Chapter Seven
"So, is there one gentleman you favor above the others?" Tatiana asked her sister, as they walked home from the park after saying goodbye to the two remaining gentlemen who had escorted Trina.
Trina looked at her, eyebrows knit. "How could there be, when I have only just met them?"
"Well, you spent a good deal of time at the ball, the soirée last night and again today with the most fervent of your admirers. Surely, you have some impression of them. One or two who you like better than the others?"
Trina thought about this for a minute. "No. They've all only spoken of such silly things. There is no possible way I could make a decision based on such nonsense."
Tatiana laughed at her sister. "Well, what did you expect, for them to discuss the merits of chamomile over ginger in calming the stomach? Of course they only spoke to you of nothing. That's what social discourse is."
"Well, I wouldn't expect them to know anything about herbs," Trina said, frowning.
"Do you want them to discuss politics with you, then?"
"No. I don't know what they might find interesting, but surely they must have some intelligent conversation," Trina snapped. If she'd put any magic behind her words, Tatiana might have felt them. Luckily, Trina didn't have such power. In fact, she had almost none at all. It made Tatiana sad to think all that her sister missed because of her. She had gotten both her own and Trina's magical ability—simply because Tatiana held the very special position as the seventh child.
She knew it was her guilt nagging at her, driving her determination to see Trina happily married—that, and the fact that her sister deserved nothing less. She deserved to be happy, and she had the opportunity to marry a man who would make her so.
Tatiana wondered if it would it be better if Trina married an ordinary man. With so little power of her own, it would probably make no difference who she married—so long as she loved him and he her.
"No. I'm sorry, Trina. These men honestly have nothing of interest to say," Tatiana said, pulling her mind back to the matter at hand.
"Nothing at all?" Trina asked, clearly shocked by this news.
Tatiana shrugged. "Not really. Or, I should say, it is very rare to find a man who does have any sort of intelligent conversation to share with a female. I've tried, I assure you."
"What about your gentleman? What's his name?"
Tatiana couldn't help but smile. "Mr. Vallentyn. Christopher Vallentyn."
"Vallentyn? Are you serious? Such a name exists?" Her sister was as amused as Tatiana had been when she'd first heard his name.
Tatiana laughed. "Yes! And yes, he is Vallen, although I don't know how powerful. He doesn't seem to like to use his magic, nor does he let me."
Trina stopped completely to stare at her. "What do you mean he doesn't let you? Has he stopped you?"
Tatiana took her arm before answering and led her into the quiet square where their grandmother lived. "I, er, was tempted at the ball," Tatiana began, avoiding eye contact with her sister.
Trina began to laugh. "I knew you would not be able to deal with me being the favored one. I knew it!"
"No! That's not right. That's not fair. I just never realized..." Tatiana attempted to defend herself.
"You never realized just how awful it is to be the ugly one. The one that men ignore, or only pay attention to in order to finagle an introduction," her sister finished.
Tatiana felt ashamed of herself. Her sister, of course, had hit it right on the mark.
"I knew it. I told you not to dampen your own looks, but you insisted." Trina shook her head and fell silent as they entered the house.
Tatiana hated it when her sister was right.
"Did you have a pleasant walk, girls?" their grandmother asked when they joined her in her cozy private drawing room. She paused, giving Tatiana a confused look. "Oh dear, did something go wrong? Tatiana, you are looking daggers. I do hope none of the gentlemen did anything inappropriate. You never know with men."
Tatiana cleared the frown off of her face as Trina laughed. "Oh no, they were all perfectly behaved. You should not mind my sister, ma'am, she always gets angry when I'm right. And you were correct, too."
Lady Ashurst raised her hand to pause her granddaughter's flow of conversation and gave a nod to the waiting footman. Thomas was also Vallen, although not very powerful, he had the immensely useful ability to know in advance when his mistress wanted something. He always appeared at her side before she was even aware of her desire. Lady Ashurst gave a satisfied smile, then motioned for the girls to continue.
"Yes, Trina was absolutely mobbed by gentlemen at the park," Tatiana said, sitting down in the chair opposite her grandmother. She schooled her face into a pleasant expression.
"No, that's not what I was referring to. Tatiana's right, though, I was," Trina said, looking down at her hands for a moment. "I managed to send all but two of them off, promising that I would see them Thursday afternoon when they came to call."
"Very well done, my girl," her grandmother said approvingly. "Then you've come to realize that I was correct to crow about your dowry when we were out."
Both girls sat in silence.
"Oh, you two can sit there in your disapproval, but you have just admitted that it worked. Trina was surrounded by men all wanting to make her acquaintance, all wanting to court her. And why?"
"Because they're all interested in her money!" Tatiana answered before their grandmother could continue.
"Yes!" Lady Ashurst answered happily. "They're all in need of marrying a young woman with funds."
"But then how will we know if they're interested in her, ma'am? Trina shouldn't marry someone just because he needs her money. She should marry for love!" Tatiana tried to reign in her emotions, but the thought of her sister marrying some money-grubbing fellow made her so upset. Especially when she had such a wonderful opportunity just waiting for her to snatch it up.
"I'm not certain that I want to marry for love," Trina said, her voice quiet with thought.
"What?" Tatiana's head snapped toward her sister.
Trina had the grace to blush delicately. "I don't really think that I could just meet someone and fall in love with him so quickly. And I'm not certain that a man I did fall in love with like that would be the right man for me to marry."
"Very right, my dear!" their grandmother said, nodding her head and smiling her encouragement.
"But..." Tatiana was stunned.
"I know you think very highly of love, Tatiana. I'm more interested in marrying a man who respects my intelligence, which is why I look for meaningful conversation with the men who are wooing me," Trina said. "I want someone I can share my life with and who will share his with me. Someone I can be partners with."
"How very wise, my love," Lady Ashurst approved. "And the only way you'll find someone like that is to make yourself attractive to as many men as possible. You don't want someone to avoid you because he thinks that you might not have funds." She turned towards Tatiana. "Which is why I am letting it be known far and wide that she does. I want to expand her choices, not limit them to those who are attracted by her pretty face."
Trina laughed. "No, I certainly don't want a man attracted to this face. It's not my real one and if that's all he's attracted to he'll be very disappointed when Tatiana's spell wears off."
Tatiana was stunned. Absolutely speechless. All that her sister said made complete sense.
Trina turned back toward their grandmother. "The other thing you were right about, Grandmama, was that Tatiana couldn't stand not getting all of the attention at the ball the other night," Trina said, giggling. "She nearly did something to the men surrounding me. Only that gentleman, Mr. Vallentyn, stopped her."
Their grandmother laughed. "I suspected as much. He seems to be a very nice young man. I like that one."
"On our way home from the park, I tried to find out which one of the many gentlemen besieging Trina she liked better than the others. She refuses to ma
ke a decision," Tatiana said to push the conversation away from her own failing.
"And I told you there is no possible way I could know that since they all speak in nothings," her sister answered. "Why can't you let me have more time to decide? Is there a rush?"
Trina stopped, her eyes growing wide. "Oh! There is, isn't there. You like Mr. Vallentyn. But you can't... Oh, Tatiana." This last was more a horrified whisper, as the realization of Tatiana's position hit her.
Tatiana thought her heart stopped. How could it not? Trina had discovered her secret.