𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 ✦ 𝘳𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭

-08

As the rest of the week passed, you could think of nothing except for Mag and the possible reasons for his behavior. You didn't understand what he wanted. Surely he wasn't angling to have an affair with you, the eccentric daughter of a duke, when so many
beautiful women in the empire were eager to have him in their beds. And you weren't stupid enough to believe he really wanted your friendship. He had the company of innumerable aristocrats, intellectuals, artists, politicians, all ready to come running whenever he snapped his fingers. He was never at a loss for companionship of any kind.

"He's trying to torture you," Ophelia said in disgust as you related the entire story later in the day, of course skipping few parts. You sat in the private upstairs parlor of the palace with your two closest compagnions, your sister and Ophelia.

It was a popular belief in society that women, with their mercurial natures and lesser brains, could not have the same quality of friendship that men did. Only men could be loyal to each other, and only men could have truly honest and high-minded relationships.
You thought that was rubbish. You and those two...shared a bond of deep, caring trust. You helped each other, encouraged each other with no hint of competition or jealousy. You loved
Ophelia nearly as much as you did Olivia. You could easily envision
them all in their later years, prattling about their grandchildren over tea and
biscuits, traveling together as a silver-haired horde of tart-tongued old ladies.

"I don't believe for one second that Magnus knew nothing about it," Ophelia continued. "He's a liar and he's in league with your father. Of course he wants to inherit the company." Olivia and Ophelia sat in brocade-upholstered chairs by the windows, while you
and Julia lounged on the floor amid the colorful heaped masses of your skirts.

"You should have heard him," you said.
"The arrogance was incredible. Mag has decided that it is my own fault that I
am still unmarried. He said I must have set my standards too high. And he
lectured me on the cost of my books and said that someone has to pay for my
expensive lifestyle."

"He didn't dare," Olivia exclaimed, her face turning scarlet with sudden rage.
You immediately regretted telling her. The royal family physician had advised that She must not be upset as she approached the last month of her pregnancy. She had become pregnant the previous year and had miscarried early on. The loss had been difficult for Olivia, not to mention surprising given her hardy constitution.
In spite of the doctor's assurances that she was not to blame for the miscarriage, Olivia had been melancholy for weeks afterward. But with Edel's steadfast comfort and the loving support of her friends, she had gradually returned to her usual high-spirited self.

Now that Olivia had conceived again she was far less cavalier about the
pregnancy, mindful of the possibility of another miscarriage. Unfortunately she
was not one of those women who bloomed during confinement. She was splotchy, nauseous, and often ill-tempered, chafing at the restrictions her condition imposed.
"I won't stand for this," Olivia exclaimed. "You're not going to marry Magnus Heinrich, and I'll send Father to the devil if he tries to take you away from us"

Still seated on the floor, you reached up and settled a calming hand on your
older sister's knee. You forced her lips into a reassuring smile as you stared into Olivia's distraught face.
"Everything will be fine," you said. "We'll think of something. We'll have to."
You had been too close for too many years. In the absence of your mother's affection Olivia had been your sole source of love and support for as long as you could remember.
Julia, was surprisingly the least talkative of the three today, she spoke with a slight stammer that appeared whenever she was nervous or moved by strong emotion.
"W-would the duke really agree to take a bride not of his own choosing?" Julia
pushed back a gleaming brown curl that had slipped over her forehead. "If what he said was true— that his financial situation is already secure there is no reason for him to marry you."
"There is more to it than money, Julia." Olivia replied, squirming in her chair to find a more comfortable position. Her hands rested on the ample curve of her belly.
"Father has made Magnus into a substitute son, since none of us is a boy,
Things didn't turn out the way he wanted."
"The way he wanted?" Ophelia asked in puzzlement.
"He wants someone devoted to the company," Olivia clarified. "Efficient and callous and unscrupulous. A man who will put business interests ahead of everything else in his life. It's a language they speak together, Father and Magnus."