One look at the name of the sender and Celeste is furious.  

She immediately hurls the wadded letter straight into the waste bin. She did not need to read it in its entirety to know it holds total hogwash. 

“Anne, burn it.”

Possibly then it would calm a fraction of her wrath.

“Yes, My Lady.” Anne rushes over and quickly takes with her the waste bin out into the corridors. 

Her mother, who had been standing by, simply watches on in concern. "Who is Gregory Smith?"

“His identity is unimportant. From this moment forward, please do not accept any more letters from him.”

“He has clearly done something to you,” her mother is quick to suspect.

Celeste retakes her seat. “He is just some senseless noble.”

Someone needs to teach Gregory Smith the concept of conceding and when to do so.

She was not speaking in riddles that day the two confronted one another outside of Emma’s manor, so why does he dare to send such a letter? She questions why he would even want to marry her. Considering how he has mentioned every single terrible rumor about her father, she figured he would be smart enough not to get involved. She just cannot seem to understand his motivations.

While the same concerns can be applied to the duke, his privilege should serve as enough security. There is a good chance he wouldn’t lose anything. So far nothing has changed between him and her father’s relationship and his knights still remain guarding the Lane manor.

“I have never seen you so distressed,” her mother remarks. “I caused this. I should have take my own look of the letter.”

No one caused Gregory Smith. He simply exists to be a nuisance to her it seems. “No, this has nothing to do with you, mother.”

“Do you wish to talk about it?”

She sighs. "No."

But she will handle it.

Heavens, what if the duke shares the same sentiment when he thinks of her proposal to him? She couldn’t bear to have him view her as some simpleton and the thought suddenly devastates her.

As her mother joins her at the table, Anne returns to the room. Seemingly hesitating for a moment, her mother changes the topic. 

“This may not be the best time, but there is another reason that brought me here,” her mother says as she chooses her next words carefully. “We will be receiving a guest today.”

Exhausted and still distracted, Celeste asks, “Who is the guest?" 

“Duke Ellis.”

She freezes. “His Grace is coming?”

“Your father notified me that he would be joining the family for our evening meal.”

There are just too many surprises for just one day and her mind remains a complete jumbled mess. He has yet to provide her an answer, so why–, “Why is His Grace coming?”

“I assume it is due to the investigation.”

“What investigation?”

“His Majesty opened an investigation into the attack on our manor and His Grace has been assigned to lead it.”

***

Had she had time to look through Aria’s letter, she would have also learned of the news. 

Once her mother left her alone to prepare for the duke's arrival, she finds that Aria has not only shared what she has learned through her patrons, she has also validated many of Celeste’s concerns. 

Someone within the royal court has been stirring up trouble and that her father’s penned proposition is not well-received by the officials or the public. But Aria has also put a matter into perspective. The king viewed the proposition favorably, yet there are individuals creating dissent. If the king looks into it, they would not be free of punishments, and Celeste finds hope in that.

Sitting there in the silence of her room, Celeste dreadfully awaits for the appointed time. But one cannot avoid the inevitable.

Anne knocks on her door and enters.

“Anne–,” 

“Her Ladyship says you must attend no matter what.”

Anne’s ability to read minds is astounding.

Celeste has done what she could to prepare herself. But she is utterly panicked by the thought of confronting the duke for the first time since her marriage proposal. At the same time, she cannot ignore how upset she feels about seeing him again.

There has been no answer from the duke, yet he is here casually for a family meal? What kind of message is he sending and what has she failed to receive? Is he not taking her proposal seriously and ignoring matters that he deems not worth his time?

Is she not worth his time?

Once she enters the hall, she successfully hides the glare and instead, opts to not look him in the eyes when she greets him.

She clears her throat. “I failed to notice the time, my apologies for being the last to arrive.”

Unfortunately, she takes the seat across from her mother and still has perfect view of Duke Ellis.

With everyone present, her mother turns to him. “Thank you for joining us, Your Grace.”

Without realizing, Celeste plans for the imminent rejection. In seconds, she already finds herself in the midst of grief and resentment. She does not care if she becomes a spiteful person in his eyes– she will never forgive him, a kingdom’s hero, for blatantly ignoring a young lady’s proposal. How mean-spirited.   

“Thank you for having me on such short notice,” he politely answers. “There is a matter I would like to discuss.”

“Is this about the investigation?” her mother wonders. “We cannot express our thanks enough.”

Her brother beams at the news while his untouched dinner grows cold in front of him. He’s also noticeably polite and well-mannered at the table.

Witnessing the adoration in both her mother’s and brother’s eyes as they look at the duke has her brimming with bitterness. They have completely warmed up to him. She knows how she’s feeling isn’t right, but she couldn’t help it.

Deciding to pay the duke and his words no mind, she starts on her own dinner.

“Well, I simply just agreed to His Majesty’s request.”

“Please, you are being modest.”

Modest? Celeste holds back a scoff. Simply agreed? While he found plenty of reasons to ignore hers it appears. She starts picking at her food, losing her appetite in the process. She shall play the obedient daughter of House Lane for a while longer before finding an excuse to return to her chambers.

“Thank you, Your Ladyship, but another matter brought me here today.”

“Oh! Then what else do you have to share?”

The table is silent except for the sound of Celeste moving her food around on the plate. 

“I would like to preface that I understand this is an adjustment period for the Lane family and I sorely hope that you do not find me discourteous.”

Her mother offers a comforting smile. “Hardly! Be at ease.”

“Count Lane, Countess Lane– I came here in person to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Celeste’s head snaps upward and her dropped fork clatters against her plate. The noise reverberates throughout the quiet dining hall. Her father, a stickler when it comes to etiquette, overlooks the noise she impolitely caused due to his own shock. 

Her mother looks between her and the duke. “Marriage?”

“As you all understand, His Majesty wishes to see me get married and I can only imagine a union between Lady Celeste and I.”

Both Celeste and her father remain silent and her mother is the only one left to ask the questions.

“I was not aware that you were considering our daughter.”

Still unable to recover by the turn of events, Celeste covers her open mouth with a napkin. Her body and mind is confused. Is she happy for getting what she wanted? Is she terrified that it is actually happening?

“After everything that has occurred, I have come to a realization that I wish no harm would come to Lady Celeste and naturally, feelings resulted.”

How convincing.

Also, how straight-forward.

“Oh, well–,” Her mother is at a loss for words.

“I understand your concerns as times are currently turbulent. So, if Lady Celeste is in agreement, I would like to start preparing for a wedding as quickly as possible so that I may go back to focusing on my responsibilities.”

That is also expected that he would want to get it over with. 

“Celeste.”

Looking to her father, who has finally come to his senses, Celeste tries to calm herself. “Yes, father?”

“The matter is up to you to decide.”

Shamelessly, she wants to take a moment to mentally apologize for all her thoughts leading up to this very moment. She was certainly inconsiderate and impulsive to make conclusions about the duke's personal principles. Regardless of him hearing it or not, she does hold some guilt for her irresponsible assumptions.

Celeste eyes her mother. It is clear the older woman is still disoriented.

She takes a bit too long in her answer and her mother comes up with a suggestion. "If you need some time to think about it, I am sure His Grace would not mind waiting."

“Of course not,” the duke confirms. “You take all the time–,”

“Yes.”

What reason is there for her to hesitate?

For a second time, her mother is stunned. “Yes? As in you require more time or that–,”

“Yes, to the proposal,” Celeste confirms once more before sharing the duke's attitude. “As soon as possible.”