Last Chance for the Charming Ladies: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Collection

by Fanny Finch

  “I would not ask you to,” Maria assured her. “I only wished to know that you would approve if it did come to pass. I would not want to do anything that would make you unhappy. I value your opinion above nearly all others.”

  “And you value my brother’s the most, I presume,” Georgiana said shrewdly.

  Maria found herself blushing again. “Yes. I must confess to that.”

  Georgiana sighed. “He is a good man. And I do think that you two would balance one another out. He would teach you to be more aware and wary in social situations. You would teach him how to relax and see the best in people.

  “But he is a stubborn man, my dear. He does not always see what is right in front of his face. If you are to make a grab for him, truly and earnestly, you must be prepared for that.

  “And you must especially be prepared for the other ladies. They will see you doing it. As will their mothers. They all already watch you as a hawk watches a mouse. They will not stand for it.

  “If you think that Miss Hennings is being difficult now, she will become even worse if she sees that you have gone from merely being in his company to actively pursuing him. And she is not the only one.

  “Are you prepared for such a thing? Are you truly prepared for the fight that you will find yourself in?

  “I ask you not to deter you. I only want you to make sure that you are ready. I would not wish for you to jump into the fray and be hurt because you did not expect what was coming.

  “You might find it preferable to go after another man after all. One who is not so titled or rich or handsome. He will be easier for you to obtain and there will be less competition for his affections.”

  Maria shook her head. “No. I shall, of course, if your brother chooses another or sets me aside. But until I have such confirmation from him to cease, or until he has chosen another woman for his wife, I think I shall pursue this.”

  She had never backed down from a challenge before. When Mother had challenged her to practice the pianoforte for an hour every day, she had done it. When Father had challenged her to take a hold of the accounts, she had done it.

  She could paint and draw and run a plantation. She was not going to turn into a coward, not over something so important to her.

  And she had Georgiana’s blessing. That was the sweetest gift to her.

  “I can see the determination in your face,” Georgiana said. “I cannot tell you if it frightens or amuses me. Probably a little of both.”

  “Both is good,” Maria replied, laughing a little.

  They finished up the tea and biscuits and set them aside. “Allow me to play the mother just this once and tuck you in,” Georgiana said.

  Maria obliged her. It had been so long since she’d been treated in such a fashion. It made her miss her own mother terribly, and she felt her eyes growing a little wet as Georgiana tucked her in and smoothed back her hair.

  “It is nothing,” she said when she saw Georgiana’s look of concern. “It is only that I miss my mother.”

  “I miss mine,” Georgiana replied.

  “You said that you hoped you would become a mother,” Maria said. “Why has that not yet happened? Surely many a man would wish to marry you.”

  Georgiana sighed, and Maria saw a great gulf of sadness open up in her eyes.

  This is why she never laughs, Maria thought.

  “I fear that you and I are a bit too much alike,” Georgiana said. “I fell in love with a man and would have no other.

  “He proposed, but my father disapproved of the match. He felt that my suitor was too low for me. He was not noble, you see, and was simply a naval officer, although he was a gentleman.

  “Father forced me to break off the engagement. My suitor went away, and I have not seen him since. And I know it is foolish of me, but as of yet I have been unable to convince myself to turn my affections to any other man, or to receive theirs.”

  Maria reached out and took her hand. “I am sorry.”

  Georgiana smiled sadly at her. “Do not be. It is not any fault of yours, and so why should you apologize for it? I am the one who has condemned myself by refusing to marry someone whom I do not truly esteem. And I fear that there is only one person who holds that position in my heart.

  “I say all this not to concern you with my woes. I say it to warn you. You must marry by the end of the season. Your father’s health fails, and he might not make it until next year’s season.

  “Therefore, you must marry. If you make yourself available only to my brother and he does not realize…I fear that you will have missed your chance with other men and therefore your chance to be saved.

  “And so I caution you. Make yourself available to my brother if that is where your heart lies. But do not make the mistake that I did and continue to do. Do not shun the idea of another man being your husband. Welcome into your heart the idea that you might not love the man that you marry.

  “For who knows? You might come to love the man in time. And there are other ways in which you might find happiness in your marriage. Running a household, for instance. Raising children. Calling upon friends. Hosting social events. Attending theatre. Your artwork.

  “I don’t wish for you to become stuck, or to entrap yourself in a situation from which you cannot escape. That is all. I care about you, my dear. The last thing I want is for you to end up like me. Especially since you do not have a rich brother who is willing to put up with your stubborn heart and lack of convention.”

  Maria nodded. “I understand.”

  She could not guarantee that she would follow Georgiana’s advice. After all, if she could control her heart she would have. But she would try. She did not wish to disappoint her father. And she did not wish to end up destitute.

  She lay in bed for a short while after Georgiana had left, contemplating the evening and all that had been said to her.

  Miss Hennings was right. Lord Reginald needed someone who could navigate the social scene. Someone who could keep up with the witty banter.

  If she could do that, she could show him that she was capable of being a match for him. She was not merely the naïve backwater girl that he must protect. She would be a woman of wit who could stand on her own two feet in a social setting.

  It would show him that she was not a girl. She was a woman. She was an adult who could handle herself when someone threw a barb at her. She’d toss one right back.

  Maria nodded to herself. Yes. She would show Lord Reginald that she could be like the other women. That she could hold her own. And then he would be certain to look at her in a new light.

  Plan decided upon and mind made up, she finally allowed herself to sleep.

  Chapter 12

  Miss Worthing seemed to be in better spirits the next day.

  Edward was grateful for it. When he asked Georgiana what they had spoken about, she would not tell him.

  “It is a matter between ladies,” she said. “But rest assured that it seemed to do her some good. Emotions cannot be bottled up for too long.”

  Edward saw that there was no use in trying to pry and so he left it at that. “I noticed that Miss Worthing’s spirits seemed rather down. I thought that we might take her to the park before we retired to prepare for the ball tonight?”

  Georgiana smiled brightly at him. “I think that is a marvelous idea. I shall fetch her.”

  “Tell her to bring her art supplies,” Edward added. Sketching and painting always served to raise Miss Worthing’s spirits. And he did enjoy watching her work.

  He got himself ready and then waited at the bottom of the stairs. The ladies joined him just a moment or two later. Miss Worthing seemed to be in high spirits once again.

  That pleased him. She ought to always be in such good spirits. It pained him when she was not.

  Sure enough, Miss Worthing was also carrying with her the art supplies.

  “Here, allow me,” Edward said, taking them from her. He could carry them much more easily.

  Miss Worthing
thanked him with a grateful look and he felt that pleased warmth in his chest once again.

  They set off for the park, which was only down the street. It was a lovely day, although a bit gray. But then, that was to be expected most of the time in England.

  They walked through the heart of the park, where they could see nurses walking children and babies, other artists sketching, and some ladies enjoying a picnic.

  There was even a game of cricket going on at one end of a field. Edward smiled, remembering his own games as a boy.

  Not that Father had generally encouraged a lot of play. Father had believed in rigorous studying and a high education. But he had acquiesced to a certain extent since he had also wanted Edward to be strong and athletic.

  They searched for a while until they found the right place for Miss Worthing to sit and set up her paints and art. Georgiana had brought a book with her and settled down on a bench to read.

  Miss Worthing set herself up at a discreet angle where she might also observe and sketch Georgiana, without Georgiana noticing.

  Edward gave her a wink and a smile to show his approval. There was a proper portrait of Georgiana in the manor, as was tradition. But these more casual sketches, these more intimate moments where Georgiana wasn’t even aware she was being drawn…

  He rather liked the idea of that. It would show the future generations of the Reginald family how their ancestors really behaved, what they truly looked like, instead of those stiff formal portraits.

  Miss Worthing blushed and returned his smile, beginning to work.

  Edward sat down next to her. “What made you take up drawing?”

  “It was something that helped me to focus and calm down,” Miss Worthing admitted, a smile lurking at the corners of her mouth. “And so Mother had me do more of it. Apparently, I was a rather…untamable child.

  “And there were so many plants and animals and people to sketch. It was never boring for me.”

  “I can easily imagine it,” Edward said.

  The picture in his head of a smaller, younger, and infinitely wilder Miss Worthing was an adorable one.

  “You must have been quite good at convincing people to sit for you,” he noted.

  “I’ve always been good with people,” Miss Worthing said idly. “At least, until now,” she added, ruefully.

  “You’re better with them than I am,” Edward remarked.

  Miss Worthing gave a small laugh. “Oh, yes. Getting teased and gossiped about constantly is a true sign of the affections of others.”

  Edward immediately felt awkward and cursed himself. It was not often that he found himself wrong-footed. Especially with Miss Worthing. They had spent so much time together that it almost felt as though he had known her their entire lives.

  At least, in the level of comfort that he felt around her. He trusted her and accepted her presence in his life as much as he did Georgiana’s.

  “Forgive me,” he told her. “I only meant that you seem to be able to handle people better than I do. You have such patience with them.”

  “I have had to be patient, I am afraid,” Miss Worthing replied. “I often had to settle issues among the servants and the workers.

  “And at the plantation…I am certain that you have seen how I first behaved with your servants. I think that I startled them quite out of their minds!”

  Edward smiled. He had indeed noticed how unusually friendly Miss Worthing was towards the servants. It had, in fact, alarmed said servants. Edward’s valet had spoken to him about it, stammering the entire time.

  A lady, the daughter of a gentleman, speaking to servants as though they were longtime friends? It was confusing for everyone.

  “I know now that it is not proper and that I must respect them but also respect the divides between us,” Miss Worthing said. “But you must understand that there are quite a lot of rules here that simply did not exist growing up.

  “There was no one out there except for Father and myself. If I was to converse with anyone, it must be a servant. For there was nobody else.

  “And of course I was running the place and I did not wish to seem cruel. And so it naturally developed from there.”

  Miss Worthing paused in her drawing, staring contemplatively out into nothing for a moment before resuming. “I learned while I was running things that people are well-intentioned.

  “Even if they do something wrong, oftentimes they believe that they are doing what is right. People can indeed be selfish or small-minded. But oftentimes they are operating from their highest sense of right. It is only that they were not taught a better way.

  “It strikes me that this is the same case for Miss Hennings and the others. Nobody has taught them any better and so how should they know any better?”

  “I think that perhaps you are being too generous with them,” Edward replied.

  He could not personally believe that this young woman who had been so cruelly treated was finding a way to excuse the actions of those who had treated her that way.

  Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, for Miss Worthing laughed, a twinkle dancing in her eye. “I see that you do not agree with me, my lord.”

  “I think that you are generous of spirit, that is all,” Edward replied tactfully.

  “No, no, do not dance around the subject,” Miss Worthing said. “We know each other too well for that now. Do not ever be afraid to speak your thoughts to me.”

  Edward smiled at her. As always, he found himself incredibly grateful for her forthrightness and plain manner of speaking. He wished that all people were as such.

  “It is only that there is only so far that an upbringing can excuse a person. There are numerous examples around them of how to better behave. And surely they must be aware that they are hurting people when they say such things.

  “And so while I can appreciate your opinion, I do not think that I can so easily excuse them.”

  “That is fair enough,” Miss Worthing replied. “But where does that get you? If you take the stance that all people are going to be small-minded and will disappoint you, then others can sense it in your manner.

  “People, I have noticed, are rather attuned to one another. They can sense things about one another even if they do not realize that they sense it. And so they end up behaving accordingly. Even if they could not articulate to you exactly why they behaved as they did. They were only playing off of what was given to them.

  “That is why I take such care to truly listen to people. So many people only pretend to care and pretend to listen. And while stamp collecting or something might seem boring to you, to that person it is a subject of great interest and importance.

  “And they can tell when someone is only pretending to listen to them. And so it hurts them. They become unhappy and withdrawn or irritable and aggressive or mocking.

  “But when you take the time to truly listen to them and show that you care about what they care about, simply because everyone has the right to an opinion and a personality…it really is marvelous, my lord, the sort of blossoming that happens.

  “Why, there are many young men I have danced with so far whom I have heard many other ladies write off. But if you only give them a genuine ear, it is wonderful how much wit and entertainment you can get out of them.”

  Edward was not so sure. He had seen too much false fawning and even bald-faced lying from people to believe in their innate goodness.

  But he did believe in Miss Worthing. And he thought it admirable that she took such a stance.

  When he told her so, Miss Worthing only blushed.

  “I fear that you give me too much credit and other people too little. You know, I could have become the prickliest of people upon arriving in England.”

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  “Well, I was taken from my only home. I endured a most uncomfortable journey by sea. My father is ill. And I have no one, yet somehow, I am to find a husband and marry him whether I like his company or not.

&n
bsp; “That is enough to make any woman prickly, I should think. But you have not seen me sour in manner. Not that I have not been tempted at times.”

  “I can certainly imagine that you would be.” Edward had felt the transition to duke was trying enough. Having to do such a thing while moving to an entirely new country where he knew no one sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

  “But would it have done me any good?” Miss Worthing asked.

  “Not in the slightest.”

  “Yet some people cannot help themselves. You never know what another person is going through. There are things, you know, that are not spoken of in polite society.