Chapter 355: informing her mother IV

Chapter 355: Chapter 355: informing her mother IV

"There’s one more thing."

Vivienne sighed dramatically.

"Mother."

Her mother laughed.

"I promise this is the last one."

"Fine."

"Be careful about your reputation."

Vivienne froze.

Ah.

That.

"You’ve just ended an engagement everyone has expected for years."

"Mm."

"And now you’re seeing someone else."

Vivienne stared at the wall.

"If people begin seeing you particularly close to different young men, they will talk."

Oh, God.

Damian immediately entered her mind.

Not what had actually happened between them.

Nobody knew about that.

Well—

Nobody knew for certain.

Last night’s game certainly hadn’t helped.

Never have I ever had sex with someone in this room.

She had drunk.

Damian had drunk.

Christopher had drunk.

Thankfully, Claire and Eleanor had drunk too.

Which had made the entire thing considerably less obvious.

Hopefully.

Before that, there had been Damian’s attention.

How often he came to find her.

The polo grounds.

The touching.

The way he had been increasingly affectionate around her.

Nothing that proved anything.

But certainly enough for people to gossip if they wanted to.

And now Christopher.

Holding hands.

Walking around campus together.

The party.

That thirty-second kiss in front of everyone.

Leaving together afterward.

Vivienne slowly closed her eyes.

Wonderful.

Her parents absolutely did not need a detailed account of her university social life.

Especially the Damian portion.

That could remain safely at St. Albion forever.

"Vivienne?"

"Mm?"

"Are you listening?"

"Yes."

She sat straighter.

"I’m listening."

"I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong."

Good.

"But people can be unfair. Especially toward young women."

"I know."

"And once people know your engagement with Anthony has ended, they’ll pay even more attention to whomever you’re seen with next."

Vivienne sighed.

"I’ll be careful."

"Please do."

"I will."

Her mother was quiet for a moment.

Then her voice softened.

"I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear."

No.

It really wasn’t.

"But I’d rather tell you now."

"I know."

"And if your father or grandfather hears about Christopher before we’ve had a chance to discuss any of this..."

Her mother paused.

"Don’t be surprised by their reaction."

Vivienne frowned.

"Okay."

"Especially your grandfather."

"I understand."

"Good."

A small silence followed.

Then—

"I love you, darling."

Vivienne’s expression softened.

"I love you too, Mother."

"Enjoy the rest of your day."

"I’ll try."

"And think about what I said."

Vivienne looked down.

"I will."

They said goodbye.

Then the call ended.

Vivienne slowly lowered the phone.

For several seconds, she simply sat there.

Well.

That had certainly dampened her mood.

She had expected surprise.

Questions.

Maybe concern because everything with Anthony had ended so recently.

She hadn’t expected to discover that her grandfather had apparently been holding a grudge against the Archibald family for decades.

Vivienne fell backward onto the bed.

There hadn’t been anything about this in the novel.

Nothing.

Not Edmund Archibald.

Not her grandfather disliking him.

Not some old resentment about the Archibalds entering politics.

Then again—

Why would there have been?

The original novel hadn’t exactly included a Chapter titled:

Historical Grievances of the Beaumont Family.

Vivienne sighed.

Still.

This complicated things.

Quite a lot.

And now that the conversation was over, with no one speaking into her ear, she found herself thinking about what her mother had told her.

Edmund Archibald.

Her grandfather.

The same generation.

One born into an enormously wealthy commercial family.

The other born heir to one of the oldest ducal houses in the country.

Vivienne stared at the ceiling.

Actually...

When she looked at it that way, perhaps Grandfather’s dislike of Edmund Archibald wasn’t particularly difficult to understand either.

Not entirely, anyway.

Grandfather had been born with something Edmund Archibald could never acquire.

A title.

An ancient family name.

Centuries of aristocratic lineage behind him.

From birth, Grandfather had occupied a position Edmund could never enter no matter how much money the Archibalds possessed.

And yet—

Edmund had become Prime Minister.

He had reached the highest levels of political power in the country without being born into the nobility at all.

His son had followed him.

The Archibald fortune remained enormous.

Their political influence had only grown.

And the Beaumonts?

They were still Beaumonts.

Still one of the oldest ducal houses in the country.

Still wealthy.

Still respected.

But Vivienne knew enough by now to understand that an ancient title did not automatically make them the most powerful family in the room.

It never had.

There were noble houses above them.

The Ashfords certainly were.

The Ashfords had always held greater standing than the Beaumonts, and Anthony’s engagement to Vivienne had been possible largely because their grandfathers were close friends.

So perhaps that was part of what made Edmund Archibald particularly irritating to Grandfather.

Edmund hadn’t been born noble.

Grandfather had been born a ducal heir.

And yet Edmund had achieved heights Grandfather himself never had.

Vivienne pressed her lips together.

Ah.

She wasn’t going to call it jealousy.

She didn’t know nearly enough about either man to make that judgment.

But pride?

That she could believe.

Especially when the one thing Grandfather could always hold over the Archibalds was the one thing their money and political success could never retroactively give them.

Noble birth.

Vivienne sighed.

Old money versus new money.

Only now with titles involved.

She understood it.

She had seen versions of the same discrimination in her previous life.

What was different was that she had somehow ended up inside the family stubbornly holding on to it.

Wonderful.

And unfortunately, Christopher had inherited the consequences of a rivalry that had begun before either of them was born.

Her mother thought Father would object.

Grandfather would definitely object.

And apparently even being Christopher’s girlfriend would be enough to cause trouble.

That part bothered her most.

Because whatever her family thought about the relationship—

Vivienne wasn’t planning to walk away from it.

Which brought her back to the one thing her mother had advised her to do.

End it now.

Vivienne stared at the ceiling.

No.

Definitely not.

She was not ending it at all.

--

Tbc