Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
T ownsend House was smaller than the sprawling expanse of Wentworth Park and it had taken minimal effort to get from the gates to the front door. Even so, Charles could not let his guard down until he was shown inside to the parlor where Lord and Lady Townsend awaited him with Miss Phoebe Townsend .
The moment he walked into the sunlit room, he was immediately taken aback at the sight of the sun hitting her hair, making it seem as if she had a golden halo upon her head. He had noted from last night that she was tall—taller than most other women he had ever encountered—but he could now only appreciate the classical elegance of her features or her naturally regal bearing.
Miss Phoebe Townsend, he noted, was quite an attractive young lady. How she ever ended up as a spinster…well, he could not hazard a guess when he hardly knew her. He only hoped it was not a character deficiency on her part.
“Lord Wentworth, we are honored that you have come to call upon us today,” Lady Townsend greeted him graciously, although a little too stiffly. “Please, have some tea.”
He nodded curtly at her and walked towards the remaining empty chair at the table, which happened to be right across Miss Phoebe’s.
Or should he call her Miss Townsend instead? He shook his head at that. Lord Townsend, he knew, had three daughters. It would only be confusing to refer to them all as Miss Townsend .
Besides, she had already introduced herself to him last night as Miss Phoebe Townsend . Perhaps, that was an invitation for him to refer to her by her first name.
Or perhaps not. Women, he realized, found offense in the slightest thing and it would simply not do to offend the one before him at the moment.
Or anytime in the near future.
“So,” Lady Townsend smiled as she poured him some tea. “What brings you to our humble abode today, Lord Wentworth?”
He looked gingerly at his cup and noted the deep brown liquid that held a reddish tint to it. A mild fragrance arose from it and he paused for a moment. It did not seem as if it had been… compromised .
But he had learned from experience that nothing was ever as it seemed, so he refrained from picking it up. He wished he had, though, for he somehow suddenly found his mouth and throat extremely dry.
He glanced over the table and found Miss Phoebe looking furtively at him, before she ducked her head shyly. Twin spots of pink bloomed across her cheeks and Charles decided that it made for a rather charming picture—if only they were not all so uncomfortable in each other’s presence.
“I came here to discuss the story in the papers this morning,” he finally replied to Lady Townsend.
A tense silence descended upon the table as both Lord and Lady Townsend regarded him in apparent shock at his bluntness. Meanwhile, Miss Phoebe just added two sugar cubes to her tea, stirred it briefly, and then took a long, slow sip. His gaze followed her little pink tongue as it darted out a little to swipe at her lips before she pressed a napkin to her mouth.
Lord Townsend cleared his throat and said, “Of course, we regret that you have been caught up in this entire fiasco. We were just in the process of discussing how we can best approach this matter.”
Charles nodded in satisfaction—both at Lord Townsend and at the fact that Miss Phoebe drank the tea without much consequence. He, too, took that sip he had been longing for, before turning to her father.
“I admit that the situation is hardly ideal,” he told the older man. “But I am quite amenable to marrying Miss Phoebe as soon as possible.”
“Miss Phoebe!?” Lady Townsend gasped, her head swiveling quickly to her daughter, who continued to lower her gaze as if the floral embroidery on the table covering was now the most riveting thing in the world. “Have you long been acquainted with my daughter, my Lord?”
“No, but—”
“And have you been formally introduced to each other?”
“Not that I know of, Lady Townsend.”
“Then, I am afraid I must decline your generous offer on behalf of my daughter!” she said firmly, her eyes blazing. “Not only have you not known her for very long, you have not even been formally introduced to each other. Moreover, Miss Townsend has claimed earlier that she has never had anything to do with you.”
Charles had never been chastised for nearly two decades and he had never had to propose to a young lady and her family before. He had to admit that it was quite unnerving to hear Lady Townsend declare herself so emphatically against his proposal.
“Now, dear, you cannot say that so quickly,” Lord Townsend began. He tried to place a placating hand on his wife’s shoulder, but her quick glower had him retracting his extremities to relative safety.
“Marriage is a lifetime commitment, Lord Wentworth,” Lady Townsend reminded him sharply. “It is not something to be decided on a whim!”
“Believe me when I say that I hardly do anything without thinking through it most thoroughly,” he responded with a neutral expression. “As I said before, the situation is hardly ideal and the more that it is allowed to languish, the larger the problem will become.”
“Well, he does have a point there,” Lord Townsend shrugged. “The situation is difficult enough in itself.” He turned towards Charles, who had now taken to idly sipping his tea. “If you would excuse us for a moment, Lord Wentworth, we would like to discuss the matter amongst ourselves.”
Charles nodded in what he hoped appeared to be a magnanimous gesture. After all, he intended to make Lord and Lady Townsend his in-laws soon. It would not do well to antagonize them so early on.
“Phoebe, you come along with your mother and me,” Lord Townsend instructed.
Charles watched as Miss Phoebe trailed after her parents with her head still hanging low and he frowned just the slightest bit. She appeared a little defeated, although he was glad to have noted a slight sparkle still in her eyes.
He hoped they would not chastise her too much.
He also hoped that Lady Townsend would come to see things from his perspective and accept that this was the best course of action for everyone involved.
Phoebe thought that she had never been in more shock in her life than when Dennyson announced that Lord Wentworth was at their door and seeking an audience with her and her parents.
But then, he casually threw around the idea of marriage as the best possible solution to their problem.
Well, he is not exactly wrong. Marrying him would solve most of the crisis.
Unfortunately, a hasty marriage was only going to bring along its own set of problems as well.
“I cannot believe you are even considering his proposal!” Lady Townsend seethed at her husband. “Did you not hear how carelessly he proposed? He even confessed to not knowing our daughter or having even been introduced to her! How could he marry her?”
“People in Society have married each other for much less,” her husband reminded her gently. “And as galling as it is, his suggestion is not at all that bad. It would salvage Phoebe’s reputation, as well as Minerva and Daphne’s.”
“But still,” Lady Townsend insisted. “How could we marry Phoebe off to a man she hardly knows? What if he makes her miserable? What if—”
“He is not going to make me miserable, Mama.”
Phoebe watched as her parents’ heads snapped quickly in her direction. Her mother wore an expression of great concern, while her father had a sad smile on his face.
“If I marry him, I will be marrying a Marquess,” she pointed out to them. “And he is heir to one of the oldest and noblest titles, as well as two of the grandest estates in all of England.”
Her mother reached out to her and squeezed her hands in hers. Phoebe hoped that she would not notice how they trembled so.
While it was true that she found the prospect of marrying Lord Wentworth daunting, the alternative was far worse. She would be ostracized by all of the ton , and her sisters by mere association.
Daphne, who was already trying so hard to prove herself a success in her first Season, and Minerva, who was already too hesitant to even make her bow.
If she did not marry the Marquess and the scandal spiraled out of control, she would be dooming both of her sisters to a fate that was not of their choosing, nor one that was their fault.
“You cannot marry someone just because they are rich and titled, Phoebe,” her mother reminded her gently. “You know that, my dear, brave girl.”
Phoebe smiled tremulously at her mother. “Well, he is rather handsome as well…”
At that, she could not help the slight blush that rose to her cheeks. While it could not be denied that he was cold, mysterious, and perhaps a little odd , no one could ever say that the Marquess of Wentworth was not an attractive man.
His sinfully good looks and masculine physique, combined with his titles and immense wealth would make him one of the most eligible bachelors in London, despite whatever character flaws he was presumed to have.
“Mama,” she said softly, squeezing her mother’s hands in turn. “You know that this is the best solution to our predicament. If I marry the Marquess, not only would I become a Marchioness, but it shall spare Daphne and Minerva the pain of having to uproot their entire lives and live like outcasts on the fringes of Society. You know I cannot subject them to that.”
“Yes, but there must be some other way,” her mother insisted, tears shining in her eyes. “There has to be, my darling. One that does not require you to bind yourself to a man you hardly know.”
“Mama, he is our neighbor,” she said gently. “And the fact that he even offered for my hand as soon as the scandal broke out speaks a lot to his character as well.”
“Phoebe is right, my dear,” her father smiled at his wife. “Lord Wentworth might be a lot of things, but I must admit that today, he has shown himself to be a man of good character.”
She had seen her mother wavering, but when she heard her father speak, she knew that Lady Townsend had already been won over. A mother only wants what is best for her daughter, and her Mama knew that as difficult as it was to accept, this was the best solution going forward.
“All right,” Lady Townsend finally relented with a sigh. “But some sort of announcement must be made, or it will only encourage those who have spread this nasty scandal to make things even worse.”
Lord Townsend let out a small smile. “Of course, but we must first let Lord Wentworth know of our decision. The man has been waiting in the parlor for much too long.”
“See, Mama?” Phoebe teased her mother. “That only shows that he has the patience of a saint as well.”
“Well, I hope he shows you that same patience every single day for the rest of your lives together,” Lady Townsend murmured.
“Of course,” she reassured her anxious mother. “We are going to live happily together, respecting each other.”
She linked her arms with her mother as they walked back into the parlor. She hoped that she looked far more confident than she felt inside.
When Lord Wentworth saw them, he immediately stood up and his gaze fell upon her. It might have just been her wishful fantasy, but she swore that she saw his eyes soften just the slightest bit.
Even then, she had never seen such a beautiful shade of blue in all the world.
I am doing this , she told herself, still somewhat awestruck by the rapidly progressing events. I am actually marrying him— the Marquess of Wentworth!
Deep down, however, she was not quite so sure that it was cause for celebration.