As Mary walked into the home that her elder sister, Charlotte, shared with her husband, her eyes widened in surprise. It did not matter how many times she came to visit, it would always come as a shock. The home they shared was incredible; huge, elegant, and filled with luxury. Right in the heart of London, it was almost a castle fit for royalty.
Lord Jones, Charlotte’s husband, and his family made their wealth from banking and finance. It was a lucrative company that meant her sister could afford anything in the world. It hardly mattered that he was two decades older than her sister. He was chosen for her because of the lifestyle he could offer her.
Just like this Duke was for Mary, she supposed ...
Mary could not help herself; she felt very jealous of what her sister had. This home, the exciting life of going to the sort of society events that her husband’s wealth opened up to her, the clothes and jewellery ... it was all like a dream come true. It made their family home look utterly tiny; it made Mary feel like she had nothing. She did want something so lovely herself; Mary was keen to inject a little more excitement into her life, but that did not mean she was ready for marriage and to be thrown into society just yet.
Still, no matter what she had, Charlotte never looked happy. Her plump, bee-stung lips were always turned down, and her round brown eyes were filled with utter sadness. Even her pale, milky skin looked drawn and distressed under all the make-up that she wore. Just looking at her made Mary’s heart ache.
“Please, Mary, take a seat,” she told her sister much too formally. Mary could remember a time when all they did was bicker over silly things. Now Charlotte was acting like she was a stranger. “Would you like some tea?”
Mary nodded to agree, but only to try and get rid of the butler that seemed to follow Charlotte everywhere. “Yes, please. Thank you very much.”
Once they were alone, Mary leaned forward and examined her sister carefully. The silk dress that flowed from her body appeared perfect, and her hair finely adorned, but she was definitely wearing a mask to try and hide her feelings. Mary needed to delve right in to find out more.
“Charlotte, are you alright? You do not appear to be quite well.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened with shock, but she quickly rearranged her expression until her face was blank once more. “I am utterly fine, Mary. I hope that you are well too.”
Mary bit down on her bottom lip as she considered carefully what she needed to say next. She wanted to confide in her sister, but it was a challenge to find the right words. “Actually, I am not. I had a meeting with Walter earlier in the week.”
“Father’s friend?” Charlotte screwed up her face in confusion. She could remember the man well. Being older than Mary was when their father died, everything stuck in her mind much more clearly. “Why did you have a meeting with him? I have not seen him since ...”
“Father’s funeral, I know.” Mary nodded slowly. “That was sort of what he wanted to talk to me about.”
“Why would he talk with you now? Father passed away five years ago. Why would he be speaking to you now?”
“There was a clause in Father’s will that affects me now.” Charlotte turned her whole body to face Mary. Her hands remained tightly clasped in her lap, but her fingers wrung around one another showing her anxiety. “Now that I am eighteen years of age, he wishes me to get married.” She breathed deeply, all of this suddenly feeling much too real. “I will not inherit the family home if I do not get married.”
“What?” Charlotte felt utterly horrified by that statement; she could hardly believe it. “Why would Father be so cruel? I can hardly believe it!” She could feel her body trembling. “Why would he not just allow you to have the house?”
“Walter believes that Father has my best interests at heart.” Mary’s heart sunk. “He thinks that Father just wants to persuade me into a wedding because it is what is best for me now that I am eighteen.”
Charlotte was filled with an utter sense of ice-cold dread. The mask that she kept on her face at all times slipped slightly. Despite the fact that she did not like anyone to know how she truly felt, her emotion almost peeked through. “Has Father suggested a man for you?”
“Yes,” Mary whispered. “He is a Duke that he has worked with in the past.”
“Oh, no.” Charlotte shook her head vigorously. “No, no, no.”
Mary parted her lips and started to ask why her sister was having such a terrible reaction to her statement, but the words fell away from her mouth when the butler returned to the room with the cups of tea. She looked desperately at Charlotte, but her sister had very clearly returned to ‘Lady Jones’ mode. Mary was now starting to see that she spent a lot of time playing a character.
“Thank you very much, Arthur. I would love some privacy now, please. Can you alert the staff members that I would like to be left alone?”
The butler nodded and turned away, thankfully leaving the girls alone. Mary felt utterly grateful for that. When it was just her and Charlotte, they could almost be the way that they once were.
“It must be nice,” she commented idly. “Having many people doing as you ask.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes at Mary. “You act as if our family has never had people working for us. You do not have it hard, trust me. I have seen the working classes and the conditions that they have to live in ... now that is terrible.”
“You have?” Mary was stunned; she had always led a very sheltered existence. A morbid curiosity claimed her. “What is it like?”
“Awful, not the sort of life anyone would like to have.” Charlotte paused for a second, and she cocked her head to one side. There was something that she wanted to confess to someone, but she did not have many friends anymore. With a husband much older than her, all of his friend’s wives were also older. Charlotte always felt left out, no matter what happened. But this was her sister; why should she not tell her? “Actually, I would like to do something to help the working classes, but my husband does not agree. He believes that the poor are a parasite on society, and the kindest thing we can do is to ignore them.”
“Oh ... right.” Mary did not know what to say to that; it was something that felt so far removed from her own life. Without any knowledge on the subject, she did not feel that she could contribute anything intelligent. “I see.”
“So, this Duke, what do you know about him?” Charlotte needed to get the conversation back to the subject at hand. “What did Walter tell you?”
“Nothing, really. I do not know a thing. I have a meeting scheduled with him next week so I can get to know something about him.”