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Selina’s thoughts drifted while Lady Forrester discussed the flower arrangements for the wedding brunch. The lady didn’t need Selina’s input, but would have appreciated it nonetheless. However, ever since Selina and Duncan made love, Selina hadn’t been able to concentrate on a single conversation. Luckily for her, not many people tried to engage with her. Over the years, she had perfected how to show interest in her father’s discussions. So whenever he confronted her, Selina kept a serene expression on her face and agreed to his demands.
Which only left a small circle of people who sought her company. They were always polite and tried to engage her with small talk. Lucas and his cousins, as usual, avoided her at all costs. But their rejection no longer stung as it had before. Perhaps because she found comfort in her friendship with Anna and the other villagers.
To be honest, Lady Forrester treated Selina differently. Her gestures turned loving, and she would occasionally wrap Selina in a hug. Selina even found Lady Forrester gazing fondly at her with a mysterious smile upon her face. She showed extreme patience with Selina’s distraction.
Then there was Ramsay. He refused for her to call him Lord Forrester. He muttered something to the effect that the proper behavior of the gentry was pure bollocks. To cover his salty language, he apologized for his deception in keeping his identity a secret from her. He meant no harm, but he’d wanted to avoid the proper decorum his arrival would prompt. Selina forgave him and since then had shared many walks in the garden with him. He’d even joined her for a ride this morning, showing her a few spots she hadn’t noticed before.
Although her stay might have turned enjoyable, it also brought forth more quandaries for Selina. Her major dilemma was in the form of one very unforgettable Scotsman. A gentleman who was the source of her mind’s wanderings, a most tantalizing source who kept wrapping her in a warm embrace of love. When she awoke at dawn, a rose rested on the pillow next to her with a message. A blush warmed Selina’s cheek while she recalled Duncan’s scandalous words.
S,
The fragrance of this rose reminds me of the fragrance of our love.
Your devoted lover,
D
Selina had scrambled to hide the rose and letter when her maid bustled in to help her dress. Selina pressed the rose in her book of poems and kept the letter by her side. Throughout the day, when no one else was nearby, she withdrew the letter to read again. She itched to devour the intensity of his words even now.
It had been two days since they spent the afternoon in each other’s arms. Two days and Selina had only grown more attached to Duncan. When the time came for them to part, she feared her heart would shatter into a million pieces. She ached to lie in his arms again and feel the passion they shared. His stolen kisses weren’t enough. Her body desired to join with his and escape into the magic meant for them alone.
“Selina? Selina?” Lady Forrester’s voice broke through Selina’s musings.
Startled, Selina shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I apologize, Lady Forrester. I am afraid my thoughts have taken me elsewhere.”
“No need, my dear. I understand. The closer your wedding day draws near, the more your mind can become distracted.”
Selina nodded. “Yes, my wedding day. Exactly, Lady Forrester.”
Selina held no clue on what she agreed to about her wedding day. Shame overcame her. She didn’t think of her wedding at all but the lady’s son instead. What would Lady Forrester think of her carousing with her son while planning Selina’s wedding to her nephew? Selina fought against the shame that hovered on her conscience. She refused to allow guilt to seep in for stealing precious memories of happiness before she committed to a life of loneliness.
Lady Forrester moved to sit next to Selina on the settee. “Selina, will you please call me Susanna? I feel we have grown closer over the last few weeks. I do not wish to replace a mother in your eyes, but I feel a motherly affection toward you.”
Tears came to Selina’s eyes. “You are too kind to me.”
Lady Forrester chuckled. “Nonsense.”
“I thank you for your offer, Susanna. I feel honored at your regard.”
“Honored enough to confide your troubles? I only ask because they seem to occupy your thoughts heavily. I wish for your input on your wedding and the reception to follow, yet you have none. It is not my intention to force my ideas on your memorable day.”
Selina smiled wistfully. “To be honest, I have no care how the day plays itself out. The outcome will end the same, regardless.”
Susanna smiled encouragingly. “Then humor me. If your wedding day were upon us and you looked upon the ceremony with anticipation, how would it proceed?”
Selina thought about how she wished for her wedding day to happen. It was foolish to engage in such fantasies, but Lady Forrester’s eagerness prompted Selina to divulge her dream wedding.
“It would be a modest affair with no grand show. I only want the ones who love us present with a few close friends invited. An exchanging of vows in the village church. I would wear the dress we’ve chosen, of course. It is too exquisite not to.” Selina paused, remembering Duncan’s appreciation of the dress. “Then for the celebration, a grand picnic with simple fare, music, and dancing. Not the formal dances everyone expects of a duke’s son marrying a duke’s daughter, but ones of carefree abandonment. I only wish for a merry affair.”
Lady Forrester’s face lit up with fascination. “And how do you picture the groom by your side?”
Selina bit her bottom lip, tears coming forth to her eyes again. “Excuse me, Lady Forrester. I fear I have gotten something in my eye.”
“Selina?”
Selina rose and scurried from the room, not stopping when Lady Forrester called out. With her head bent, she didn’t see the gentlemen standing in the doorway until she collided with them. She gasped and took a step back, stepping into a curtsy.
“Your Grace, and Lord Forrester, I must apologize.”
Lord Forrester stepped forward, grabbing a hold of Selina’s hand and winking at her. “Lord Forrester? Why the formality, my dear? Remember, I have requested for you to call me Ramsay.”
Selina attempted a smile. “I remember. Please accept my apologies for leaving so swiftly. I promised my father to meet him.”
Colebourne smiled warmly. “Of course, my dear. You will find your father in the library.”
She nodded before taking her leave. Selina needed to put distance between her and Lady Forrester before she spilled about how her ideal groom wasn’t her intended. Instead, the lady’s son was who Selina pictured as her groom.
Colebourne watched Selina scurry away in the opposite direction of the library and chuckled at Susanna. “What did you say to the poor girl?”
Susanna cackled. “Why, I only inquired how she pictured her wedding day and the groom by her side.”
Ramsay shook his head at their machinations before sitting down next to his wife. “From the girl’s expression, one would think you were tormenting her.”
“And how does Lady Selina picture her wedding day?” asked Colebourne
“A simple affair with family and friends.”
Colebourne pinched his lips. “Would it take too much to alter the wedding you have already planned?”
Susanna shook her head with excitement. “’Tis no trouble at all. In fact, her ideal wedding is much like our Scottish affairs.”
Ramsay chuckled. “Now this wedding I would not mind attending.”
Colebourne narrowed his gaze. “And her ideal groom?”
Susanna sighed. “That is where I am afraid I lost her confidence, and she fled.”
Colebourne started pacing back and forth across the room. “I thought Duncan’s pursual of Selina would have progressed further. He is running out of time to win her hand. What is the delay?”
Susanna sighed. “I thought perhaps it had proceeded. The past two days, Selina has not focused on our discussions. She sits before me with a dreamy expression. Not to mention the lingering glances between her and Duncan. I even spotted my son stealing a kiss from Selina when he thought no one watched.”
Ramsay growled. “You two cannot force a love affair.”
Susanna laid a hand on her husband’s arm. “We are not forcing anything, my love. But only guiding them toward a lifetime they both wish for.”
Ramsay swung his gaze toward Colebourne. “Now you have convinced my wife to follow you on this path of madness. A destination that will end with heartache for all the souls involved. You call it guiding when truly it is a kind term for conspiring. Perhaps you two should stop trying to force fate and allow it to proceed on its own terms.”
“Scottish rubbish,” Colebourne muttered.
“Well, it is better than English bollocks,” Ramsay muttered in return.
Susanna chuckled at their insults. “Gentlemen, behave. Now, Ramsay, you promised to help bring them together. Why the sudden change of heart?”
“Because I spend much time in the lass’s company, and I see the sadness lurking in her eyes when she thinks no one watches her. I also see the longing and guilt in my son’s gaze. By throwing them together at every opportunity, you are only compounding the misery of their union. And I, for one, want no part of it.” Ramsay stood, looking down upon his wife. “Nor will I stand in your way. I only wish to hear no more of this matchmaking madness.” Ramsay nodded at Colebourne and left the parlor.
Colebourne sighed, sitting next to Susanna. “I am sorry, my dear. I should not have involved you in this debacle.”
Susanna laughed and clapped her hands. “Oh, this is perfect.”
Colebourne looked at her with confusion. “How so?”
Susanna relaxed back against the cushion. “We could not have asked for a better outcome. With Ramsay’s objection toward us, it will only prompt him to discuss the improper pursuit of Selina with Duncan. Ramsay will voice all of his reasons for Duncan to halt his intentions. Which will only push Duncan to defy his father as he has always done when faced with his father’s disapproval.” Susanna rolled her eyes. “He always has to prove his father wrong.”
Colebourne leaned back too and chuckled. “Ah, I think you may be even more devious than me. Let us hope your plan works, for our time is closing in.”
Susanna nodded. “All we have left is hope.”