Garden of Joy by Daphne Bloom

Author:Daphne Bloom [Bloom, Daphne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Empress Publishing

Chapter Ten

Franklin

“Mother, if I ask Winifred to sit with me during the opera, that will be the third time we will be seen together in public,” I say, sitting across from her in our carriage as we ride the short distance to the opera house. “I’ll have to propose or else I’ll look like a fool, or worse, a rake, toying with her affections.”

“Then propose!” Mother says. “I don’t know why you are dragging your feet about it. She’s a beautiful girl, and her pedigree is as good as we could hope for. She’s practically a duchess-in-training already. The transition would be so easy.”

“But she’d be my wife, Mother. My wife! It’s not like hiring a housekeeper. Things might not change much for you, but for me, everything would be different.”

“That’s going to be true no matter who you marry, so why not Winifred?”

“I don’t like her,” I say plainly. “She’s too young and not at all interesting. And she has a wandering eye. I do not trust her to be faithful to me.”

“What a terrible thing to say about a young lady!” Mother says. “Don’t ever say such a thing about a woman without proof. Just the whiff of scandal could ruin her and her entire family. She is only flirting because she is trying to catch a husband. I am certain that once she is wed—especially to you—she would be content.”

“I would never slander the girl,” I say. “I’m only being blunt with you about my concerns.”

Our carriage stops, then rolls forward again. There must be a line of carriages waiting to alight their passengers at the front door of the opera house.

“Look, dear,” Mother says, “if you do not wish to sit with Winifred tonight so you may pursue other options, you have my permissions.”

“Thank you,” I say.

“But you must at least try to form an attachment on your own,” she goes on. “If you are unable to find a wife on your own I will insist on a match with Lady Winifred.”

I nod slowly. “I will do my best, Mother.” She seems satisfied, but I am not at all sure about my ability to find a wife. It is all so terribly difficult, contrived. If only I could meet a girl more naturally, someone I feel a connection with.

As our carriage comes to a final stop and a footman opens the door, I see a ravishing woman in an emerald green dress at the top of the stairs. She must have been in the carriage in front of us. I can’t quite see who it is at first, since she is several feet away and her back is turned to me. But as she stops to adjust the train of the woman she is accompanying, I realize it is Iris Bedford. She nearly takes my breath away. In the past, she has always presented herself more conservatively. I suppose because she is a governess and not a lady. But in this new, green dress, she is a vision.

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