The two different reactions gave Matilda a clear picture of what this situation could look like moving forward. Domitian, however distant, was not entirely unpredictable; he did what was best for his family, and if he was at all on the same wavelength as Matilda it would mean seeing that Camilla was hastily married off.

Fitzroy was an entirely different matter.

Matilda did not know her cousin terribly well, but she knew enough about him, both through the family rumor mill and through society's rumor mill, to assume that he would not take well to being pressured into anything. He seemed so certain that she could not be with child, and in truth Matilda did not know how probable it was for a woman to be impregnated the same night she lost her virtue, but she did not think it was impossible.

"I don't see why it couldn't," she answered, with a stern look in Fitzroy's direction. What she was less willing to vocalize, despite how easily it came to mind, was that he ought to be more worried about the other consequences that might come from defiling Camilla's honor. She was outraged, but Camilla was merely her sister-in-law.

Domitian was her brother by blood - and he could be scary.

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