"Kate? Kate! Sis, what's wrong?!" Edwina followed me right to my bedroom where I pulled out my suitcase and began to throw things at random in it. She shot me a look of dismay, clearly alarmed by my unexcepted and frankly brash reaction. Not that I cared though; I just kept packing my things as fast as my hands were able.
"W-What are you doing?!" "We're going to Oxford- tomorrow! Go pack your suitcase. We'll get there a few months early; it'll be fine." Her eyes widened incredulously. "W-What are talking about? We're not going to Oxford. We just got here! We're spending the summer in London together! And I am NOT going to waste the good season in somewhere like "that"." "Fine, Portsmouth then! I don't care where we go; we just can't stay in London!" I fired back with equal gusto. She blinked at me a little speechless.
"Why….? Is it Chelsea? Do you really hate it that much here?" Her hand rose to her chest aghast. I stopped my frantic mobility to calm down and shake my head. My own hands now grasping a pink hoodie lowered a little. "No, I don't hate it here. I just don't want to live in the same community as…. him," my eyes shot a vicious side-glare at the thought of his name. His name and stupid, stupid face. Edwina's head tilted a sliver puzzled. "Who?" "That man you're NOT going to marry!" "What? You mean Anthony? Is this what you're upset about? Why Kate, I don't see what your problem is. He's perfectly lovely!"
"He's perfectly horrible! You shoulda' heard the way he talked to his friends back at the ball. He said you were "good breeding stock", and he didn't defend you when one of his friends called you a bimbo!" "He's a billionaire with an ancient family title; he can call me whatever he wants as far as I'm concerned," Kate grinned lightly, easing her posture. I gave her a stunned and disgusted stare. My foot slid a step in her direction as my pointed finger lifted up assertively.
"No, don't say that; don't ever say that! I told you- I TOLD you- that the only requirement I had for this farce of a marriage was that he treats you right. That's not Anthony Bridgerton. He doesn't respect you, Edwina; I doubt he respects any woman, much less the one he's going to marry! How do you expect me to stand by and watch you get on with that creep who'll probably have a ton of affairs while your back is turned?"
Edwina's head shook and her eyes drifted downward for a moment. "I already told you, Kate; I'm not looking for a love-match. I'm not stupid as to think a really good, happy marriage is realistic, or attainable. I know this isn't the Titanic, or the Notebook. The kind of love we see in movies just…. doesn't exist in real life. You know that! Dad told us that for years. He said he'd NEVER marry again; that we were the only things that made it worthwhile for him," she stopped here to take a breath and my vision scrolled down to the floor. She's got a point; he did say all that. Daddy always told us that the one thing we should know about marriage is that it's work- HARD work. An unrelenting, soul-crushing endeavour to get through. And I convinced myself that life was already hard enough, especially when a PhD at Oxford was on the horizon.
I didn't need another thing to "get through" on my plate, and neither did Edwina.
But at least I knew that some rare marriages could be happy. True, we'd never actually seen it for ourselves, but statistically it had to be possible, right? Otherwise why did people ever bother to get married in the first place? Course I didn't think Edwina nor I would ever be so fortunate as to find ourselves is such a coveted condition, and by the sounds of it, Edwina felt the same. She was even less romantic than I, which I both felt sorry for and approved of. After all…. No one can break your heart if you never give it to anybody.
After a brief interlude, Edwina sucked in another deep breath, gazing downward. Her lips parted a sliver. "I don't care if Anthony loves me or not. He's hot and rich; that's all I want. All I've ever wanted was to be a stay-at-home mom to my kids; I need a rich husband if I want to keep up the lifestyle I've grown accustom to."
"But Edwina, there are so many other men out there- good men! Can't you wait and find someone better? Why does it have to be a monster like Anthony?" "He's not a monster, Kate; I've looked at his references…." "Oh, he has references now?" "Yes, and they all have nothing but positive things to say about him." "Because he hand-picked them, no doubt!" "I frankly don't give a damn! He's the one I want. Our kids will have one of England's best family names; they'll have more doors opened for them than we ever did. I can give them the world, and I'll the world too. I'm not going to throw that life of luxury away for something as foolish as love! Even if I did fall in love with another guy, there's no guarantee it'll last. That's just not reality, Kate. You know that; I know that. Anthony is fully aware of this, and he himself has expressed to me a wish to avoid a love-match too."
"But why? What reason would he possibly have not to want that?" "I don't know; I didn't ask. But don't you see, Kate? We can give each other what we want. He wants a Viscountess who'll give him children to carry on the family name, and I'll have wealth and stability. And since there's no delusions on either of our sides, we'll likely not end in divorce," she explained, throwing open her hands. I watched her for a minute, considering everything she'd just said.
In reality it did make sense, much as I hated to admit it. Lots of women married for money, after all… And while I wasn't a fan of it, and would never do it myself, I did understand Edwina's reasoning. She's always known what she wants, and our father left us with no illusions of love and marriage. Love was that happy thing you had in the dating phase; that passion that fizzled out after you tied the knot. If we both knew that, then I suppose…
Now staring down at the ground, my fingers curled into the palms of my sweaty hands. My mouth trembled slightly. "But why him? Why can't you at least wait to see who else comes along?" "Because there might not be anyone better who comes along. You've got to trust me on this, Kate. I'm alright with my decision; Anthony and I may never fall in love, but we'll grow to like and care for each other in time. Heh, his brother Benedict messaged me secretly, saying that Anthony's never brought a girl home before. He's never had official girlfriend….." "Which explains a lot," I rolled my eyes and she chuckled softly. "True, he may have a lot to learn about women. But there's plenty of time for that, and there's no better teachers than you or I."
"I'm not teaching him anything! It's not my job to coach him on how to treat a woman right. You'd think a worthwhile man would already know that." Her head shook. "But he doesn't, so you'll have to be patient with him, Kate. Please….. Please, give him a chance; that's all I ask. He's my ticket to the good life…. for both of us. Please, Kate. Think of your future nieces and nephews…..
Think of Oxford."
The instant those words fell from her lips, my eyes grew expressively. Slowly my head spun back towards hers, and she smiled at me. A warm, sincere grin…. Her hand stretched out to take hold of mine.
"Do this for both of us. You going to Oxford will drain what is left out of our bank account. We'll have nothing, and I've never had a job before…. Please, for me…. Give Anthony a chance for me. If you do, and he and I get married, then you'll never have to work a day in your life either." "But I don't mind working," I countered, squeezing her hand back. "I know, but wouldn't it be nice to have that safety net? Or to have the opinion to go get another PhD once you finish this one? Come on, Kate. Think of the possibilities; I'm not marrying Anthony, the man. I'm marrying Lord Viscount Bridgerton, the billionaire. That's what I want; that is my decision for myself. So please, sister….. Please try. It would mean everything to me if you did," she pleaded with me.
After beholding her for another second, my eyes lowered tenderly, disappointedly… "You're sure? This is really, REALLY what you want?" "Yes; yes, it is Kate. You know Dad would approve of it too, if he were here…" "Mmmmmm, well when you put it that way….."
Before I knew it my sentence was being cut off by Edwina throwing her arms around my neck, laughing happily. "Oh, thank you, Kate! You have no idea how relieved I am to have your blessing!" "Whoa, wait a minute! I haven't given you my blessing." "Well this is one step in the right direction. Just you wait and see- you'll be enamoured with Anthony by the end of the summer," she drew back to give me a wink. I rolled my eyes unimpressed but kept my arms wrapped around her waist.
"I doubt it. It would take a saint to fall for someone like "Lord" Anthony Bridgerton." "Heh, at least that's more likely than a loving, contented marriage," she giggled and I shook my head. "You're right there. A marriage like that…. It's one in a million."
And what are the chances that we are one in million?