A Lady's Guide to Courtship

XXXV. Brothers and Sisters

"No, my lord," she interjected, "we have all been a fool. None of the Everards took her affections for you seriously until the truth was revealed. I knew of the first time she wrote to you and she had led us all to believe that she had stopped the correspondence. I was in Ashmore when I read about Lady Weis in the letters and even until then, I thought she had been such a child to have continued her foolishness."

"I should have recognized her the very moment I saw the real her," he choked out.

"But you merely knew her as your friend's sister, a child who chased you from one ball to another. Whoever you knew from those letters could not be Lady Weis for your mind has created a different picture. Your imagination limited you to not see Lady Weis in someone else." Her smile turned gentle, even pitiful. "Trust me when I say that first impressions are stronger, my lord. Your mind would always refuse facts and evidence because they do not match what you have already convinced yourself to think of, which is why most of us are not Leaguers or Town Guards." Her lips twitched at her own words.

But Wakefield refused to free himself from the guilt. He ought to have realized it. Margaret saw his struggle and sighed.

"A man who believes he has been eating an apple every day for years would never believe someone who comes to him with a claim he had been eating oranges all this time instead. Such was your case with my sister. Add to the fact that you have always been concerned about the years between you and her being Levi's sister, you have convinced your mind that she was no other than Ysabella Everard, the child and that she could not be someone else, especially the perfect Lady Weis who has been your friend and companion in letters for years."

Silence reigned between them for quite some time. Wakefield frowned at Margaret. "I was not expecting you to come here and utter such words, my lady."

"I was, as a matter of fact, been debating whether or not I ought to use a pistol or a sword, but my husband can be quite convincing," she said in jest. "Now that you know she has been telling the truth, my lord, I wish to know of your plans."

"I will marry her," he immediately uttered without thinking.

Margaret Everard cocked her brow. "Do you love her?"

"Of course I do. I do more than anything else. More than I ever loved her through her letters."

As if it was answer enough, Margaret sighed with relief. "Good. I was afraid you would act like a fool as Levi did a long time ago and deny your feelings."

She stood up, ready to leave. Wakefield jumped to his feet.

"Tell her," she ordered in a stern voice.

"I already did. She would not believe me."

"That is what I hate the most. She is torn between being Ysabella Everard and Lady Weis and it is confusing her as well. She can be stubborn as a child and she had lately let that, along with her pride, complicate matters. She may claim that she does not wish to be identified only as Lady Weis, but I know that she wishes for you to recognize it as well. She might have gotten lost along the way, and I hope you make her remember who she was before all of this. And do make certain, my lord, that she believes you believe her."

"I am such a blind fool to have missed the fact. I understand that now."

"Yes, I must agree, but we have all been blind fools where Ysabella is concerned. It is nearly too late when we all started to realize that she had grown up before our very eyes, is it not?" Margaret uttered with bitterness. She lifted her chin to stare at him with confidence. "Now, be a man and fawn at her feet if need be. Do it fast, my lord, for she is leaving soon."