The Perfect Arrangement (The Not So Saintly Sisters #4) - Annabelle Anders Page 0,45
him? Had he, at any time, ever been hers to lose?
“I am still here. I am still very much alive,” he returned with a scowl.
He was, if possible, even more unhappy about all of this than she was.
“I’m sorry.” She should not make light of his fear. It was real to him. She wanted to beg him to fight for his life. She wanted to beg him to believe that they could have a future together. She wanted him to give this marriage a chance.
Everything had changed.
“Time will tell,” was all he offered.
She listlessly accepted his arm and allowed him to escort her out of the room.
“Will Bernadette want to return to the country?” Bernadette and Lillian had shared a good deal. They’d discussed fashion, and Lillian’s sisters, and what Lillian’s coming out had been like. They had not, however, discussed Christian. They had most certainly not discussed his outrageous belief.
“I’ll ask her tonight. Summer in London can be dreary. I imaging she’s growing bored.”
Lillian dipped her head and then exhaled loudly. His sister wasn’t only bored, she was unhappy. Lillian suspected that the girl could not help but feel the tension in the house, not to mention the fear her brother lived in. Bernadette was a sensitive little soul, and at her age, multitudes of emotions simmered within.
Bernadette sat waiting for them in the drawing room already, body slouched and with all the angst that came along with her age. “A little overdressed for dinner, don’t you think?” She teased as she rose and walked across the room to go up on her toes and place a kiss on Christian’s cheek and then on Lillian’s. Lillian dropped Christian’s arm and moved toward the window.
“The Fitzhuberts are hosting a gala this evening. Did you forget?” Christian poured himself a splash of scotch and then nonchalantly took a healthy sip.
The younger girl shrugged as though she didn’t care. So much pretending amongst them all. This was not how family acted with one another. Christian was frowning into his drink and Lillian wanted to cry.
Perhaps it would be best to put some distance between them. The thought squeezed her heart though. What if something really did happen to him? Curse or not, anything was possible.
Bernadette exhaled as though she was about to endure something unavoidable. “You never told me about any Gala. You’re gone most days, and when you’re here, you hardly even talk to me.” Lillian turned her back to the window. Something was off…
Christian’s nostrils flared. “I told you three days ago. I tell you everything.”
“You didn’t tell me when you ran off to Scotland to get married. You didn’t tell me about Lillian until you returned.”
Lillian straightened. She’d thought Bernadette had come to terms with having her there. It seemed, however, that there were some unresolved issues. She took a step toward her sister-in-law. “But you know we didn’t even tell my mother. And the rest of my family is equally out of sorts with me that there wasn’t a wedding breakfast for them to plan. In her last letter, Cora threatened to stop speaking to me indefinitely.”
Bernadette seemed almost interested at the mention of one of Lillian’s younger sisters but instead shifted her gaze back to her brother. “Most normal people might say a lengthy betrothal would be appropriate.” She glanced at Lillian.” Of course, I’m sure you’ve realized by now that my brother is anything but normal.”
At this, Lillian frowned.
“Don’t be a brat, Bernadette, if you wish to pick a quarrel with me, I’d prefer you do so in private.”
Lillian bit her lip. She was beginning to wonder if Christian’s sister wasn’t as unaware of her brother’s concerns as he’d like to believe. “But if we are to be family…”
Bernadette gave Lillian her full attention. “You do know, don’t you, that my brother believes he is going to die? Are you aware that he married you because he thinks I am too much of a simpleton to avoid the clutches of Cousin Livermore? That he’s desperate to provide a rightful heir so that upon his death, he can leave this earth with a clean conscience?”
By the time she came to the end of her startling tirade, Bernadette was glaring daggers at her brother. “Did you think I didn’t know?” Angry tears shone in her eyes. She didn’t wait around for an answer from him, however, but burst from the chair and ran out of the room.
“Bernadette!” Christian looked horrified and confused as he glanced down at Lillian.