Chapter Fourteen
The next afternoon, Louisa found her mother in the sitting room, working on her needlepoint.
“Mother, I must speak with you.”
“It’s nearly time for tea. Let us speak like civilized people.” She summoned a maid and requested tea be brought.
Louisa’s mother had long relied on protocol.
She liked things to be done in an orderly manner, in accordance with tradition.
Her daily schedule was rigid. So Louisa had to wait for tea to be served before she could speak.
Luckily, it didn’t take long, possibly because Lady Petty had tea at the same precise time every day and the staff knew to anticipate it.
So Louisa bided her time while her mother poured tea and put a few biscuits on a plate for Louisa.
“What did you want to discuss, dear?”
She considered laying down her argument carefully, but what came out of her mouth was, “I need to call off my engagement.”
“What? Why?” Mother already looked scandalized, so this would be a battle.
Louisa tried to brace herself. “I’ve learned some things about Rotherfeld that make me think we do not suit.”
“What things?”
There was no way her mother—a sheltered, traditional woman who did not read much and had never been a gossip—would understand the truth, so Louisa said, “Well, for one thing, he’s very boring.”
“Louisa. That is hardly a reason to call off an engagement. He’s a husband, not a night at the opera. He’s stable. There’s no scandal attached to him.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I think he may be…having an affair.” There. That should put Mother off Rotherfeld.
“What evidence do you have for that?”
“I saw him talking to someone at the Atherton ball last night, and they seemed quite…intimate.”
“Louisa. You must stop this nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense! My concerns about Rotherfeld are sincere. I am near certain he is having an affair.”
Mother shook her head. “You constantly do this.”
That took Louisa aback. “Do what?”
“You’ve always been a rebellious child. You’ve read a few books about women’s rights and now have decided you must be strong and independent.
” Mother’s tone indicated these were negative traits.
The disdain came across clearly. “You’ve been pushing off marriage since you came of age, and I know you are reluctant to do it, but you cannot push it off forever.
Your father and I will not always be here, and the only way to set yourself up for the future is to marry.
And in Rotherfeld, you’ve got a wealthy, powerful husband who will take care of you and your children. ”
Was that what she thought? That Louisa had read Wollstonecraft—which she had, granted—and decided to eschew marriage entirely? “I am not against marriage, Mother. But whoever I marry is someone I will have to live with for the rest of my days, so I want to marry someone I actually like.”
“Women do not always have that luxury.”
“It would not matter to you if my husband were stepping out on me? If he couldn’t even find respect enough for me to be faithful during our engagement?”
“Men have affairs.”
“Mother!”
Mother clucked her tongue and assumed a more formal posture. “Rotherfeld is a duke.”
“And?” said Louisa.
“He’s wealthy and powerful. His grandmother is close with Queen Charlotte.”
“He’s dull, Mother. He barely seems to like me. I’m starting to think he manipulated me into courtship and betrothal for his own purposes. And I don’t love him.”
“Love,” her mother spat. “Marriage is not about love. We women must marry to ensure our continued survival.”
Louisa rolled her eyes at that. While it was true that women had few property rights, the Pettys were wealthy.
Louisa could not imagine her family would let her live on the streets should her spinsterhood persist. “So you mean to tell me that nothing else matters but Rotherfeld’s wealth and power?
That if he were cruel or unfaithful, that these are things I must endure? ”
“That is not what I said. But you are na?ve if you think your husband can be this perfect angel of a man. And Rotherfeld is not cruel, I’ve never heard anyone say he is. And your only evidence for his unfaithfulness is that you saw him talking to a woman at a ball.”
“But I don’t want to marry Rotherfeld,” Louisa tried, weakly.
“You’ve already committed, Louisa. You cannot tolerate the scandal it would cause if you were to jilt him.”
Louisa was mildly worried about the scandal, but she said, “I hear what you’re saying, but it’s not like I’ll die alone if I choose not to marry Rotherfeld. Should I end my engagement with Rotherfeld, I have another offer.”
“From whom?”
“Greystone.”
Mother balked. Then she shook her head. “I have been too permissive with you. Allowed you to read books I shouldn’t have.
You’ve had a taste of freedom and think you have autonomy.
Did you think Rotherfeld’s decision to court you was entirely his idea?
It wasn’t. You’ve turned down too many proposals.
After this season, had no one offered, you’d be on the shelf. ”
“What are you saying? Did you arrange things directly with Rotherfeld?”
“I had a hand in it. Your father has business with him. This was never intended to be a love match. It’s a business arrangement.”
That was a punch to the gut. No one had ever said that this was intended to be anything other than a courtship. How had Louisa not known this was arranged?
Because her own mother thought she was incapable of finding a husband.
“What’s wrong with marrying Greystone instead of Rotherfeld? You like him. You’ve known him his whole life. He was like a second son to you, no? And he’s just inherited a title and the wealth that comes with it. He’d make a fine husband.”
“Greystone offered because he pities you,” Mother said. “He showed no interest in you until Rotherfeld offered, so now he is telling you what you want to hear because he is your friend.”
“That is not true.” Louisa believed Fletcher now. She believed he loved her. And, truth be told, she’d been fantasizing about what marriage to him would be like for the last couple of weeks. It seemed far preferable than a dull marriage to a man who barely liked her. “Fletcher’s offer was genuine.”
Mother shook her head. “You cannot take his offer. There is a precarious business arrangement that will fall apart if you refuse Rotherfeld.”
There was a what? “How can you have done this? Why did you not tell me?”
“It was not important to you. I suppose I should have expected your impertinence. But I assumed that, once you agreed to marry Rotherfeld, it was a done deal. And money and business are not the domains of women.”
Louisa fought not to roll her eyes at that, too. This was completely absurd. “What kind of business arrangement?”
Mother waved her hand as if it didn’t matter. “I know nothing of the details, and it shouldn’t preoccupy you, either. What I know is that your father and Rotherfeld have entered into an agreement.”
Louisa couldn’t believe this. How could she have been so stupid? It was like everyone around her had manipulated her into agreeing to Rotherfeld’s suit, and now that she recognized it, it might be too late. “And if I refuse to marry Rotherfeld?”
“Our family stands to lose a great deal of money, and you’d be shamed by the ton. Besides, Rotherfeld has a great deal of prestige. You’d be a fool to turn that down.”
“And Greystone is a marquess who just inherited a fortune from his father. It’s not like we’d live in poverty. If Father wants money—”
“You are naive and it is not that simple. Your father made a deal with Rotherfeld. The two of you suit. You will be closer to power, and you will not want for anything. You don’t love him now, but he’s friendly and handsome. You will grow fond of each other over time.”
“I don’t understand why I can’t just marry Fletcher. You and father were great friends with the Greystones. You know him, you know he is a good man. I won’t want for anything with him, either.”
“Because the world is not that simple. Because we made an agreement with Rotherfeld that we cannot break.”
“But Mother—”
“No, Louisa. You will marry Rotherfeld. I am done discussing this matter. Finish your tea.”
Instead, Louisa left the room.
* * *
“I gave her my heart. She said she had to think about it.”
Fletcher was three servings of whiskey into his night at the club. He felt like he was swimming. The room was spinning. Everything was funny.
“All right, my drunk friend,” Owen said. “Let’s start again. You talked to Louisa.”
“I told her I love her, and I want to marry her, and she said she has to think about it.”
“In Louisa’s defense, she is engaged to another man.”
“She’s going to marry that buggerer Rotherfeld, and I will die alone.” He said buggerer with a couple of extra ers.
“So he’s drunk,” said Lark, sitting across from Fletcher.
“You won’t die alone,” said Owen. “You’re a wealthy man with a title. If you made it known you wanted to get married, families would start throwing their daughters at you.”
“But I want Louisa.”
“What did she say, exactly?” asked Hugh, who had mostly been quiet through this conversation.
What had she said? It was a little fuzzy now, truth be told. “I told her I love her and want to marry her. I offered to go with her when she tells Rotherfeld their engagement is off, but she said she had to do it herself.”
“That’s promising,” said Owen.
“But otherwise, her reaction was…understated. I told her I love her, and she treated it like a small matter. Like a small task to which she had to attend.”
“I’m sure you’re exaggerating,” said Lark. “I saw you speaking together at the Atherton ball. She cares for you.”
“She said so, but she didn’t act like it. And she said she needs time. But there’s no time!”
Owen rolled his eyes and took Fletcher’s glass away. “No more whiskey for you.”
“I recognize the wedding is less than two weeks away, but maybe she just needs a couple of days to sort out her affairs,” said Hugh. “She needs to break the engagement, which is not always easy.”
“Maybe.”
Owen patted his knee. “You did the right thing. You made it clear how you feel. And it sounds like she intends to end her engagement to Rotherfeld, so you’ve won, my friend.”
“I won’t have won until she says she’ll marry me.”
“She will, my friend, she will.”
Everyone else seemed to agree.
Fletcher wished he could have more faith that what everyone was telling him was true.
He could see dozens of ways this could go wrong.
Louisa could decide she loved Rotherfeld after all.
Or she could decide she wanted Rotherfeld’s wealth and power.
That was very unlike Louisa, but stranger things had happened.
Rotherfeld could decide not to end the engagement for whatever reason.
Likely he needed Louisa more than she needed him.
He tried to tell himself everything would work out. Still, Fletcher spent the next hour swirling in his cups. Sobriety eluded him, especially once an attendant handed him another snifter of whiskey. He sipped it as his friends discussed whatever their own days had been like.
“Adele is in good spirits,” Hugh said, “despite spending part of every morning, er, tossing up her accounts.”
“Are you still afraid?” Lark asked.
“It just seems so unpleasant for her. I didn’t want to have another child because I didn’t want to put her through all this, but she insists it’ll be all right, that it will pass and be worth it. I hope she’s right.”
“If the account tossing were not happening, would you still want another child?” asked Lark.
Hugh smiled faintly. “I will admit, I am a little excited. Although I was serious. If it’s a girl, I will be locking her inside the house and running all the men off the island.”
Lark laughed at that.
“Grace and I may return to Wales early,” said Owen. “We have two more weddings to attend, but then we may slip away after the second one. Grace is anxious to get out of the city.”
“Is one of the weddings Louisa’s?” asked Fletcher.
“Yes,” said Owen, a little sheepish. “But even if it doesn’t happen, we’re attending the wedding of Grace’s friend Penelope Thistledown at the end of this month, so we must stay at least for that.”
“And how do you feel about returning early?” Hugh asked.
“Honestly? I will miss my evenings with you all, but I prefer the company of my wife at night, and she loathes London, so if going to Wales makes her happy, that’s what we’re going to do.”
“You really prefer her to us?” asked Fletcher.
“He prefers looking at her to looking at you,” said Lark. “Plus she warms his bed at night.”
“I won’t apologize for having married the most beautiful woman in England,” Owen said with a shrug.
Finally, Lark said, “Let me ask everyone’s advice on something.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“Go ahead,” said Hugh.
“Speaking of leaving London, I’ve had a notion to help Anthony raise his son.”
Fletcher could make little sense of that. “Does he not have staff for that?”
“He does, but he asked me to be the boy’s godfather, which is a responsibility I take seriously. I must give him spiritual guidance, right?”
“Sure, but have you seen your own godfather recently?” Hugh asked.
“He died when I was seven, so no, but I think Anthony asked me because he wants me to play a role in the boy’s life, and given how unorthodox our relationship is, I had thought to…
I hesitate to say the role is as a spouse, as I could be no replacement for a mother to the boy, but…
I don’t know. Perhaps this does not and cannot make sense. ”
Hugh nodded, though. “You seek a marriage of sorts to the person you love, and that person has a child, and therefore, you want to be…a stepfather, perhaps.”
“Yes. That is the sum of it.”
“I almost miss having Beresford around,” Fletcher said, still drunk. “He’s entertaining.”
“Less so these days,” said Lark, “but I think his current malaise will pass eventually. He’s been very sad, but I keep getting glimpses of his old self. This loss was difficult for him, despite what you all might think, and it will take time to recover, but he will get there.”
“And you’re not worried about all the things that made you end the relationship to begin with?” asked Hugh.
“Oh, I’m still worried about all of it. I find I care less now, though. I’d rather have a short time with him than a long life without.”
“Love,” Fletcher said, “is stupid.”
“I am going to have to hide the rest of the whiskey in this place, aren’t I?” asked Owen.
“It is stupid,” Lark said to Fletcher, “but wonderful, too. The best and worst thing you will ever experience.”
Fletcher groaned.