Chapter Thirteen: An Unthinkable Fate
The frenzy of competition. The thrilling delight of hazarding your all. I am referring not to the lure of London's luxurious gaming halls but to a gamble with far higher stakes. Matrimony. For once that particular wager is placed, it cannot easily be undone. A fact which, I am sure, is met with both regret and sheer relief.
"Your majesty," Letty curtsied to the queen, who had sent for her.
"Miss Everly," the queen smiled. "It seems I received a letter for you from my nephew by mistake. I apologize for opening it. I did not realize who it was meant for at the time. My footman gathered the letter that was meant for me before it reached you."
"Oh," Letty gasped. "Why, thank you, your majesty."
"Here," the queen held the letter out and Letty took it from her hand gently, unfolding the letter and reading through it quickly.
Dear Kampfzwerg, (German for 'combat dwarf'- a small person who always has aggression problems)
It was wonderful to hear of your most recent news. It has come to no surprise that Mister Bridgerton has finally proposed to you. It has been a rather long time coming, I've read. I would be most happy to attend in the future. I hope you groom does not mind a prince appearing at his wedding.
I hear my aunt is hosting Lord Bridgerton's wedding herself. I am sure she has thrown herself into having the most luxurious of animals and flowers for the event. I myself told her that German chocolate was the only way to go for the wedding cake when she informed me of the happenings. I'm sure you would agree.
I have no news to share with you, unfortunately. It seems to be the same democrats and business dealings as the last time we spoke. I shall inform you if I fall asleep in another meeting though. I know how much you enjoyed hearing of it the last time.
I wish you well and good fortune. Awaiting you next letter patiently, Letitia.
Prince Friedrich.
"How often do you and my nephew write to one another?" the queen asked curiously.
"A few times a month," Letty admitted.
"And, this nickname he uses for you. What is the reasoning behind it?"
"Well, as you can see, I am a bit on the smaller side. He also knows how protective I can be over those I care for. The name started as a joke, but now every letter begins with it. I am still unsure if I want it to stick around," Letty laughed.
"Hmm," the queen hummed. "Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials."
"Thank you, your highness," Letty smiled.
"I look forward to my invitation. A special license is not required, yes?"
"No, ma'am," Letty shook her head.
"Good," the queen nodded. "You are dismissed."
"Thank you, your highness," Letty curtsied and turned, trying not to seem eager to leave the queen's presence.
Ever since the queen began hunting for Lady Whistledown, Letty had been looking over her shoulder. She still helped Pen with delivering the letters, but she was much more aware of her surroundings now.
Letty sighed as she fell into her bed, kicking off her slippers and climbing up to the pillows. She took a small nap before supper, talking happily with her aunt about all of the gossip she'd missed out on while she'd been gone for the past month. The next day, she walked over to the Bridgerton home.
"And what of us, Brother?" Benedict's voice asked, full of amusement. "Should we be polished and braided for the big day?"
"We'll on be on display," Anthony stated. "Perhaps you might even scrub your hands for the occasion?"
"I happen to like the paint on his hands," Letty smiled, entering the room.
"I've been occupied at the academy," Benedict defended as Letty took the seat beside him.
"What about Miss Edwina's sister?" Hyacinth asked. "Will she come live with us, too?"
"Oh, I do hope so. It'll be a boon to have another intelligent woman living in the house," Eloise commented.
"Another?" Colin asked. "Mm, you're overcounting."
"Eloise, I shall need your help today," Violet spoke up. "There is the dinner to plan with Lady Danbury to welcome the Sharmas into the family. And then the engagement ball next week…"
"I am sorry, Mama, but, uh, I am attending a lecture this afternoon. Flower arranging," Eloise stated and Letty and Benedict both stared at her with confused expressions. "Penelope's mother is forcing her to go, Letty cannot accompany her, and you've wanted me to find more ladylike pursuits."
Eloise walked over to a small table with treats on it, Colin following her over and the two whispering back and forth a bit. Benedict looked to Letty questioningly and she simply shrugged, having no clue what was actually happening.
"Miss Edwina Sharma and Miss Mary Sharma for Miss Letitia," a footman announced and Letty looked to Benedict in confusion, who just shrugged at her innocently.
"Oh, what have you done?" Letty demanded before standing and placing a fake smile on her face as Edwina and Mary entered the sitting room. "Hello, Edwina. Miss Mary. How may I help you?"
"Sorry for intruding. Your aunt said you would be here. Lord Bridgerton informed me that you make all of your own gowns and that you've made a few for Miss Eloise and Miss Penelope in the past. I was hoping you would be willing to take on a larger project for me," Edwina smiled softly.
"I told Edwina that we should go to a modiste in town but she insisted that her future sister-in-law be asked first," Miss Mary sighed.
"What am I being asked exactly?" Letty asked.
"Would you make my wedding gown?" Edwina's bright smile was full of hope.
"Oh," Letty's brows rose.
"As I said, we should go to the modiste," Miss Mary tried.
"Nonsense, Mama," Edwina waved her hand at her mama before grabbing Letty's hands. "Would you, please? I know a wedding dress is a large order, but I would want no one else in charge of it."
"Oh, um, I…"
Anthony was looking down at Letty, eyes wide. Edwina had so much hope and happiness on her face. Violet looked beyond happy as she stared at Letty and Edwina.
"Of course," Letty breathed, ignoring the look of shock on Benedict's and Colin's faces, Eloise simply looking bored. "We can go back to my home and I'll get measurements and we'll go into detail on what you hope for."
"Thank you!" Edwina squealed happily, pulling Letty into a tight hug. "Oh, it will be perfect."
Letty threw a look over her shoulder to Benedict, causing him to laugh as she was dragged out of the room and to the front door. Letty led Edwina and Mary to her home, her aunt and Kate waiting patiently for them to return. Letty then led everyone to the room that she'd been using to create her gowns; fabrics in a neat row, mannequins with and without coverings, designs pinned to the walls and her sketch book opened on a desk. Edwina looked around in wonder as Kate touched a few of the gowns, feeling the fabric and smiling softly.
"See, Mama?" Edwina turned to her mother. "Letty knows what she is doing."
Letty wondered when she'd given Edwina permission to use her nickname.
"Letitia, have you ever made a royal gown before?" Mary questioned.
"Yes, ma'am," Letty nodded. "I designed Eloise's society dress for when she was presented to the queen. I also have sent a few designs to the prince in Prussia for his royal modistes to create for him."
"You speak to a prince?" Edwina gasped.
"The queen's nephew to be exact," Letty nodded. "He was here last season. We bonded over German food and still keep in contact."
"Does Mister Bridgerton know of your correspondence?" Mary asked.
"He does not," Letty shook her head. "I never really saw the point of telling him. I will in the future if needed. So, Edwina, what were you hoping for? Are we looking at something traditional to London or India?"
"I would like something of both," Edwina stated.
"Something the modistes of the ton would not be able to provide, I'm afraid," Letty told her and Edwina gave her mother a pointed look as Letty grabbed her sketch book. "Now, I know you'll need a shawl that wraps around you and a long veil. Jewels on the dress, yes?"
"Yes," Edwina smiled.
"Pure white?"
"I would prefer gold, actually," Edwina stated.
"Gold would look lovely on you," Letty smiled softly, deciding it was fine if Edwina called her Letty. "Do you have your measurements or shall I take them?"
"I have them here," Kate spoke up, passing Letty a small piece of paper.
"Wonderful," Letty smiled, copying the measurements down and beginning her sketch.
Letty, Kate, and Edwina worked together on the design for the next hour.
"I will have to go into town and get the fabric. Would you like to accompany me?" Letty smiled softly.
"I would love to," Edwina smiled brightly. "Kate?"
"I will come with you," Kate smiled to her sister.
"Wonderful. It seems your mama and my aunt wondered off while we were working," Letty laughed. "I shall inform them of where we are going and meet you at the carriage."
Letty found her aunt and Miss Mary in a sitting room, enjoying tea together.
"Edwina, Kate, and I are heading out," Letty told them. "We're going to find fabric and jewels for the dress. Would either of you like to attend or would you like to continue your tea?"
"We shall continue our tea," Mary smiled.
"I brought my sketch with me," Letty stated, walking forward and showing it to Mary.
"Oh, it's beautiful," Mary gasped before looking up at Letty. "You're sure you can do this in the month?"
"I can," Letty nodded. "Nothing to fear. I refuse to let down my future sister-in-law."
Letty did not mention that she would rather it be Kate before leaving the room and finding Edwina and Kate waiting for her in the carriage. The three wondered through town, Elsie and the Danbury maid following closely behind as they went. They searched through fabrics, finally finding long sheets of silk and lace in ivory and gold along with jewels of gold for Letty to use to detail with. Edwina pulled money out of her bag and Letty went to stop her just for Kate to stop Letty.
"The queen gave Edwina money to go towards her wedding gown when Edwina mentioned wanting you to make her dress," Kate explained.
"Oh," Letty stated, watching as Edwina paid. "Well, the queen is very generous."
"She is," Kate nodded.
Once home, Letty said goodbye to Edwina, Kate, and Miss Mary before going to her work room. Letty immediately got started, beginning to cut and sew together pieces of fabric, layering everything beautifully. The next two weeks, Letty spent every spare moment she had sewing the jewels onto the dress, being sure to be careful to not injure the fabric or herself, not wanting to get any blood on the dress if she accidentally poked herself with a needle.
The only breaks she truly took were when Kate or Eloise would drag her away. Apparently Letty was not allowed to miss the engagement dinner. Which made no sense to her considering she was not actually related to anyone in the room, nor would the majority of the Bridgerton's be joining them. Something about Kate meeting her grandparents for the first time and wanting Letty there in case someone needed to be blunt if they chose to be rude towards her mother or sister and Kate not wanting to face them alone. Eloise just wanted her to get some sun as they laid in the backyard for an afternoon.
"And, of course, you must be our guests at the Sheffield manor," Lady Sheffield said excitedly to Anthony as they ate dinner in Danbury manor. "It's nothing compared to the estates at Aubrey Hall, to be sure, but I think it a most pretty part of Hertfordshire."
"Do you shoot?" Lord Sheffield asked. "We have a fine stock of birds, and you are always welcome."
"Thank you for the invitation. I do enjoy shooting," Anthony nodded from beside Letty, a choice the Sheffields didn't seen too fond of.
"Well," Lord Sheffield began before Edwina interrupted him.
"As does Kate. The two of them almost bagged a stag on our trip to the country."
"How… unusual. Do they teach young ladies to shoot in India?" Lady Sheffield asked.
"Only the fortunate ones," Kate tried saying quietly but everyone heard it, Letty having to hide her mouth behind her glass so no one would see her amusement.
"Uh, Lord and Lady Sheffield, how long do you plan to remain in town?" Violet asked curiously.
"Oh, we shall stay for the wedding," Lord Sheffield stated.
"Imagine," Lady Sheffield gushed. "The queen herself overseeing my granddaughter's nuptials. Her Majesty is kind to be so forgiving after everything that has happened."
"Now, now," Lord Sheffield tried and Letty held her fork tightly, her knuckles turning white. "We are all family here.
"Oh, yes, of course we are," Lady Sheffield nodded. "Even after our daughter so callously rejected the match we had found for her."
"My dear, we agreed…"
"An earl, no less, with 12,000 acres. Any other young lady would've fallen to her knees in gratitude that her parents were showing such care."
"Oh, no. She fell in love and had two beautiful daughters instead. The absolute horror," Letty deadpanned and the entire table went quiet.
"How dare you," Lady Sheffield gasped once her brain caught up to her mouth again.
"Letty," Violet tried.
"How dare I?" Letty laughed.
"We could not show our faces in society for years!"
"And what peaceful years we have had. I already miss it," Letty sighed.
"You are a child! You do not understand! Our daughter ran off with a mere clerk with a child from a previous marriage to God-knows-who."
"My mother has a name," Kate growled out.
"Not that she cared. She simply sailed away from us with that man, robbing us of our grandchild."
"Grandchildren!" Letty and Mary yelled together and Letty grew quiet, letting Mary take over. "I have two daughters, as Letty stated, with whom you have had every opportunity to form a connection. But the choice to shun us was yours alone. And do not think I took it lightly, being cast out by the only family I had ever known. I was heartbroken, indeed. But in time, I came to see that, in your cruelty, you did us all a great service."
"I hardly think this a proper dinner conversation," Violet tried.
"I quite agree. Please, collect…" Lady Danbury continued before being interrupted.
"When you cast me out, what you did was set me free. Free to raise my daughters far from your constant judgement and craven demands that they should chase wealth and titles above all else."
Letty would have felt beyond proud of Miss Mary, were it not for the next part of the conversation.
"You are a fine one to talk. You speak of scorning riches, and yet you have come crawling back to snatch at our fortune."
"Lady Danbury is right…" Kate began.
"Believe me, I want nothing from you!" Mary yelled.
"Oh, you may not, but your daughter certainly does," Lady Sheffield stated, looking to Edwina.
"Mama?" Edwina asked in confusion and Letty looked to Kate, seeing fear on her face.
"The trust fund we have set up for her. The condition of which clearly states that she must marry a man of good-English standing to collect. You did not think we would allow another generation to pollute the Sheffield name, did you?"
"Kate?" Letty asked, voice soft.
"Didi, what are they talking about?" Edwina asked, having heard Letty and turned her attention to her sister.
"Anthony, did you know about this?" Violet asked softly.
"I shall explain everything," Kate tried.
"I see this one has inherited your penchant for avoiding the truth. Or that's something she inherited from her father."
"That is enough!" Anthony called the attention to himself as he stood from his chair. "I can only think you've been exiled from good society because of your deficient manners rather than any other sin. Since the moment you arrived, you have failed to show the proper respect to the Sharma family, and I won't stand for it."
"I declare…"
"I will not… stand for it. Lady Mary has done admirably in raising her daughters. They are intelligent, kind, loyal women. And a credit to both their parents. And since you clearly do not wish to jeopardize your social standing by associating with such company, I suggest you do not. You may leave!" Anthony finished.
"You cannot be serious," Lady Sheffield had the audacity to laugh as she spoke.
"Please send for Lord and Lady Sheffield's carriage," Anthony said to a maid, stepping away from the table and towards the doorway. "They can wait outside. And do not trouble yourselves for an invitation for the wedding, for you shall not receive one."
"This is beyond the pale. And if you think you shall inherit a single sovereign now, you are sorely mistaken."
"Are you mad?" Letty laughed. "The Viscount has no need to collect a dowery from his wife. The Bridgertons are among the wealthiest in London. The Sharma family will want for nothing as part of their family."
With that, the Sheffields left, heading to wait outside for their carriage.
"Lord Bridgerton, Lady Bridgerton. I must apologize," Kate tried.
"We should take our leave," Anthony ignored her, looking to Letty and Violet instead, eyes locking on Letty's and daring her to argue with him when he was so angry in the moment.
"Yes," Violet immediately agreed and Letty stood, following Violet without thought.
"Thank you for the evening, Lady Danbury," Letty curtsied to the room at large.
"It was quite enlightening," Violet added, sounding rather cross with everyone else in the room outside of those standing beside her.
The three left the room and Letty grabbed Anthony's hand, letting him squeeze it to the point of bruising but refusing to pull away as he tried to work through his emotions. The betrayal and anger he felt was just under the surface and Letty knew an angry Anthony would be a nightmare if he had no way to control himself. She also knew that offering her hand showed Anthony that she stood by him no matter what he chose to do with the information that they had all just learned.
Kate was calling after them, begging Anthony for a word. Anthony nodded, telling his mother he would see her at home before looking to Letty.
"Thank you," he told her, voice soft. "Now, go home."
"Yes," Letty nodded, releasing Anthony's hand and following Violet out, surprising Anthony with listening to one of his orders so quickly for once.
Letty laid in her yard on a blanket, staring up at the night sky. Benedict was distracted at the arts school more often than not. Letty wasn't upset by it though, happy that Benedict was studying his passions finally. She was rather lonely though. She spent a great deal of time working herself, or with Eloise and Kate in the past two weeks. She'd grown rather close to the eldest Sharma daughter and felt a sense of betrayal from what she'd hidden from the Bridgertons. Letty knew she was not yet related to the Bridgertons, but she'd always been rather protective of them. Just as they were protective of her.
Letty was dragged out of her thoughts as Anthony approached. He laid next to Letty on the blanket, sighing as he did so. They sat quietly for a while, neither saying anything as they watched the stars. Finally, Anthony broke the silence.
"How's your hand?" he asked.
"A few bruises," Letty admitted. "Makes sewing a bit difficult but I can manage."
"I am sorry, Letty," Anthony sighed, taking Letty's hand and holding it in front of his face to examine.
"It is fine," Letty shrugged, not pulling away though. "I've had worse bruises in the past."
"Like when?" Anthony asked, confused.
"Mother used to have fits," Letty shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "She would throw things or use her hands. I learned how to dodge the objects being thrown pretty early on. When she used her hands, I had no choice but to just let her get it out of her system."
"Letty," Anthony breathed and Letty looked to his face, seeing the shock there. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I didn't want any of you to worry over me," Letty shook her head.
"Have you told Benedict? Eloise? Penelope?" Anthony asked and Letty just shook her head again.
Anthony pulled Letty close, hugging her to his body as a few tears escaped Letty. It made sense to him now. How Letty would cling to the Bridgertons who showed her so much kindness that she must not have been used to. Just as she'd clung to Penelope, who was always sharing a bright smile and a kind word, before meeting them. It explained why she was so protective over all of them, always willing to defend those she deemed worthy of it.
"Well, this is interesting," Benedict's voice broke through and Letty pulled away from Anthony, wiping her face quickly to find Benedict, Eloise, Colin, and Penelope standing close by with blankets, staring down at the two. "Should I be worried, Brother?"
"Of course not," Anthony shook his head, rolling his eyes.
"Are you crying, Letty?" Penelope asked, rushing forward. "What is it? What has happened?"
"I'm sure she just realized that she'll be stuck with Benedict's terrible jokes forever soon enough," Eloise rolled her eyes, laying her blanket down so she and Penelope could lay down.
"El," Penelope glared at Eloise before turning to Letty again as she sat down beside her. "What is it?"
"Nothing of importance," Letty assured her. "Come. Lay down at look at the stars with me."
Anthony scooted over, allowing Benedict to take his previous spot. Benedict took Letty's hand and she hissed in pain, pulling her hand from his.
"What happened to your hand?" Benedict demanded.
"Hit it on a door," Letty lied.
"Did the door close on your hand?" Benedict asked, staring at the bruising. "This looks painful, Letty. How did it happen?"
"I wasn't paying enough attention," Letty sighed. "I am fine. Just a little tender. Here."
Letty laid her head on Benedict's shoulder, cuddling to his side.
"Better?" she smirked, looking up to his eyes.
"Better," he smiled softly, kissing her head before looking up to the sky.
Duty. More than laws of faith, I have often thought it the bond that holds our fragile society together. Duty to rank and title. Fidelity to one's family name. It demands both utter obedience and total sacrifice.
"Eloise, you must stop this," Letty sighed.
"We understand that you like him," Pen tried. "But, you must know that scandal is the only thing that can come of this."
But what happens when such duty is in conflict with the heart's true desire? Why, then, there is the potential for a considerable scandal, indeed. The only question is, will the parties in question heed my warning? Or is it already too late to turn back to duty and away from desire?