Chapter 354: informing her mother III

Chapter 354: Chapter 354: informing her mother III

Vivienne sighed.

"I really like him, Mother."

"I know."

"I mean it."

"I know you do."

Her mother’s voice softened.

"But you’re nineteen."

Vivienne almost laughed.

If only she knew.

"You’re still very young."

Physically.

Sure.

"You may feel completely certain about him right now."

"I am."

"I know."

There was no teasing in her mother’s voice.

No dismissal either.

"But that doesn’t mean your father and grandfather are going to feel the same certainty."

Vivienne looked down.

And perhaps that was the part she could understand most easily.

Her family in her previous life had been extraordinarily wealthy.

They had cared about reputation.

They had cared about family background.

They would have cared whether the man she intended to build a life with was serious about her.

That wasn’t particularly unusual.

The nobility complicated it.

The Beaumont name complicated it even further.

Her mother continued.

"Your grandfather has spent his entire life protecting the family name. Your father was raised with much of the same thinking."

Vivienne was quiet.

So it wasn’t only about finding someone with sufficient standing.

It was also about avoiding uncertainty.

A public relationship meant a possible public ending.

A possible rejection.

And, at the very least, gossip.

Suddenly, her pre-arranged engagement with Anthony made considerably more sense.

Not merely as some convenient plot device in a romance novel.

There was an actual logic behind it despite the year they lived in.

An archaic one, certainly.

But—

Well.

Still sensible in its own way.

Why allow the Duke’s daughter to date freely, become publicly attached to someone and risk heartbreak or gossip when the family could begin with a man whose background, family and intentions were already known?

And Anthony had been suitable in practically every sense of the word.

More than suitable, really.

The Ashfords had always stood above the Beaumonts.

The fact that Anthony had been considered for Vivienne at all had largely come from the friendship between their grandfathers.

Both houses knew one another.

Both families trusted one another.

The match had been approved long before Vivienne and Anthony were old enough to understand what marriage meant.

There had been very little uncertainty.

Their families had practically decided the ending before either child understood the beginning.

Marriage.

No wondering where the relationship was going.

No boyfriend whose intentions the family couldn’t judge.

No public romance followed by an equally public rejection.

At least—

That had probably been the idea.

Considering that in the original novel Anthony had eventually ended the engagement anyway, the plan hadn’t exactly worked perfectly.

And in this life, Vivienne herself had suggested they end it before he could.

So much for eliminating uncertainty.

Still.

Now she understood the reasoning behind it.

"So..." Vivienne said slowly. "Christopher isn’t suitable."

Her mother paused.

"I’m afraid not."

The answer was simple.

Vivienne pressed her lips together.

"Because he’s an Archibald."

"Yes."

"Even just as my boyfriend?"

"Yes."

That surprised her more than anything.

Her mother sighed softly.

"Your grandfather would consider even the association inappropriate."

Vivienne stared ahead.

That was...

Extreme.

Unfortunately, she understood the reasoning now.

That didn’t mean she intended to accept it.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then her mother sighed.

"Vivienne."

"Mm?"

"I know you’re not going to like what I’m about to say."

That was never a promising sentence.

Vivienne hugged the pillow closer.

"What?"

Another pause.

Then—

"If this were already a long relationship, I might tell you something different."

Vivienne became still.

"But it isn’t."

Her mother’s voice was gentle.

"You’ve been together for two days."

Two days.

Forty-eight hours.

Somehow, hearing Mother say it made it sound even shorter.

"I know."

"You like him."

"I really like him."

"I know, darling."

Her mother paused.

"But right now, this is still very new."

Vivienne didn’t answer.

"If you already know that your father is unlikely to approve and your grandfather almost certainly won’t, then I think you should consider ending it now."

Vivienne’s fingers tightened around the pillow.

There it was.

She had known where the conversation was going.

That didn’t make hearing it any better.

"Before it becomes more serious," her mother added gently. "Before either of you becomes more attached."

Vivienne looked down.

Too late.

At least on her side.

She didn’t say that.

"I’m not saying this because I think Christopher is a bad young man."

"I know."

"And I’m certainly not telling you that two days means your feelings aren’t real."

Vivienne’s expression softened slightly.

"Then why?"

"Because two days is also early enough that walking away now would be easier than walking away six months from now."

Vivienne was silent.

Logically—

She understood that too.

If this relationship really had no future, then yes.

Two days was better than two months.

Two months was better than two years.

That was perfectly sensible advice.

Except it depended on one rather important assumption.

That Vivienne was willing to give Christopher up simply because her family disapproved.

She wasn’t.

"Can’t you help me?"

There was a pause.

"I’ll speak to your father."

Vivienne looked up.

"But I’m not going to give you false hope."

Her brief spark of optimism disappeared.

"I know your father," her mother continued. "And I know your grandfather."

Vivienne hugged the pillow tighter.

"If you don’t want Anthony, then that’s something we’ll have to deal with. You can’t be expected to marry someone you don’t want."

That was something, at least.

"But Christopher is another matter."

Vivienne frowned.

"If someday there were another young man your family considered appropriate, perhaps your father could be persuaded."

"Someone from nobility?"

"Most likely."

Vivienne sighed.

"But an Archibald..."

Her mother didn’t finish.

She didn’t need to.

"You really don’t think they’ll agree."

"No."

There it was.

No perhaps.

Just—

No.

Her mother sighed.

"I have nothing against Christopher personally. I want you to understand that."

"I do."

"But I don’t want you going into this believing that if your father and grandfather find out, they’ll simply accept it."

"They won’t."

"I very much doubt it."

Vivienne became quiet.

"And the longer this continues," her mother added gently, "the harder it may become for you."

Vivienne knew what she meant.

More feelings.

More attachment.

More difficulty walking away.

Except—

Vivienne wasn’t planning to walk away.

That was the problem.

Or perhaps it wasn’t.

--

Tbc