The Cerulean (The Cerulean Duology #1) - Amy Ewing Page 0,56
our engagement only last night,” he said. “I am feeling quite . . . unprepared.”
“So did mine,” she replied. “And so am I.”
He cleared his throat. “It isn’t fair, is it? To have them decide.”
“It isn’t.” She put her teacup down as well. “Look, Ebenezer, I know I’m not the greatest catch for a wife. My father has money and a good name, sure, but I’m not a pretty little Kaolin society girl. I say the wrong things and I wear the wrong clothes and I hate parties and small talk. And to be perfectly honest, if there was any way I could get out of this arrangement, I would.”
“So would I,” Ebenezer said miserably, and Agnes felt herself warm to him. He looked mortified, however. “I don’t mean that you aren’t . . . I didn’t . . .” He wrung his hands. “I meant no offense.”
“None taken,” she said. “If we have to endure this dreadful charade, we should at least be honest with each other, shouldn’t we?”
His thin lips twitched. “You are not like other girls, Agnes McLellan.”
“No,” she said. “I’m not.” It felt good to say that, at least. She was glad she wasn’t being forced on someone like Robert Conway or Bernard Foster-Brown or one of her brother’s other awful friends. She would gladly take awkwardness over arrogance.
“Did your father say when the wedding will take place?” he asked.
“No, did yours?”
“No.”
“Maybe we have some time then.”
Ebenezer snorted. “Not likely, knowing my father. He’s ready to get me out of the house so he can focus on Gerald and Louis like he’s always wanted to.” He made a gasping croak, like he was trying to suck the words back into his mouth. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“Ebenezer.” Agnes cut him off before he could keep apologizing. “Nothing you say will offend me. My father wishes I had been born a boy; he even told me so to my face. I am not one to adhere to manners and courtesy, and I know firsthand how cruel fathers can be. Never apologize for telling the truth, at least not to me. It’s refreshing, to be honest.”
He grinned. “Old Port society can be quite stifling, can’t it?”
“You have no idea.” She sighed.
“I didn’t know your father was aware of my existence, actually,” Ebenezer said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them on a napkin.
“He makes it a point to know everything about everyone,” she said. “So he can better exploit weakness.”
“He seems a terribly frightful man.”
“He is.” She remembered the vein throbbing in his neck when she’d challenged him the night before. “I’m afraid he will not make a pleasant father-in-law. But then, I don’t imagine he will be visiting much.”
“Mine won’t either,” Ebenezer mused. He looked at her fearfully. “There isn’t some other young man in Old Port who will be angry with this . . . arrangement? I cannot imagine my family was the only one that made an offer for your hand.”
“No, there is no one,” Agnes said. “I don’t know who else offered. Father would never let me in on such minor decisions like who I marry.”
She smiled at him so he knew she was joking, and he relaxed.
“What about you?” she asked, realizing she was being quite selfish. For all she knew, Ebenezer was in love and was now being ripped from his own happiness.
His ears turned pink. “There was one girl, but she, ah, did not share my affections.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “It’s all right. I was not surprised, really. I know my family isn’t as rich as some, and I’m certainly not as handsome as . . . well, as your brother, for one. Girls seem to like him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t let him hear you say that. He’ll be even more insufferable than he already is.”
“I must say, Agnes, I’m quite relieved. You are not at all what I thought you would be like.”
“And what was that?”
He cocked his head and thought for a moment. “I imagined something along the lines of an overbearing headmistress.”
“The horror,” she said, grinning. “I only dress like one.”
Ebenezer let out a loud laugh. “You have the sharpest tongue of any girl I have ever met.”
“Perhaps,” she said. “Or maybe it is just that none of the other girls are brave enough to use theirs.”
He looked surprised. “I never thought of it like that.”
Of course you haven’t.
“Would you like some more tea?” he asked.
“Thank you,” she said, picking up her cup and holding it out.