Hannah walked Shay through the rooms of the gatehouse she and Edmond were living in. "I didn't want to live in the big house with Edmond's parents while we waited for the baby to be born. I wanted a house of my own, so we could get to know each other properly."

"It's lovely, Hannah. It really is." Shay beamed as she looked around the room. "It's as big as Papa's London house. You could have four children, and still be comfortable living here."

"Yes." Hannah giggled and patted her stomach. "Let us have this one first." She took Shay by the hand. "We'll have some tea, so we can talk about you and Samuel. I am so excited."

Shay sighed as she sat down. "There isn't anything to talk about, Hannah. I don't know him. I've only met him properly once. The day he made his offer. It didn't go well. I ran out of the room. Papa says it is a marriage of convenience. As you can imagine, I'm not very happy, but what can I do. Papa has said yes." A tear seeped from her eye and trickled down her cheek. Shay quickly wiped it away.

"Oh, Shay." Hannah sat beside her and put her arm around Shay's shoulders. "Mama told me how upset you were. I thought she said you had accepted the idea."

"I have no choice, Hannah. Papa is absolute in his decision. He wants to see me secure. He was very stressed because I was so upset. I couldn't bear to see the look on his face, so I agreed to ease his anxiety. Please don't tell anyone the truth of how I feel." Shay took a breath and wiped her face again. "I'm trying to be positive. Because it is a marriage of convenience, I won't have the normal duties a wife has. I can continue to do my charity work. I don't think my life will change altogether. Only where I live. However, I will probably spend most of my time in London, and will live in Papa's house as normal, anyway. The duke can do as he pleases. I will attend functions when I have to, and that will be it. He is only marrying me because he doesn't want continued pressure from his peers to marry. It suits him and it suits Papa."

Shay gave a little shrug and tried to smile. "Papa said the duke was going to return, so we could spend some time together. He was supposed to be here two weeks ago. Two more weeks have passed. It is now a month since the offer of marriage. I was hoping he had changed his mind. Papa did get a letter a week ago with apologises saying business had held him up."

"I'm sure he will come." Hannah patted the back of Shay's hand. "Edmond says he is a very reliable and honourable person." Giving Shay's hand another squeeze, Hannah said, "I think you will be well suited. We can have our children around the same age. It will be wonderful, because he and Edmond are almost like brothers. We will be close all our lives."

"Hannah. There won't be any children."

"What?" Hannah gasped. "Of course, there will be."

Shay shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't fully explain. The duke has told Papa the marriage will not be consummated. As I said, it is a marriage of convenience only." Shay smiled and cocked her head. "Didn't you understand what I meant about not having to carry out the duties of a normal wife?"

Hannah sat with her mouth opened. "This is a terrible thing."

"No. It's not. I'm very glad of it. That is the reason I'm trying to be positive." Shay took Hannah's hand in hers. "I don't have any feelings for him, and he has none for me. This is a good thing. It would be horrible to have to endure such things with a man I do not love, but had to marry." Shay smiled. "As I said, my life will hardly change at all. That is what I am most grateful for, and as for him coming here to get to know me before we wed." Shay flipped her hand in the air. "It's too late. I am leaving for London in the morning. I do not care. I have too much to do at Blue Maids. I will get back to my work, and return only to marry. Once that is done, I will be straight back to London and get on with my life."

"Oh, Shay. I think you are under a misconception. I don't think the duke will allow that. Even if it is a marriage of convenience, you are still his wife. No man will let his wife run around London on her own. Especially a duke."

"Well. We shall see about that, Hannah. I didn't ask for this marriage. He did, so he will have to live with the choice he has made. He could have picked from any single woman he wanted. To be honest I have no idea why he chose me. It was a mistake, and I intend to let him know it. I will not be told how to live my life."

Hannah shook her head but didn't say more. She had a bad feeling about Shay's interpretation on how the marriage was going to work. She didn't think Shay was going to be as free to do as she pleased, as she thought she was.

Do you think Hannah is right?

It's going to be very interesting to see how Samuel deals with Shay's independence.  I hope the beast in him doesn't return :(  Do you think Samuel will try to stop Shay from doing her charity work or will he help her?

Painting is Conversation-by-Mihaly-Munkacsy-1881_2