"No, I do not think most do have the chance. It will be a nice trip, try not to think about the business side of it overly much. First and foremost you are going as my guest and friend." Keiran smiled reassuringly at the colorful young woman sitting beside him.
"Ah, that." He let out a soft sigh, knowing he should not have said that. It was a family affair, but Lyssa was not of the society elite that would take any scrap of rumor or knowledge she could to try to gain an advantage so talking about it with her was not really much of a problem. Unless of course she repeated any of it to the wrong person. "You must not think too hard on it, and do not repeat it. I was surprised when word was sent of the engagement, because the woman is a girl I have known since we were children. She was a circus performer of a sort, not of noble blood at all! Apparently she has gained some favor with a High Lady who was adamant about arranging a match to my brother. Father is unhappy because as his eldest son, Conrad's marriage should have been a great opportunity, financially and socially, to further and strengthen our position. It is not at all what father would have chosen or planned."
Keiran frowned and looked pensively at the book in his lap. Lord Fairhall had probably tried to deflect the match to him. A second son having a less than ideal marriage was not as large a blow to the family. He was not sure how he felt about it, to be honest.
"Once Conrad is wed there will be no reason for father not to begin making arrangements for my own marriage. He will be sure to gain as advantageous a match as possible to make up for this less ideal one." The young lord was not sure how to feel about that either. To marry a young lady of prestige was his duty to his house, and though he had known this all his life and thought to have made peace with it, he felt uneasy about the prospect now that it was looming before him so clearly and so close to reality.
