Secrets of a Proper Lady

by Victoria Alexander

  “If I recall correctly.” Daniel grinned. “I might have been.”

  “There are a great number of children in this family, Mr. Sinclair. When we are all together we are quite overrun with them, most of them boys.” Amelia met Daniel’s gaze firmly. “On occasion they have been known to pursue adventures that might get them in a great deal of trouble.”

  “And on those occasions,” Edwina cut in, “they may well need rescue by an adult.”

  A choking noise sounded from one of the husbands.

  “You should know, regardless of the circumstances leading to such adventures, the poor decisions made by whomever.” Amelia cast Daniel a knowing smile. “Rescue is always greatly appreciated.”

  Daniel nodded, obviously trying to hide a grin. “That’s very good to know.”

  “And do you like to travel, Mr. Sinclair?” Amelia said abruptly and idly stirred her soup. “Cordelia is quite passionate about travel.”

  “I know.” Daniel’s gaze met Cordelia’s. “I’ve read her articles.”

  “Have you?” Edwina studied him. “How very clever of you.”

  Amelia smiled in a cool manner. “And what did you think?”

  “I thought they were exceptional,” Daniel said firmly. “Well written, amusing, and most enjoyable.”

  “Did you know she’s writing a book about travel?” Edwina shook her head. “It would be a pity if it were never finished.”

  “A great pity,” Amelia said firmly. “But you haven’t answered my question, Mr. Sinclair. Do you like travel?”

  “Cordelia loves travel,” Edwina added as if it could not be said enough.

  At once Cordelia realized this was not merely polite conversation on the part of her sisters. This was something of an interrogation and, as such, quite touching.

  “I must confess I have not traveled as extensively as your sister has. Not for pleasure that is,” Daniel said smoothly. “Right now, the demands of business leave me little time for pleasurable travel. However, I expect that will change in the future.”

  Cordelia tried not to smile.

  “You’re from Baltimore, is it?” Edwina asked. “In America?”

  Daniel nodded.

  “And do you plan to reside there?” Amelia paused. “Permanently?”

  “I do indeed,” Daniel said firmly. “Frankly, I have never considered living anywhere else, permanently that is. However, I have pressing business concerns here in London that mean we shall probably have to return periodically. Perhaps as often as once a year.”

  We. He said we. Was there ever a more delightful word?

  Amelia and Edwina traded glances. Amelia nodded. “You should plan on joining us one summer in Brighton.”

  Amelia’s husband cleared his throat, no doubt planning on advising Daniel as to the best way to avoid that family gathering.

  Edwina smiled. “And how long have you been in London?”

  “It’s been.” He thought for a moment. “Seven months now. Since the beginning of the year.”

  “Are you planning to return home soon?” Amelia said lightly.

  Daniel’s gaze met Cordelia’s and he winced. He rose to his feet, all conversation stopped. “Cordelia, might I speak to you privately for a moment?”

  Cordelia stared up at him. “What is it?”

  “If we could step into the parlor.” He nodded toward the door.

  “Nonsense,” the countess said. “We’ll all soon be family. Surely you can say whatever it is in front of us.”

  “Unless it’s something quite personal, and dreadful and devastating,” Aunt Lavinia said. “In which case, privacy is an excellent idea.”

  Daniel looked distinctly uneasy. Cordelia’s breath caught. “Is it dreadful?”

  “No, no of course not. Awkward but not dreadful. Business, something of a crisis really, demands that I return home. I have already put it off too long.” His gaze met hers. “I am set to sail at the end of the week. Cordelia, do you think…is it possible…would you consider…” He drew a deep breath. “Will you marry me as soon as possible and accompany me as my wife?”

  “Oh no, that’s entirely too soon,” Mother said. “Why, there are arrangements to be made and—”

  “Daniel.” Cordelia rose to her feet and wondered that they were still planted firmly on the ground. In spite of the fact that he already had his answer, that it was inevitable and necessary for all involved, she couldn’t recall ever having been happier than she was at this very moment. “I should like nothing better.”

  Daniel stared at her, a slow grin spreading across his face. He’d been confident of her answer, indeed she’d already said it. But it was now official, in front of her family and his. And she would marry him at once. Still, until she knew everything. He straightened his shoulders. “Cordelia—”

  “Excellent.” At the end of the table, Father stood and raised a glass. “Congratulations and best wishes to you both.”

  Mr. Sinclair got to his feet and did the same. “To all of us.”

  “Cordelia,” Daniel started. “I really must speak to you—”

  “I shall arrange for the funds to be transferred immediately upon the marriage,” Father said to Mr. Sinclair.

  “Cordelia.” He had to tell her before—

  “What funds?” Cordelia looked at her father. “Are you speaking of my dowry?”

  “That and the inheritance,” Lady Marsham said in an offhand manner.

  “Cordelia,” Daniel tried again. “We need to—”

  “What inheritance?” Cordelia said slowly.

  “You know, darling,” Lady Marsham said, “the inheritance from your great-aunt Cordelia.”

  Cordelia shook her head. “I’m not aware of any inheritance.”

  Lady Marsham’s brow furrowed. “I’m certain you were told of it although it really wasn’t significant until now.”

  “Refresh my memory, if you please.” A sharp note sounded in Cordelia’s voice.

  “In spite of the fact that she never married, so I have always wondered how she came by it, when your great-aunt Cordelia died she left behind a significant fortune,” Lord Marsham began. “She was quite pleased that we had named you after her.”

  Cordelia’s eyes widened. “And she left me her money?”

  “Not directly.” Lord Marsham paused to choose his words. “She stipulated that her fortune would go to the man you married.”

  “The man I married,” Cordelia repeated, shock evident in her voice. “Not me but the man I married?”

  “I believe she regretted not marrying and thought it was in your best interest to…” Lord Marsham grimaced.

  “To make marrying me more palatable?” Cordelia glared at her father. “It wasn’t enough simply to trade me off as part of a business arrangement? You had to offer a…a bonus as well?” Her gaze shot to Daniel. “Did you know about this?”

  “I—”

  “I knew,” his father said quickly. “Your father told me when we first agreed to arrange a marriage between the two of you. Daniel didn’t know anything about it.” The elder Sinclair winced. “In the beginning.”

  “In the beginning!” Cordelia stared at Daniel with disbelief. “In the beginning when you were doing everything you could to avoid marrying me?”

  “That would be the beginning, yes, but—”

  “Did you know in Brighton?”

  “Brighton?” Lady Marsham said. “What does Brighton have to do with anything?”

  “No.” Daniel shook his head firmly. “I didn’t know in Brighton.”

  “You don’t need to know about Brighton, Mother,” Amelia said firmly.

  “No, of course you didn’t know then. In Brighton you were still…” Cordelia’s eyes narrowed. “Trying to seduce Sarah Palmer!”

  “Not this Sarah Palmer,” Miss Palmer said quickly.

  “The other Sarah Palmer,” Will added. “Cordelia that is.”

  “The princess,” Aunt Lavinia murmured.

  “Is there an
other Sarah Palmer?” Ursula asked. “How delightfully twisted.”

  “Quiet, Ursula,” Daisy snapped.

  “I was not trying to seduce Sarah Palmer,” Daniel said indignantly.”

  “Oh?” Cordelia glared at him. “What do you call ‘I would like to call on you properly, Miss Palmer?’ ‘I shall see you in London, Miss Palmer?’ ‘I promise to refrain from pulling you into my arms behind Egyptian statues!’”

  “Well, he did promise,” Ursula said under her breath.

  “My intentions were honorable.” He thought for a moment. “Entirely honorable.”

  “Hah!” Cordelia huffed. “You kissed me!”

  “I would say you kissed me.”

  “He kissed her?” Aunt Lavinia raised a brow. “Where?”

  “Directly on the lips.” Edwina smirked. “According to witnesses.”

  Amelia rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “In Brighton.”

  “Cordelia, I didn’t know about the money until the day before I went to call on Miss Palmer, or rather you. That’s when I found out I needed money, a great deal of money, in order to salvage everything I had worked for. And I realized I had no choice other than to marry Lady Cordelia. Which, as it turns out, was you.”

  “But I still had to agree to marry you!” Cordelia shook her head. “You knew at the museum and at the ball—”

  “I don’t know anything about a museum,” Lady Marsham muttered.

  Daisy patted her hand. “I daresay, there’s quite a lot we don’t know.”

  Cordelia gasped. “And the night I came to see you! You knew then!”

  Abruptly, Daniel had had quite enough. This was not entirely his doing. “About that night, Cordelia, did you know the truth then? Who I really was? Before we—”

  Lady Marsham groaned. “Dear Lord, I knew it was only a matter of time.”

  “Before you what?” Ursula asked innocently.

  “I knew exactly who you were.” Anger flashed in Cordelia’s green eyes.

  “You let me think you were in love with Warren! You did it deliberately because you knew it would drive me mad.”

  “Warren?” Lady Marsham said weakly.

  “And you didn’t correct me, did you? Even though you had every opportunity to do so. You deserved to be driven mad.” Realization flashed in Cordelia’s eyes. “And your letters! There was a distinct change of attitude in those letters that can be dated directly to when you found out about the money. They became…” She practically spit the word. “Pleasant, even engaging.”

  “Forgive me for trying to make amends!”

  “Amends?” She snorted in disdain.

  Daniel clenched his jaw. “You’re missing the most important point, Cordelia.”

  “Oh?” Her brow rose. “And what would that be?”

  “The point is I found out about the inheritance the day before I found out that the woman I had fallen in love with was actually the woman I was expected to marry!”

  “And that makes this all,” Cordelia gestured angrily, “acceptable?”

  “No, what makes it acceptable, what makes it damn near perfect is that, in spite of our fathers, in spite of the games we’ve played with one another, we’ve fallen in love with each other!” Daniel braced his hands on the table and leaned toward her. “I love you and you love me and the money has nothing to do with that.”

  “Well then.” She mimicked his actions and leaned over the table toward him. “Give it up.”

  He glared at her. “Give what up?”

  “The inheritance!” Her eyes narrowed. “If you do indeed want to marry me for reasons that have nothing to do with money, then give it up.”

  “Very well,” he snapped. “If it will prove—”

  “You can’t. He can’t.” His father shook his head. “I realize this is all most distressing to the course of true love and all that, but I’m sorry, Lady Cordelia, he can’t give it up. Without your money everything he has worked for will collapse and people who have trusted him will lose a great deal. Perhaps if time wasn’t a factor he could be noble and do what you ask, but at the moment he has no choice.”

  Cordelia stared at his father. “He’d be ruined?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Good.” Cordelia straightened and drew a deep breath. At once she seemed remarkably calm. Fear twisted his stomach. “Mr. Sinclair, will you go through with this business arrangement with my father if I don’t marry your son?”

  His father’s gaze slid from Cordelia to Daniel and back and he nodded. “Yes, Lady Cordelia, I will.”

  “I, however, will not,” the Earl of Marsham said in a hard voice. “The marriage was my stipulation not Mr. Sinclair’s. My dear daughter, you are brilliant and independent and I cherish everything about you. But with every passing year you are headed down a path that will lead you to the same fate as my aunt. She died bitter and alone. I will not see you spend your life without someone to share it with.”

  “What if I refuse?”

  “If you refuse, I will not do business with Mr. Sinclair. Eventually, my enterprises will fail. There will be no extra money for travel or anything else.” Lord Marsham’s gaze bored into his daughter. “I need you to save this family, but more, I need you to save yourself.” His voice softened. “I’m not sure how it happened, it’s all most confusing—”

  Ursula snorted.

  “—but this man has apparently fallen in love with you and it’s clear to all of us here that you care for him as well. I think he’s a fine young man and regardless of what has occurred between you, I don’t want to see him ruined. And I don’t want to see you let pride destroy what you’ve always said you wanted and did not expect to find.”

  “So then I really have no choice,” Cordelia said coolly.

  “Cordelia,” Daniel started. “Please listen—”

  She held out a hand to stop him. “I will marry you as soon as it can be arranged. I’m certain there are ways to expedite these things.” She glanced at her father. He nodded. Her gaze turned back to Daniel’s. “However, I will not accompany you to America and aside from the necessity of a ceremony, I intend never to see you again.” Her polite smile belied the unshed tears in her eyes and Daniel thought his heart would break. “Good evening.” She nodded curtly and headed out of the room.

  “Cordelia.” He started after her. Amelia grabbed his arm.

  “I think it might be best if we spoke with her.” Amelia nodded to Edwina and they hurried after their sister.

  Daniel stared after them. What had he done? If he hadn’t been so stupid he would have ended the charade between them as soon as he’d found out about it and told her about the inheritance as well. If he hadn’t let it go on, she would be in his arms right now. And now he had no time left to make it right.

  “Well,” Ursula said brightly. “It seems we have a wedding to plan.

  It was really rather startling how quickly something like a wedding could be arranged if women like her mother and Aunt Lavinia set their minds to it. And if there was a great deal of money at stake.

  Three days after the ill-fated dinner that had already taken its place in the annals of legendary family gatherings, Cordelia found herself about to wed a man who would sail out of her life by sunset. The same family members who had witnessed their betrothal, for want of a better word, now waited uneasily in the parlor ready to witness their marriage.

  “There, that will do, I suppose.” Amelia studied her sister. “Although I do think you should have worn something more festive.”

  “And yet, I don’t feel the least bit festive,” Cordelia muttered, although she wasn’t entirely sure how she did feel. It was as if she’d been living in something of a fog since the night of the dinner.

  “It’s a nice enough dress, if a bit ordinary,” Edwina said with a helpful smile. “But you do look lovely.”

  Her family had tried to help. Amelia and Edwina had both agreed that Daniel did seem a good sort all in all. And he was certainly dashing enough w
ith a wonderfully wicked smile. Aunt Lavinia had pointed out money was not a bad reason to marry one’s first husband. Will had said much of this disaster could be laid directly at her feet. Cordelia had not taken that well. Mother had continued to murmur that at least Cordelia would be married, regardless of the circumstances of the marriage. Sarah had simply offered her shoulder to cry on. And Father had wisely refrained from saying anything at all. She still couldn’t quite get over the fact that this arrangement was her father’s doing. With the best of intentions, admittedly, but it was still her life.

  As for Daniel, she squared her shoulders. She would marry him, of course, she had no choice. But too many conflicting emotions warred within her to make any decisions beyond that. Cordelia couldn’t recall ever having been the least bit indecisive. But now the only thing she knew for certain was that she was still angry with him. He should have told her everything when he had the chance. In spite of his declaration of love, she wasn’t at all sure his love didn’t go hand in hand with his need for the inheritance. It was most confusing and upsetting. She needed time to clear her mind, to sort through her thoughts and emotions in a rational manner. Time to get over the pain that had lingered in her heart since she’d found out his desire for her might not have anything to do with love. To consider whether or not she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him or without him. Pity, there was no time.

  Amelia held out her hand. “Are you ready?”

  “No.” Cordelia uttered a weak laugh and took her older sister’s hand. “But the papers have all been signed so it’s best to get on with it.”

  Her sisters accompanied her from the library into the parlor. Daniel stood near the vicar, the real Warren Lewis by his side.

  Cordelia avoided Daniel’s gaze, took her place beside him, and the vicar began the ceremony.

  Daniel leaned toward her and murmured into her ear. “You haven’t answered my letter.”

  “I didn’t read your letter,” she said under her breath.

  “I don’t want things to end this way.”

  “You should have thought of that.”

  The vicar cleared his throat. “Lady Cordelia?”

  “Yes, yes,” she said sharply. “I will, I do. Go on.”