A Marriage of His Choosing
Taylor K Scott
The past is but memories; the future is ours to make…
Elsie Rothschild
I was brought up to marry; trained from infancy to serve as a wife and mother.
But after being overlooked by the Duke of Kent, I am now facing the prospect of spinsterhood.
It has always been a fear of mine to end up alone, but surprisingly, I am growing used to the idea. A life of quiet study and animal companionship does not sound altogether too bad.
But when a lifelong friend returns home from his travels, a boy who had teased me as a child, strange emotions begin to surface.
Alas, Edmund Barton has always been in love with my sister, so when he looks at me so intensely it takes my breath away, surely, he can only be thinking of her.
Can’t he?
Edward Barton
After losing Emily Rothschild to the Duke of Kent, I decided to take my leave and travel overseas for a year. Broadening my horizons would finally set me free of my infatuation. Emily was happy and it was time to let her go.
When I finally returned home, an inheritance was waiting for me; a wake-up call to settle down and find a love of my own. A love who would choose me back. I did not dream I would find all that I yearn for in the eldest Rothschild daughter. A girl who has always been there, hiding her true self behind the mask of a ‘perfect’ lady. But now that I have found her, I refuse to let anyone else claim what I so dearly desire.
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Elsie
Dinner had been a silent affair, for Mama and me at least. Father and Lord Boreham had talked about business, politics, and other such affairs that excluded our input. It was a sad realisation that I would be expected to eat my meals forever more like this, in silence. That I would be expected to have an intimate relationship with someone who wanted me to listen but to not talk or dare to question him.
Now that we are in the drawing room, sitting uncomfortably while the two men continue to talk, they begin smoking on cigars and sipping on expensive liquor. And I am waiting, just waiting for the moment when Richard will ask to take me aside so he can officially propose. I feel sick with it.
“So, George,” Richard begins as he looks my way, and I feel my heart drop, “we both know why I came tonight.”
“Yes, we do,” my father agrees with a haughty smile on his face, also looking my way. “Colletta, perhaps you and I should give Elsie and Richard some privacy.”
“Er, yes, of course,” Mama flusters at the same time as looking at me with concern. I simply nod at her, wanting to scream but knowing not to. She offers a sad smile before walking over to take hold of my father’s outstretched arm, just as Richard moves over to sit beside me, taking my hand inside of his and smiling.
“Elsie, whilst you were away, I came over to speak with your father,” he begins even before my parents have fully left the room.
“Y-you did?” I just about manage to utter without breaking down into tears.
“There is no need to be nervous, Elsie, you have already won my heart,” he says with a kind of arrogance as he reaches inside of his pocket to retrieve a small box. “I asked your father—”
His words are cut short by the sound of Rupert appearing at the very same door that my parents were just trying to shuffle through. They step back before a collision can ensue and Rupert begins to fluster and apologise profusely for the intrusion.
“Good God, Rupert, what on earth is going on?” Father barks at him, causing the poor man to shuffle about even more so. “Lord Boreham was just about to propose to—”
“My apologies, Lord Rothschild, Lady Rothschild,” a familiar voice announces as he enters the room, his eyes finding mine almost instantly. But then he glances to the side to see Lord Boreham upon bended knee, and instantly looks to the floor, as if in anguish. “Lord Boreham, Miss Rothschild, please forgive my intrusion, however, this is a matter of urgency.”
“Edmund, whatever is the matter? Is it your father? Your mother?” Father gasps with panic in his voice. “Dear God, it isn’t Emily, is it?”
Edmund looks at him with confusion, no doubt wondering the very same thing as I am; why would Edmund know anything about Emily?
“No, George, of course not,” he says as he pats him on the arm with familiarity.
“Then, whatever is it?” Father asks as he leads everyone back inside the room. Richard gets to his feet, looking less than impressed by the interruption. As for me, I have no idea what to think, though I cannot deny I am feeling a little relieved.
“Indeed, Mr Barton, Elsie and I were in the middle of something important,” Richard sneers.
“Actually, that is precisely why my business cannot wait. Miss Rothschild, please forgive me, but I cannot allow this engagement to go ahead.”
“Why ever not?!” Richard practically spits. “You are not the girl’s father.”
“Edmund, I have to ask what it is you are thinking, coming here and interrupting what should be a happy occasion,” Father adds, though he looks more curious than angry.
“Let me explain myself; you see, Elsie has already been promised to me.”
I do not think it will come as any surprise when I tell you all four of us drop our mouths open in shock. Even poor Rupert is scratching his head as he makes his apologies and exits the room altogether. No one speaks for a moment; even Edmund takes a while to process his thoughts and how best to get them out into the open.
“I don’t think I follow,” Father eventually says, voicing what we are all thinking.
“When I was but a boy, my mother told me that I would one day be married to one of the Rothschild girls. I do believe you had all laughed about it at one of your parties, George. It was a long while ago, so I forgive your memory loss, but I remember it as clear as day. You, George, said I should count my blessings for I would not have to go through the torture of trying to court a young lady, for an agreement had already been made between yourself and my father.”
“Goodness, Edmund, that was over a decade ago, and it was a joke between your family and mine. While I had believed you and Emily would one day marry, that was more because of your friendship rather than our so-called agreement.”
“Unfortunate,” Edmund says with a confidence I have never seen on him before. “I never thought you, George, would go against your own words.”
“I’m not, I am simply saying… Wait a moment, are you really saying you want to marry Elsie?”
“Lord Rothschild, you promised Elsie to me,” Lord Boreham cuts in, sounding beyond angry about the situation.
“After she was promised to me, I’m afraid,” Edmund says, sounding and looking just as arrogant as Richard. There is certainly no love lost between these two gentlemen.
“George!” Richard snaps, causing my father to lose a little colour from his face.
“Perhaps, if I may,” Mama, of all people, interjects, “if both gentlemen have been promised Elsie’s hand, perhaps the most sensible thing to do is to leave the ultimate decision to Elsie herself?”
Everyone stares at Mama, then Father, who simply shrugs, before finally settling their eyes on me. I am left without words, fully unprepared to deal with this new situation.
“As always, Colletta, you have thought of the perfect solution,” Father announces to the room, to which Lord Boreham turns a shade of angry puce. Edmund, on the other hand, looks completely accepting of their decision and is now waiting for me to speak.
“Elsie?” Mama prompts me. “You must do what your heart tells you to.”
“Erm, well, I…my word, this is so unexpected,” I begin, rubbing at my temples to try and soothe my nerves. “M-may I speak with Edmund? Perhaps with Rupert to chaperone us?”
“Splendid idea,” Father declares as he opens the door to call his poor butler back inside. Meanwhile, I can feel Richard’s hard stare upon my face, making me deeply uncomfortable. But he’s unrelenting, so in the end, I have no choice but to turn his way.
“Elsie, think of what I can offer you,” he says with a stiff upper lip and a look of authority. “Lord Barton might well be familiar to you, but I will give you your every heart’s desire.”
“Will you give her love, Lord Boreham?” Edmund asks from across the room, sounding extremely irritated.
“Will you?” Richard snaps. “We all know it is her sister whom you have loved for all these years; somewhat of an obsession, was she not?”
“Please!” I cry, stopping this from becoming something I do not want it to be, a fight for possession that will only end in insults being thrown at me. I do not need anyone to tell me how much less desirable I am compared to me sister.
“Come along,” Father says in a jovial manner, as though none of this ugliness is happening, leaving Edmund, Rupert, and I alone inside of the room.
Once the door is firmly closed shut, Rupert chooses to stare directly at the wall in front of him, whereas Edmund and I spend a few moments watching each other before he finally crosses the room to meet me.
“Elsie, you must forgive me for how I have gone about all this. Believe me, this is not how I would have chosen to ask for your hand, however—”
“Why are you doing this, Edmund?” I ask with emotion clogging up my throat.
“Because, Elsie, you are my choice,” he says quietly, now getting so close to me, I can feel his breath upon my face. “I want to explore this life with you.”
“Do you?” I retort with a mixture of sadness and frustration. “Lord Boreham may not be the love of my life, but at least I would be the only woman in his life. I am not sure I could bear being married to someone who pictured my sister whenever he looked upon me. I have suffered with that my whole life.”
“I do not ever picture Emily when I look at you, Elsie,” he tries to convince me. “I see you, Elsie Rothschild, and you are my future. Emily was my past.”
“You loved her so much; how could I not think that?”
“Let me try to convince you,” he whispers, lifting his hand as though he wants to brush it across my cheek.
“Do you love me, Edmund? What I mean is, are you in love with me?” I ask, terrified of what he is going to say.
“I have always cared for you, Elsie, both you and Emily. And I will admit, those feelings are changing, blurring at the edges. I am not ready to say those words yet, for I do not deserve to. I have made so many mistakes, Elsie, and when I finally say those magical words, I want to be worthy of saying them to you. But I will say this, I am falling, Elsie. And if you marry Lord Boreham, I know that light I was beginning to see in your eyes, the light that makes me want to make you mine, will diminish.”
A tear escapes me, because I know he is right, but he still won’t tell me what I am dying to hear; that I am loved, like Emily is loved, like she has always been loved. So, when the door bursts open to reveal an angry-looking Richard, as well as my parents, I am still uncertain.
“Apologies, Elsie, but I refuse to wait another minute longer,” Richard declares. “I need an answer now.”
“Yes,” I whisper before moving from out of Edmund’s shadow. “Er, yes, you are right, Lord Boreham. You deserve an answer, and I apologise for making you wait.”
“You have an answer, Elsie, my dear?” Father ventures and I nod.
Taylor K. Scott 