Chapter 15 #2
Eleanor lit up like a Christmas tree. She gave me an excited hug, then turned to Lanie.
“Well, you are… not at all what I expected.” My sister beamed wide.
“She’s American,” Father said flatly.
The words may have hurt, but Lanie didn’t respond.
“She’s lovely,” Eleanor said. “Lanie, how do you find Scotland? And how did you end up here?”
“Scotland is beautiful, Lady Osgoode. This house is wonderful. I cannot wait to tour it.”
“She’s an actress,” I said. “Here filming.”
“Very curious,” Father muttered. “Odd that you would chase after an actress.”
“Call me Ellie,” Eleanor offered. “Please. And Pa, be kind. She seems like a very nice girl compared to what he usually runs around with. She has manners.”
Lanie stifled a laugh. The little smirk made me want to touch her. I refrained, but the impulse remained.
“Are you aware of my son’s history as well as his obligations, Miss Day?”
Lanie looked to me. “I know that Baz lives a colorful life—after all, he has lived a slightly longer one than I have.”
Ouch, Lanie!
“But it doesn’t bother me.” She squeezed my knee, playing the role of doting girlfriend perfectly.
I melted a little—in a much more genuine way than I anticipated.
She played dumb. “What do you mean by obligations?”
I didn’t know why she didn’t just say “yeah, sure, fine.”
“Obligations to the family. Before he gets too old, he must marry and produce an heir—something he always sacrifices for his harebrained schemes.”
“I think they are hardly harebrained given the results,” I pushed back.
Father didn’t address that. “Four is always up to something, which I think makes him unappealing. Now, given your bountiful youth, I think the part about heirs should put all else to rest.”
Ah, the nickname I loathed was back!
“Can we not speak about her fecundity as if she is simply a commodity?” I asked.
Lanie furrowed her eyebrows at me as if I made her job harder—not easier.
“Four, you must be realistic. Darling, how old are you?” Father asked as if he might a child.
“In two weeks, I will be twenty-nine,” she said, almost adorably, but not with an ounce of trepidation.
“Young, healthy, beautiful. Well, those are odds in your favor.”
“I would say charming and clever are better qualities—both of which she appears to be,” Ellie said, sweetly.
Lanie beamed at her. I felt a genuine exchange between them.
With Lanie, though, I couldn’t distinguish the game from reality.
The lines suddenly blurred. I realized my feelings for Lanie grew stronger and went far beyond a desire to have her or—more specifically—have her to myself.
Instead of winning her, my goal focused on pleasing her across the board.
I found myself protective and adoring in a way I never had been before.
Lanie was different. I read her responses as genuine, but were they?
She was an actress. I worried this was all for show. Could I trust her?
“Come,” Eleanor said. “I will take you for a tour.”
She reached out her hand to Lanie. They left like schoolgirls on a trip. I’d never understand the uncanny bond of womanhood. And, after seeing Lanie with her sisters, I knew she gravitated towards crowds of other women. It relieved me she had my sister’s endorsement.
Father said what he wanted. “I do not like that she is American or an actress.”
I took a deep breath. “She is a very nice woman, Father. She is charming and clever—as Ellie said. She is also family oriented. Her family is big—and Catholic—and she is a doting aunt. I am not sure how I will find another prospect—raised in a Catholic family—in all of Britain who would meet those criteria. In real estate, you must choose two of three—size, location, and price. What will give? With Lanie, it may be her nationality.”
“But if she is an actress, will she not always be gone? Do you expect her to retire?”
“I have only experienced the genuine desire for her to be career-minded in a good way. She is driven and proud of what she does. She ticks all boxes—especially one quality.”
“Which is?”
“Bloody independent. I cannot handle someone who needs to be micromanaged. I know she is young. It worries me as well. She is also shrewd and knows what she wants. She may ask for me to assist her, but does not require me to fix every crisis. She is her own woman. I need someone like that.”
I spoke the truth and realized how much I needed independence in a partner.
Up until now, I felt suffocated. Maybe it was the game or maybe I could tolerate the idea of commitment to someone if they were as much their own person as Lanie was?
Maybe it wasn’t impossible for me to eventually find someone?
Certainly, if Lanie existed, there were other girls who could meet that bar?
“Well, is she too independent?”
“Father, the estate needs a diplomatic woman who can manage affairs while I am busy with my own. You have devoted your life to this place—alone. I cannot continue to work and do such a thing. I need a woman willing to pitch. I know I can lean on Ellie some, but she has a life, too. And—not to throw her under the bus—she would crumble under that pressure. She is so quiet that I worry she couldn’t even handle dealing with tenant matters. ”
“Having a woman focused on family isn’t a problem. It is a benefit when you have children. Your mother was very good at it. Without her, I struggled.”
“I understand,” I said. “I do not want to marry a woman who is opposed to home life. What I am saying is Lanie loves her family. I think she could be good at that. She’s never mentioned it bothered her.”
“I will think about it. She certainly has some redeeming qualities. I do like her.”
But…
“But, there is something off about her that unsettles me. And if you are asking me, the fact that she is an outsider without noble blood is a problem. This house has been proudly unimpacted by the rather unseemly democratization of the aristocracy. Nessa is of noble blood.”
I forced myself not to roll my eyes at the mention of my brother’s wife.
“An American—especially one seeking out fortunes—could tank the place, Four.”
“She’s not a fortune hunter,” I responded. “She lives in a grand house and grew up well-off. While this thing is new to her, Lanie is not interested in my money. She’s never asked for anything.”
“Does she know about your inheritance and how this hangs in the balance?”
Play the game.
“No,” I lied. “She is in it because she cares for me. That is all.”