Chapter Text
It was better to remain unmarried than to be bound to a man who would bore her to tears. At least, that is what Lady Rey Kenobi repeated to herself at the thought of her third London season. She had grown weary of the same people, day after day. The balls, the concerts, it was all still enjoyable to a degree, but it wasn’t at all exciting.
Everything had lost it’s luster. In her first season, Rey remembered how she’d held her breath each time she entered a party, blood rushing through her body at the thought of what suitors awaited her.
But, after she continued to reject proposal after proposal, it was time to admit there had only ever been one man she’d longed to see.
Lord Benjamin Solo, second son of the Duke of Alderaan.
But it was foolish to think of him now. As with many second sons, he had left for the war at eighteen. She had wept each night for months, imagining him torn and bloodied on the battlefield, thoughts not appropriate for a child. Yet even at the tender age of eight, she had known the dangers. Her own father had died in the war, and soon her mother followed from a broken heart. With no son to claim the title, it had been forfeited to a distant cousin who had wanted nothing to do with an orphaned four year old.
It was only the kindness of her mother’s friends which saved her from destitution. The Duke and Duchess of Bespin had taken her in and treated her as their own. Now, Rey couldn’t imagine her life without Lando, Viola, and Finn. They were how she had come to meet Ben, as the estates of Alderaan and Bespin neighbored one another. Viola had admitted to Rey one night the families had bonded over a shared sadness. It had not been until she was much older Rey had realized it was the wish of both to have large families, but each had struggled. The Duchess of Alderaan had managed a second pregnancy, but it had nearly killed her.
“Rey!” The familiar tones of Lady Rose Tico’s voice floated up the stairs. The two had met last season, which had been Rose’s debut, and become fast friends.
“Up here!” Rey called back, thrilled to see her friend again after so long.
A swirl of yellow fabric shot through the door, bouncing onto Rey’s bed. “I thought you would never arrive!”
Rey smiled. “We arrived along with half the ton, Rose. We’re hardly late.”
“I had to wait an entire day. It was torture. Mama almost made me go to a party without you. It would have been ghastly.”
The Duchess appeared in the doorway, her eyes red-rimmed. “My dove, we must leave at - oh.” Seeing Rey was not alone, she cut herself short.
Rey frowned. “Is everything all right?”
“No. No I am afraid it is not.” Dabbing frantically at the tears streaming down her face, she turned to address Rose. “I’m so sorry, my dear, but Rey and I must depart with haste. I - it’s not my place to say at this moment what has occurred. I know the two of you have been missing one another fiercely.”
Rose was already standing, smoothing the wrinkles from her day dress. “Of course, Your Grace. I understand.” Sending Rey a worried look, she hurried out the doorway.
Rey took her mother’s hand, leading her over to the settee. “You’re scaring me. Is everything all right with Papa?”
“Oh, yes, yes,” she choked out, “but, we’re needed at the Duke and Duchess of Alderaan’s house. They are beside themselves with grief.”
Rey’s chest contracted painfully. “Grief?” It couldn’t be. Not after all these years. Ben was legendary, an absolute genius of strategy if the reports were to be believed. Eleven years on the front. There had been injuries, of course, but - not him. Rey wouldn’t allow it to be true.
“It was so unexpected.” Viola twisted the handkerchief. “A headache! A simple headache. The wedding- oh, it’s not to be borne - ”
Rey should have been ashamed of the sharp stab of relief, how she lost her focus on the rest of her mother’s words. Lord Anakin Solo had died. Not Ben. He was still alive.
“- and then Lord Benjamin’s injury! -“ Rey snapped back to attention.
“Injury? What injury?” Gripping her mother’s hands tightly, she braced for the worst. How had she missed this? Rey tried not to make her interest overtly obvious, but surely she couldn’t have missed an update this significant.
Her mother paused, “I thought Papa had told you, it was only a few months ago. Lord Benjamin has been recuperating at the front, he was loathe to leave his men. Lady Solo was distraught over the disfigurement, but now… well, he was already on his way back home for the wedding. He cannot possibly continue in his service now. He must find a marriageable lady and secure the family title.”
On his way back home. Disfigured. Find a marriageable lady. The words pinged around her brain, snapping against one another. The image of him came into her mind, as clear as if he were standing in front of her. His long, thick hair falling in his face. Those intense brown eyes, so deep they were almost black, the smattering of beauty marks on his pale skin. She remembered how he’d complained about them to Finn.
The Duchess didn’t notice her distress, popping up to standing and pulling Rey with her. “Our carriage awaits.” Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Viola wiped the tears from her face. “We must be strong for them. Now more than ever they will need allies. Her Grace will be in deep mourning.”
Rey swallowed nervously as they were ushered into the carriage. “Shouldn’t- I mean - wouldn’t it be wrong for Lord Benjamin to attend the season? His brother…” There had been a few deaths, but they had been mostly older, titled men. Their widows had retreated from society, but Rey was at a loss for what would be appropriate in this situation.
“The work of mourning belongs to women,” Viola said, patting her hand. “The Duke of Alderaan may choose to stay in London for the season or retreat with the Duchess to the countryside, and Lord Benjamin may take part as he wishes.”
Rey wrinkled her nose. It hardly seemed fair the Duchess should have to sequester while the rest of her family was able to go about their normal activities. However, there were a great many things she didn’t agree with- despite this, expectations remained unchanged. Rey would never act in a way that might reflect badly on her family. It would be an affront to the kindness and love they had bestowed on her all these years.
Their conveyance came to an abrupt halt, and they were ushered inside with great haste. Rey understood receiving guests at this time was frowned upon. However, the relationship their two families shared was unusual.
The Duchess of Alderaan was perched delicately on the edge of a seat in the sunroom, tea already set out on the table in front of her. She sprang up the moment they entered, hurrying the servant out of the double doors and closing them swiftly behind. As the latches clicked, she turned and collapsed on the floor, her tiny frame almost lost as the blue fabric of her dress puffed upward in the breeze created by her sudden movement.
Viola rushed to her side, settling on the floor next to her and embracing her friend wordlessly. Rey watched helplessly as the Duchess cried in her mother’s arms. They were affectionate with one another, certainly, but she had never seen Ben’s mother so undone. It frightened her to see the formidable so overcome by grief.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the Duchess of Alderaan lifted her head and dashed the tears from her eyes with a determined flick of her fingers. “The tea, I’m afraid, has most certainly grown cold.”
“Nonsense,” her mother replied, carefully coming to standing in order to aid her friend. “It’s set to be a terribly hot day, in any case.”
Leia gave a small smile. “I fear I called you here for quite another reason.” When they had all settled with a cup of lukewarm tea, she continued. “Benjamin will be arriving any day now, and I fear all of this will come as - “ the cup trembled against the saucer, “as- quite a shock to him. The Duke is quite set on forcing him back into society for the season. I fear catastrophe. I will be unable to guide him, and - “
Viola touched a hand to Leia’s shoulder. “Say no more. We shall do our very best to shepard him through this challenging time. I will speak to Finn myself regarding this issue, and Rey is quite familiar with all the ladies of the ton. We will assist in finding him a suitable match.”
“There is also the - his impediment.”
The words hung in the air. Proper ladies were not to speak of such things, but it seemed desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Whatever it is, I am sure it can be overcome,” Viola replied, voice strained.
“Indeed. It’s only, as a mother, I worry- and he has known nothing but military life.” Setting her tea down, she sighed. “I also fear it suited him. He will not take to the constraints of society well.”
Rey immediately felt the need to rise to his defense. “His military successes and title may soften any deficiencies in decorum. From what I remember of him, he cut a dashing figure.”
Leia chuckled. “You were but eight, my darling.”
“Even so,” Rey said primly, straightening her shoulders. “One could hardly deny it.”
“True,” Viola tilted her head. “He had something of the Duke’s rakishness about him.”
“You have both diminished my worries greatly,” the Duchess said, seeming to deflate at the statement, her request having been heard and accepted.
“It is the least we can do,” Viola reassured her, “but now it is time we leave you to rest. There are a great many decisions to be made.”
With great effort, the Duchess stood, nodding. “I owe you a great debt, for being there for my son when I cannot.”
Rey carefully slipped from the room as her mother murmured soft comforts to the Duchess. She felt awkward, knowing nothing of what to say to someone who had lost so much so suddenly. Her parents were gone, true, but she had been so young...it was almost as if they'd never existed.
Anakin was gone. There was a slight pressure in her chest. Rey could remember he had also been a kind man, but he was so far ahead of her in age, even more than Ben. He had danced with her a few times in her first season, and there had even been whispers of a possible engagement between them, although it had been gossip only. Arguably, his death should discomfit her more.
Ben was coming home. The past seasons, when she had held her breath in anticipation of who would be in attendance. He would be in London. Finally it would be his face she would search out in the crowd. But he would be searching for a wife.
There was nothing else to be done about it.
She would do everything in her power to make sure that wife was her.