Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“And where exactly have you been at this hour?”
Cecily had barely made it inside the front door before her mother seized her by the arm and dragged her into a nearby sitting room. She closed the door behind them.
“This is not the sort of behavior that will sit well with Lord Horsham. You cannot go wandering the streets of London in the early hours unaccompanied,” said her mother.
Anger stirred inside Cecily. “I went riding in Hyde Park with a gentleman. Viscount Rosemount’s son, Thomas. He let me ride his horse and we talked. That is all,” she said.
The look which crossed her mother’s face said more than a hundred conversations could.
“Don’t tell me you would consider Thomas Rosemount as a potential husband, Cecily that man is so provincial.
You must not see Lord Rosemount again; your future husband would not take kindly to thinking that you are allowing another man to paw you in the middle of Hyde Park,” replied her mother.
“There was nothing untoward in our meeting, Lord Rosemount was the perfect gentleman. And to be honest, I could not care less what Lord Horsham thinks,” she snapped.
Lady Norris huffed. “Oh, Cecily, don’t be so na?ve. All men are only after the one thing when it comes to women.”
The happy mood from her morning spent with Thomas began to fade from Cecily’s mind.
In its place, a darker humor formed. “Lord Horsham only cares that I will bear him an heir. Though lord knows why he has waited so long to take a wife. He could have had several adult children by now if he had married as a younger man.”
“Ours is not to question the minds of men. He likely had a perfectly good reason,” replied her mother.
Cecily bit down on her bottom lip. She could think of several reasons why a man would not take a wife until he felt it absolutely necessary, none of which were topics for polite conversation.
“You will have to change your attitude if you are to make a success of your marriage. You have your reputation to think of. The Patronesses of Almack’s have sent word that they will not have you back until you are married due to your lurid dancing.
And speaking of unladylike behavior, your father has decreed that you are not to partake of any more alcohol while you live under his roof, rumors have reached his ears,” said Lady Norris.
Her mother’s comment was the final tipping point. Who were they to talk about vile gossip?
She stepped in close to her mother and stared her down. “Funny thing, rumors, they never completely die. Some of the things I have heard over the years about our family have been quite interesting. Especially the one about who my real father is, or hadn’t you heard that one?”
Lady Norris’s already pale complexion turned a whiter shade.
Cecily had held onto that secret for so many years that she was genuinely surprised at her mother’s reaction. The knowledge that she was a by-blow had long ago lost all power over her. Still, it was good to finally use that piece of spite and watch her mother blanch.
“You didn’t think I would eventually find out? That I would spend my whole life thinking that it was normal for my parents not to give a damn about me?” She had been sent away to live at Chatsworth House with several other unwanted children of the ton. Children who all had a similar story.
Her father had been prepared to give his family name to the child of his wife’s indiscretion, but he would not stand to be reminded of it on a daily basis by having Cecily grow up under his roof.
She had been shunted from stately home to stately home over the years, finally ending up in exile in Ireland.
“We do care about you. Which is why you need to make this marriage with Lord Horsham. With his money and title, you will be forever beyond the reach of those vicious stories.”
Cecily had heard enough. Her parents wanted her off their hands.
She turned and reached for the doorknob.
“You and father have always made certain that I was beyond the reach of anyone. I barely know my older siblings, and you, dearest Mama, have withheld your affections. Let it be known then, that the day I marry is the last day you will ever hear from me.”
She opened the door and, after giving her mother one last withering look, slammed it hard behind her. The door rattled in its frame.
Once in her bedroom, she let the tears come.