by Abigail Agar
Lord Seton’s face contorted with rage, furious that she would even suggest it.
“How dare you? You fool! Who do you think I am? Am I not your loving, doting father? I have arranged a marriage that will suit you better than anyone else. You shall have a life of wealth and status, far beyond the telling of it. And yet, you wish to marry a baron?” he asked, slurring the final word.
“Please, Father,” Isla said, sinking into despair.
“Never! You will marry Lord Hawthorn, as planned,” he said. “And you shall never question my decisions again.”
With that, Lord Seton stormed from the room and Isla fell to her knees, weeping.
Beatrice could do nothing but comfort her friend. And deep down, she had to comfort herself as well.
Chapter 20
It was a shock to Peter when Lord Seton returned once more to the office where he was working, trying to finish his books before another ship arrived.
“Ah, Lord Seton, yes, you must sit,” he said. “I trust you got the tea and tobacco?”
“I did, indeed,” he replied.
“Are you needing more already? I know it has been a few days,” Peter said.
“No, I need nothing more, thank you. Not for now, at least,” Lord Seton said.
“Good, good. Then what may I help you with?” Peter asked.
“Right to work like that? I think it would be nice to simply sit and chat for a bit, do you not think?” Lord Seton asked.
Peter felt terrible for having jumped straight to the point, knowing by now that Lord Seton was far more interested in getting to know him and continuing to build the friendship they had begun after his father’s passing.
“Yes, Lord Seton. You are right,” Peter said.
He sat back and listened as Lord Seton began to talk about his excitement for the wedding. His face lit up when he was discussing the details and what he expected for his daughter. Although it made Peter happy to hear that his future father-in-law was excited, it still made him anxious.
He wondered what the future was going to look like. Would he be happy with his betrothed? Or was he going to find that he could never be content with a woman that he did not love?
Peter smiled along and nodded, adding comments here and there about the joy that he expected through the marriage. Even if it was not entirely true, he knew that it was the right thing to say.
“And what if we could make it come about sooner?” Lord Seton asked.
Peter froze. What did he mean by that?
“I am sorry, My Lord? What exactly do you mean by sooner?” he asked.
“Exactly as I have said,” he replied.
“I see,” Peter said. “How would we bring the wedding about sooner?”
“Well, it is really rather simple. All we need to do is speak with the minister and arrange for it. You and my daughter are already set to marry, so there’s no reason to elongate the engagement. What do you say?” Lord Seton asked.
Peter was speechless. He didn’t understand. There was no reason for moving up the wedding.
“May I ask why?” Peter asked.
Lord Seton looked taken aback. It was clear that he did not expect to be questioned on the matter. And yet, Peter was not going to back down without having a reason.
“Why should we not?” he asked.
“Well, we have already arranged for everything. It is an appropriate amount of time between an engagement and a wedding. I do believe that we have already made it quite soon enough. So I must ask you again for the reason,” Peter said.
“There is no specific reason. I simply think it is the best thing to do. I am sure that my daughter is eager to marry you as quickly as possible and I expected that you would feel the same. Would you not wish to be married sooner? I would think that any man would be eager for such an opportunity,” he said.
Peter eyed him with suspicion. He could not help it. There had to be a reason for the sudden urgency.
Although he believed that Lord Seton was a good man, he also understood that there must be a reason that Lord Seton was unwilling to share.
A change in the date was completely unprecedented. He had every reason to question the matter, and he did not appreciate the attempt to coerce him into accepting the change blindly.
Peter took a deep breath. If he was going to address this issue, he would have to do it with a calm patience.
“Although I am very eager to marry your daughter, I do not understand the urgency. If you will, I would appreciate a reason for the sudden change. I believed that we were in agreement before with an understanding that a three-month engagement was the best option for all parties,” Peter said.
Once more, he could see that he had offended his counterpart. That had never been his intention, but the question had to be asked.
“Is it so wrong that I should want the two of you to engage in marital bliss sooner rather than later?” he asked.
“No, My Lord. There’s nothing wrong with that. I am only unsure as to why it was not decided sooner. You must understand that this is a strange and sudden change,” Peter said.
Lord Seton appeared insistent. Determined. Perhaps even a little bit angry.
“She must be married at once,” he demanded.
Peter leaned back, unsure as to why this was such an emotional issue. He couldn’t understand the vehemence with which Lord Seton spoke.
“My Lord, forgive me for asking this, but I must. Is there something that I am not aware of? I believe that your daughter has a most honourable reputation, and I would appreciate it if you would not make such a command as to bring that into question,” Peter said as delicately as he could.
Despite the delicacy, he saw fury in the man’s eyes. Nevertheless, Lord Seton stayed as calm as he was able.
“There is nothing about my daughter’s reputation which must be called into question,” he said.
“I did not think so, but your insistence on the matter required that I make sure of it. Please, understand that I have nothing but the upmost respect for you and your daughter,” Peter said.
“If that is the case, then you are to marry her sooner. If you respect her, you will not make her wait,” he replied.
They were at an impasse. Peter felt utterly trapped.
If he was going to agree to this, he would have to set aside everything that he believed was wrong with this decision. He would have to force himself to marry Lady Seton immediately, when he was not sure that he wanted to marry her at all.
All of this was wrong. It was wrong that he should be marrying someone he did not love and it was wrong that he should be pushed to marry her even sooner.
But what could he do now? He had already made the commitment. Now that he was obligated to proceed forward, he would have to do as Lord Seton desired.
Peter nodded and kept his determination. He would have to try and stall as long as he could.
“I understand what you are saying. In many ways, I believe that you are right; however I do think it is something that should be considered more fully,” Peter said.
“And why is that? Why would you not wish to move it forward?” he asked.
“Because a plan has been put in place. There are many things that would be disrupted if we change that now. I am asking for time to consider whether or not I am able to make my own adjustments,” Peter said.
Lord Seton scoffed.
“Your own adjustments? That is a strange thing to say,” he said.
“Strange though it may be, it is true. I have quite an extensive schedule regarding my business. I would need to see who might be able to take on my role during my absence if I were to be away,” Peter said.
“Would it not be the same man who would take on your role if you married at the original date as planned?” he asked.
“Lord Seton, I must ask you to understand. Just as I have plans moving forward, so do my employees. My right-hand man, Mr. Lively, is also engaged to be married. Should our plans interfere with his, I would not be able to make the
adjustment. I cannot expect another man to change his own wedding date for the sake of mine,” Peter said.
“But he is your employee. It is his duty to bend and sway with your will,” he replied.
Peter stared at him for a moment, not sure how he could reason with something like that. It angered him that Lord Seton would be so flippant about another man.
“I thoroughly disagree,” Peter said. “He is a man, just as I am. He has already arranged his wedding sooner than mine. I cannot ask him to change that. That is final.”
It was difficult to be firm with his future father-in-law, but he had been left with no choice. He would not cause an issue of delay in another man’s life for his own sake.
“It would seem that I am unable to convince you,” Lord Seton said.
“I have only asked for more time. I need to learn whether or not this is something my organisation could handle,” Peter replied.
“Then you may have it,” he replied, grudgingly.
Lord Seton stood and bowed. Peter did the same and they said their farewells, before Peter was alone once more.
He wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t even understand how it had got this far. After all of this time, all of the plans that had been made, he realised that he truly did not wish to marry Lady Seton.
She was beautiful, kind, lovely, but that did not mean that his feelings for her meant anything.
The decision to marry her was entirely based upon the fact that he had made a commitment. He was moving forward because he knew that he must.
Even if he had not found himself interested in another woman, he did not think that it was fair that he should proceed with this marriage.
But it was too late. He had to continually remind himself that it was too late. Peter leaned back and sighed, rubbing his temples.
He could do this. He could be firm with himself and force himself to make a decision that was a struggle, but an important one.
He would see the best in her. He would ask her how she felt about her younger sisters and other children, he would get to know her, he would try to find more qualities that were of interest.
And until he managed to fall in love with her, he would do his best to pretend that he already had. It was the most reasonable option to convince himself that his feelings for her were true.
Peter finished up his work and made his way home, deciding to try and think of anything aside from his impending marriage.
Instead, he decided to go and visit Andrew. At least then he would have someone to spend time with who could distract him.
Although they could not discuss this particular matter, this was exactly what Peter hoped for. He wanted to avoid this conversation. He wanted to avoid these thoughts.
Andrew was the dearest friend he had when it came to distractions. No one was better equipped for taking his mind off difficult concepts and putting it towards the good and exciting things that he would prefer to focus on.
By the time he arrived at Andrew’s home, Peter simply hoped but it would stay that way. He hoped that they could maintain a lighthearted discussion as opposed to speaking about the difficult subject that wounded them both.
“Ah, Peter, good afternoon. I was not expecting you,” Andrew said.
“Forgive me for dropping by. I just wished to spend some time with you as we have not seen one another in a while,” Peter said.
He could see that Andrew was at peace and it relieved him a great deal.
Peter was worried that Andrew was hurt by his marriage to Lady Seton, but he had to push the thought aside. He was far more worried about losing a friend.
That was something he could not afford.
Chapter 21
Isla had been stuck away in her room all afternoon.
Beatrice was eager to see her. She was eager to spend time discussing more about the struggle that her friend was trying to push through.
The previous afternoon had been horrible. After Lord Seton stormed away, the two girls were left to themselves. Isla had wept and Beatrice had held her. She had allowed her friend to cry and mourn the loss of the love that she felt.
Beatrice had managed to push aside her own feelings for the sake of her friend. For the time being, this was not about her. It was not about her own heart or the thing that she so dearly wanted. It was about the fact that her friend’s father was holding onto the power that he held.
He was a good man, or at least he always has been. Nevertheless, he could be stern at times. And now, more than ever, Beatrice was seeing that he had very little regard for those whom he deemed less than himself.
Desperate to see Isla, Beatrice went to her room.
“May I sit?” she asked after being let into the room.
Isla nodded, sadly. It was clear that she had not yet recovered from everything that happened. She was still utterly devastated.
Still, Beatrice wanted to be there for her. She took a seat on the bed and stretched across from her friend.
“Would you like to talk about it?” Beatrice asked.
“I suppose so,” she replied.
“Then tell me. Tell me what it is that you are going through,” Beatrice said.
She waited for a moment as her friend tried to work through her thoughts. Beatrice knew that this was not a time to rush her.
“I suppose I should have known that it would come to this. I should have suspected that my father was going to urge me into the marriage whether I wanted it or not. I was a fool to hope for anything different,” she said.
“You were not a fool. You told me that it would be like this. You knew and you chose to be obedient, regardless of what your heart wanted. That doesn’t make any of this fair,” Beatrice said.
Isla scoffed.
“Fair? Since when was any of this supposed to be fair?” she asked.
Beatrice fidgeted with her hands. Isla was right. They were never promised that things would be fair. They were never promised that they would have the things that they wanted, even if they worked hard for them.
She had worked hard for everything that she had, and yet still the things that she desired were not within her grasp.
It was strange, however, seeing that it was the same even for a wealthy woman. It was so easy to believe and to fool oneself into believing that others had it easier. She had always believed that things were particularly difficult for her due to her station. But that was not true.
“What do you want to do about it?” Beatrice asked.
“What can I do? Do you really think my father is going to allow anything different? He made his opinion perfectly clear. I have no choice,” she said.
“I know that it would be difficult, dangerous even, but what if you were to refuse?” Beatrice asked.
“Refuse?” she asked. “Have you ever tried to refuse my father anything? Such a thing would never be accepted. It simply would not work. He would never allow it.”
“But you have never tried,” Beatrice said.