In fact, it had been hell in the days since she’d seen Daniel. She’d attempted to be the perfect young woman, talking only when she was spoken to, never raising her voice, and acting as she would at society gatherings. She’d loathed every minute. But damned if she knew what else to do to get her brothers to loosen their grip and let her have some freedom.
“Abby, we are only trying to protect you.”
She slowly closed the lid on the piano, then rose.
“I understand,” she said in an emotionless voice. “Now please excuse me, I am due to leave for the flower market.”
“I will accompany you.”
“I have no need of your company. Mrs. Secomb and Hogan will be there.”
“Perhaps I want to accompany my little sister.” His smile had always been just a little bit sweeter than the others’, but she hardened her heart.
“I know that the others sent you to me, Michael. It is always the same. We argue, you make things right. But this time, I am making things right by being the perfect young lady you all wish me to be.”
“You are perfect.”
“I think not.” She skirted him. “But I know when I am beaten, so I will do as you all want. Good day.”
“Abby, try to understand.”
“I will never understand, but I will comply with your wishes.”
“Stop it, please. This person you’ve become is not the sister we want. You’re emotionless and malleable.” Frustration had his voice rising. “As though overnight our sister has been replaced by another in the same body as the old one. This one is everything that is proper. She’s cold, and even her voice has changed.”
“And yet, you want me to conform and be the perfect lady. Want me to be insipid and twitter and smile—”
“No one said a word about twittering.”
“My point is that I am at a loss as to what you want from me if it is not this. I am not allowed to speak with men you don’t approve of, which, I will add, is a very small list. You have no wish for me to go anywhere or do anything without someone watching me.”
“Abby—”
“I am twenty-three!” She hadn’t meant to shriek, but it came out just the same. There was only so much control she could harness, after all.
“I am aware of your age, as I purchased you that brush and comb set that sits on your dressing—”
“I know where it sits!”
“Excellent.”
“There is simply no rule book for this, Michael. I don’t know what you and the others want from me. After all, am I not now like the other women of society?”
“Simpering and empty-headed?”
“They are not empty-headed, brother; in fact, some are intelligent with a sharp wit. However, as there is a certain expectation, they, like me, are now observing it.”
“We don’t want you to be someone different, Abby. Just show more caution.”
“If I showed more caution, I’d be eligible for a convent,” Abby snapped. “But perhaps there I’d have more freedom!”
“We love you.” Michael’s words followed her as she walked to the door.
“In your own way, perhaps. But you do not respect or trust me, and that is something I have come to understand and accept. Good day to you, Michael.”
She did not look at him again, instead stomping to her room. Once there, she prepared for her departure. Mrs. Secomb was seated outside, her lips in a firm line, shoulders back, legs crossed at the ankles. The woman should really walk in society; she was far better versed in etiquette than Abby.
“I wish to leave at once for the flower market, Mrs. Secomb.”
“I am of course ready, Lady Abigail, for whatever it is you wish to do.” She dressed in somber colors, her small eyes focused and alert. Abby had tried to like her, tried to get her to talk of personal things, and yet the views she’d clearly been raised with were strictly entrenched in Mrs. Secomb. A woman’s place in the world was to do what the men in her life told her to.
Abby knew she also spoke to Gabe when Abby did something she didn’t think appropriate, which made her want to gnash her teeth. She was twenty-three years old. Women were married and running their own homes with children hanging off their skirts at this age. Not her, however. She would be in just this situation at forty-five years old if she didn’t take steps to change things.
They made it to the front door where Hogan, their footman,