our own time. Scandals may cast aspersions, but they do not obligate us to answer to anyone. Besides, the ton has a remarkably short memory. With any luck, by this time next week, there will be a bigger story for them to sink their rapacious teeth into. Nothing will detract from your wedding, Miss Sharma, I assure you.”
“I give credit to your imagination, Lady Danbury,” Kate said dryly. “A bigger story I cannot foresee.”
They reached the park and made their way inside. Immediately, whispers broke out and Kate had to resist the urge to physically step between Edwina and the judgmental gazes of the ton .
“This was a bad idea,” she murmured, but none of the others acknowledged her words.
Every step they took, another member of the ton turned away until, finally, Lady Danbury tried to take matters into her own hands.
“Lord Cho!” The Lord gave her a look before obviously turning and walking the other way as she huffed. “After everything that happened last Season with his scullery maid and Lord Cho cuts me ?!”
“Perhaps we should return home?” Mary suggested worriedly. “To regroup?”
“Hopefully not before we are able to greet you, my Lady?”
Kate had to physically restrain herself from turning and leaping into Anthony’s arms as she turned to find him smiling behind her.
“Of course not, my Lord,” Lady Danbury replied, loudly enough that the nearby ton would be able to hear every word. “I would never deprive your fiance of your presence. I know she has missed it as Miss Edwina recovered from her illness.”
“As I have missed hers,” Anthony replied, taking Kate’s hand and pressing a kiss to it before tucking it in the crook of his arm. “I trust you are recovered, Miss Edwina?”
“Yes, my Lord,” Edwina replied after a not so subtle nudge from her mother.
“Miss Sharma!” Anthony and Kate turned to watch Hyacinth barely stop before crashing into them, Gregory on her heels. “We have missed you terribly! Is Newton with you?”
“Are you sure it was me you missed and not Newton?” Kate asked with a laugh.
“Of course it was you, Kathani, dear,” Violet said, stepping around her youngest children to press a kiss to Kate’s cheek. “But they do pine for Newton as well, as their brother has not seen fit to give them an animal of their own.”
“You see what you’ve done?” Anthony asked with mock severity as his mother stepped away to wrap her arm through Mary’s and begin conversing with her. “You’ve turned my whole family against me!”
“I believe you did that yourself, my Lord,” Kate replied, smiling brightly as Mary’s shoulders visibly relaxed as Violet showed her open support. “You really should have provided your siblings with their long desired dog.”
“Well, I suppose they shall just have to settle for having Newton with us full time after the wedding.” The group turned and began heading back down the path and Anthony leaned closer to whisper to Kate. “Everything will be fine.”
Kate smiled and pulled closer to him, letting him lead her away from the ton .