by Fanny Finch
She was beginning to hate every moment she was forced to spend with him. She had made it through the week but just barely. Every day she longed to hear from the Marquess. She had written several letters to him to add to the first one, expressing how unhappy she was with the situation.
She understood Anna was ashamed about the letters that were causing her to be blackmailed. Lavinia just wished she had not been drawn into the mix, now destined to marry a man who definitely did not love her, wanted only her money and would be excited like never before when he realized the vast fortune he would have upon marrying her.
It just was not fair. This was not what her father wanted.
She sulked, lowering her head so her blond hair created a curtain between them. He was also reading but she had the sneaking suspicion he was actually staring at her. She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her head from his glare.
He had vowed to take her far away from everyone and everything she had ever known if she did not cooperate with him.
The one decent man other than her father that Lavinia had ever known, and she had lost him to rumors and innuendo. And a letter she did not write.
She was relieved when Anna came home and walked into the parlor. She looked sympathetically at Lavinia.
Lavinia could tell Anna knew she did not want to be at the Astor townhouse with Sir Henry. Every moment with him was harder and harder to bear. She did not want to even look at him, much less have him sitting uncomfortably close to her.
He had already told her he would not be the kind of husband who would give her the positive attention she needed. The kind of attention she would be given, according to him, would be his watchful eye, making sure she was not straying in any way.
The way he made it sound, she would never be happy again in her life.
The thought was very distressing.
“Hello, brother, Lavinia. How are you feeling today? You look…” Anna paused, her eyes scanning Lavinia. “You look tired. Did you rest last night?”
“As well as I could,” Lavinia said, standing up. The moment she was on her feet, Sir Henry was next to her, looming over her like a greedy monster. Lavinia felt a headache coming on. She would not speak to anyone any more than polite society dictates she should.
“I will leave you to speak to Anna about finalizing your plans for tonight, Miss Bronson,” Sir Henry said in a firm voice that he had only recently started to use with her. “I do hope you take the seriousness of this occasion to heart. You must behave properly. Do not speak to anyone or answer any questions unless you are knowledgeable on the topic. I expect you will not embarrass me before we are even married.”
Lavinia grimaced when he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He saw the grimace and was obviously angry about it. Lavinia thought she was lucky to get away without being smacked. The thought that he might get violent with her if she disobeyed him brought immediate tears to her eyes.
She turned away quickly, trying to hide her red cheeks and watery eyes.
“Do not do anything like that at the party, Lavinia,” he growled. “You will show them all a happy, blushing soon-to-be bride who is terribly in love with her fiancé. And in return, I shall dispel the rumors surrounding you and Sir Franklin.”
He turned to his sister. “You will soon need to begin paying the blackmail notes on your own, Anna. I will need all of Lavinia’s money to pay my debts.”
As if that was all he had to say and he did not want to look at either of them anymore, he turned his head and walked out the door. Anna hurried to Lavinia’s side. She reached out and grasped one of her arms.
“Oh, Lavinia. I cannot believe I have never seen this side of Henry before. He is not the man I thought he was.”
Lavinia shook her head. “No, he is not. I am sorry for you, Anna. He is your brother.”
Anna took Lavinia’s arm and guided her back to the settee, which was only a few steps away. They sat side by side. Anna put one arm around her friend’s shoulder and tilted her head to rest it against Lavinia’s.
“I am so sorry about my brother. I feel as though I should never have come to visit you. If I had not, you would not be in this position.”
Lavinia closed her teary eyes and patted Anna’s hand on her arm, before she opened them again. “Do not be ridiculous, my sweet friend. Sir Franklin would have eventually gotten around to doing to me what he did to you and countless other unfortunate ladies of the ton. The man would sell his mother if he thought it would bring him some profit.”
Anna grunted. “He is less interested in getting a lot of money than he is ruining the fine reputations of women as he makes his way through them.”
“It is a horrible concept. Oh, Anna, I do feel so helpless.” Lavinia lowered her head, pressing her fingers against her forehead.
“Yes, it is. But you must have faith. You must have hope. Things can change,” Anna smiled softly. “In the blink of an eye.”
Two hours later, Lavinia stepped into the parlor, where many people were gathered to honor her and the engagement, which had not been yet announced. None of them knew the reason they had been invited. It was a party during the season and was expected. She was the only one who could feel the dread, the anticipation, the apprehension of what was about to happen to her.
Lavinia had to force herself not to cry the entire time she was getting dressed for the party. She knew that red eyes would not sit well with Sir Henry. She did not want to anger him. She was already afraid of what he would do to her if she did not do what she was told.
Anna had bought the most beautiful broach for her to wear on her dress. On any normal occasion, Lavinia would have enjoyed showing off such a bauble. But all she wanted to do was crawl into a corner and hide from everyone. She forced a smile to her face, behaving as though she was just another guest invited to the Arbor Townhouse party.
She was greeted by the people around her. They were friendly and cordial, but she was asked by several if she was feeling well. She gave the excuse of a headache, which was more of a reason, because her head was pounding.
Anna tried to stay by her side as much as possible. She was rarely drawn away for any reason other than to refill her or Lavinia’s drink. Through the first hour, Lavinia felt as though Anna was in almost too good of a mood. She seemed excited, much more excited than she should have been for the unhappy occasion for Lavinia.
Lavinia wondered briefly if Anna was so excited only because they would become more like sisters than friends. She could not imagine Anna being that selfish, knowing why Sir Henry was marrying Lavinia and that he had no real love for her at all.
She watched as her friend laughed and mingled with everyone there, leading her around and taking control of much of the conversation. Lavinia found herself without the need to even really speak. Anna was doing just fine in that department.
She did not feel like talking anyway. She was about as unhappy as she thought she had ever been. Sir Henry, on the other hand, was just as jovial as his sister, moving around the room, smiling at everyone, behaving as though he had just won a big prize.
Lavinia did not want to be someone’s prize. She wanted to be loved as a wife and, in the future, a mother. Her future looked bleak and dreary. As the hour drew closer for dinner, her apprehension and dread mounted until she felt a little dizzy.
“Anna,” she murmured, taking her friend’s arm and speaking quietly when they were not in the presence of other guests. “I need to get some fresh air. Will you take a walk with me?”
“Of course, Lavinia,” Anna nodded at her when she spoke. “We can go out on the terrace for a few minutes. But we need to be back inside before a quarter till the hour.”
Lavinia nodded. She was practically counting the seconds.
“Come with me.” Anna kept her voice quiet. She took Lavinia’s hand and led her to a side door that would let them out onto the terrace, where there were several other couples, some men, some women, sitting on deck chairs and talking quietly.
Some of the men looked up when Anna and Lavinia stepped outside. They all stood up halfway until Anna nodded at them and they sat back down to resume their conversations. The two women chose a spot at the end of the terrace, where a tall stone railing allowed them to see out over the land but not fall down the small hill they were in front of.
Lavinia looked over the edge, wondering what it would be like to roll down that hill. The thought made her grin. Her smile widened when she pictured the Marquess rolling down it. She would have done it as a child. She wondered if he had been that kind of youngster, too.
“Your home is so beautiful,” Lavinia murmured. “I do not know how you will bear to leave it.”
“I will not be married anytime soon, Lavinia. That is your priority right now.”
Lavinia gave her friend a surprised glance. “Whatever do you mean? You also need to find a husband.”
Anna nodded. “While that is true, the suitors are pursuing you right now.”
Lavinia shook her head. “Not since that article was posted. My mother had a list for me of prospects. There were about six men. Half of them withdrew their offers when the article was written. Mother has not heard from the other one, she knows I do not care for Sir Franklin, and the other I am being forced to marry. So my prospects have been severely cut.”
Anna’s face dropped. Her previous jovial attitude dissipated. “I am so sorry about all of this, Lavinia. I promise you things will work out in the end. And I do not give out promises lightly.”
Lavinia looked closely at her friend. “You have been very excited tonight, Anna.”
Anna’s face turned to one of surprise. It made Lavinia a little suspicious, though she did not know what she was suspicious of. She tilted her head to the side.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Anna?”
Her friend’s dark eyebrows shot up. “What is it you think I need to tell you?”
“Anna, if I knew what it was, I would not be asking.”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I cannot find the answer if I do not ask the question,” Lavinia replied seriously.
“That is true,” Anna murmured, turning her eyes away from her friend.
Lavinia waited but Anna did not continue. “Anna, you are not telling me something. What are you not telling me?”
When Anna looked at her again, Lavinia thought she just might get an answer. But Anna turned her eyes back toward the field in front of them.
“I have nothing to report to you, Lavinia. I am excited. I do believe that you will end up with the man you love and I know that is not my brother. Especially not my brother. He is not the man I thought he was.”
“It is not your fault he turned out that way,” Lavinia said, trying to support her friend. “If anyone, you have had a reason not to believe the worst in him. You have chosen to show him the love you have for him as your brother. No one will fault you for that.”
“If I had not returned from my trip and visited you, perhaps none of the would have happened.”
Anna sounded to terribly sad. Lavinia felt guilty. “Oh, Anna, I have been so terribly happy with you in London, I do not want you to feel so bad. Perhaps there will be a way out after all.”
Anna perked up instantly, smiling at Lavinia. “Do you think so?”
“Yes. I know something will happen. I can feel it in my stomach. The problem is I do not know whether it will be a good thing or a bad thing… oh, there is one of the maids. We must go in.
At the top of the hour, Lavinia was surprised to see the Marquess walk through the doors. The dinner would be served in only ten minutes. She wondered if Anna or Sir Henry knew he was coming. They would have had to send him an invite.
She turned in a half circle, looking for Anna, who was suddenly not by her side, and spotted Sir Henry heading her way with a sinking heart.
Chapter 32
Myles had been walking around Astor townhouse for ten minutes before he finally spotted Lavinia. His heart jumped in his chest when he saw her. He was immediately sorry he had not spoken to her to apologize or for any other reason, in the last week. It felt like he had not seen her in an eternity.
When his eyes settled on her, he immediately felt a familiar warmth slide through him. There was no denying that she was to be his wife. He could feel it in his bones. He could have resisted the feelings for years and still need her by his side. Eventually, he would have given in to them anyway.
He made his way toward her, stepping past some of the other guests, excusing himself. He was halfway across the room when he saw Sir Henry going toward her as well.
Lavinia turned her eyes and met his. The look on her face was one of mixed emotions. He thought he could see relief but also fear. Was she afraid of him now? What had he done to make her afraid of him?
When she immediately looked to her right in the direction of Sir Henry, the relief he thought he saw was gone. The only thing left was fear. She glanced back at him twice. He stopped where he was and watched as Sir Henry approached her.
Sir Henry took hold of Lavinia’s arm and pulled her away from the other guests, toward two large trees in pots sitting in front of a tall window. Sir Henry was speaking to Lavinia in low tones.
Myles could see Sir Henry had not let Lavinia’s arm go when they were between the two potted trees. It seemed to him the man was gripping her elbow a little harder than he needed to. And he did not have a pleasant look on his face.
Lavinia had dropped her eyes to the floor. Her cheeks were flushed. Mylesknew he could not be the only one who saw that. How would Sir Henry excuse his behavior to every guest in his house?
Myles decided it was his job to do something about it. He had vowed to protect her from men like this and had failed miserably. He could not let her or Sir Edward down again. He would stand up for her.
He took a few large strides to where they were and smiled brightly when Sir Henry turned to look up at him. He had been standing with his back turned to the guests, whispering to Lavinia loudly and dramatically. When the Marquess approached them, she looked around Sir Henry to him, prompting the man to turn around.
“Good evening, my lord,” Sir Henry said, bowing. Lavinia curtsied but could not take her eyes from him. He wanted to grab her and drag her from this place but this time, he would resist his impulse to do the first thing that came to his mind.
“Good evening, Sir Henry. Miss Bronson.” Myles looked directly at her, bowing without taking his eyes from hers. “How are you this fine evening?”
Lavinia opened her mouth but Sir Henry cut in, making a big mistake with the Marquess.
“She is doing well. We both are.”
Sir Henry’s face paled as Myles moved his eyes to him.
“I consider it a personal affront that you did not allow Miss Bronson to answer for herself,” he said in a deep, stern voice.
“I… I do apologize for that, my lord. I am merely anxious this evening. I will be making an announcement later that…”
“I do believe we need to talk about that, Sir,” Mylesinterjected. “If you would care to step outside?”
Sir Henry’s jaw clenched in anger. Myles knew he did not like being challenged in his own home.
“We can speak here, sir,” Sir Henry replied.
Myles nodded curtly. “As you wish. I must say, however, that you would be wise to take this up with me outside, as I have been told you have an explosive temper… especially when you lose at a card game? Is this not true?”
A trace of fear could be heard in Sir Henry’s voice when he responded, “I am unsure what you mean, my lord?”
Myles leaned forward slightly, so that he was practically looming over the smaller man. “I mean I have been in contact with some of the members of the South London Gentleman’s Club and it seems you have quite a reputation with them.”
Sir Henry shook his head. “I have not a thought what you are referring to. I do not belong to that club.”
“Oh b
ut I am afraid you do, sir. And your lies only serve to exacerbate this situation. You, sir, are a gambler and I am told not a very good one. It appears you have stockpiled quite a few debts at that club. I am sure upon further review, I will find more clubs with members to which you owe money.”
Sir Henry looked angry. He turned his back to the guests, stepping out so that he and Myles were speaking away from them.
“Are you sure you do not want to go outside, Sir Henry?” Myles asked in an amused voice.
Sir Henry shook his head. “No, sir. There is no need. I do not know why you are saying these things but I will ask you to stay out of my private affairs.”