Petra nodded slowly. “I understand that. I wasn’t thinking in those terms. It’s just . . .” Her voice faded.

“Just what, Petra?” Diana asked into the ensuing silence.

Petra sighed, feeling somewhat deflated. “Guy can be rather . . . rather opinionated.”

“He wouldn’t force you to do something you didn’t want to do?” Fenella asked, frowning. “Surely he wouldn’t.”

Petra shook her head. “No, no, of course he wouldn’t. But he can be very persuasive.”

“So can Rupert,” Diana said. “But so can I be. And so can you be, Petra.”

“Yes, of course I can.” She smiled, her spirits rising again. “It’s only that this is all so new and I keep thinking of all sorts of aspects of marriage that I’d never considered before.”

“Perhaps you should have this discussion with Guy,” Diana suggested. “Just to establish some ground rules. He’s older than you and he’s had longer to decide what he wants out of life, he might be a bit set in his ways.” She looked hesitantly at her friend.

“The more set in them he is, the harder it will be to move him,” Petra said. “Yes, I see what you’re saying.”

“But he’s not an unreasonable man,” Diana said with a reassuring smile. “You never hear anyone say anything bad about him.”

It was true, Petra thought. And she remembered how he’d responded with immediate understanding to Joth’s complaint that he’d upstaged him at their lunch in the Savoy, and even how he’d resolved their argument the previous evening. Guy was strong-minded, firmly opinionated, used to getting his way, and if she was brutally honest, that was a pretty good description of herself. They would clash at times, probably quite fiercely at times. As did Diana and Fenella with their husbands. But she could hold her own.

Guy was not an unreasonable man. And, besides, she loved him. And she’d been out in the world quite long enough not to expect a fairy-tale marriage. She and Guy were real people, well versed in the practicalities of life. They had their differences and they understood them. But the love they had for each other, the wonderful pulsing passion they shared, those feelings overrode any differences.

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

“Do you think Pa’s really injured his ankle?” Petra asked her brother as she climbed into the carriage outside the house in Brook Street on a lovely evening four weeks later. “I’m wondering if he decided he didn’t want anything to do with this engagement party. He was distinctly snippy about the idea of Guy’s hosting it instead of himself. I’d have thought he’d be delighted not to have to worry about anything, he’s usually so uninterested in any of London’s society doings. But his telegram about Guy’s engagement plans sounded less than enthusiastic, and then suddenly he’s hurt and can’t travel.”