Chapter 31
The Baron Oban
LANIE
As I readied to return to Braemoor, several elephants in the room emerged.
One, I arrived as the lady of the house.
Two, I was now a baroness and clueless about how to be a baroness.
Three, I returned with the entourage of my mother and sisters.
Baz flew ahead, leaving Jeremy and I to pack for him and for myself.
I took to my own wardrobe first and packed every black outfit I owned—which wasn’t much.
That wasn’t my power color. Instead, I borrowed from Dora and Chloe’s wardrobes.
That was the benefit of having two other women of a similar size living in the house.
Then, I raced to Baz’s place along with the others to pick up Jeremy.
This meant that the entire lot of them came along to see Baz’s palatial house.
“You’re a princess,” Dora murmured. “A real princess. This place is so beautiful.”
“Wait until you see Braemoor,” Mum said. “If the Osgoodes haven’t destroyed it, that is.”
“Baz is trying to save it from his brother’s planned destruction. The place is beautiful, Mummy. I think you will find it still meets expectations. It’s like a dream. This is nothing! You should see Baz’s country house.”
“Your country house,” Daphne reminded. “If he puts his money where his mouth is, all of what is his is yours and vice-versa. Trust me when I say, settle for nothing less.”
“He’s not like that, Daph,” I said. “He’s rough around the edges but he’s not a prick like that.”
“Just in other ways,” Dora giggled.
“Oh, brilliant,” Jeremy carted a suitcase and garment bag. “I didn’t realize you’d arrived.”
“We did, yes,” I said. “Jeremy, this is my family—my mother, Lady Danna Carlisle-Delphine, and my sisters, Mrs. Daphne Delphine-Markham and Ms. Dora Carlisle-Delphine.”
“Lovely to meet you all,” Jeremy said.
“Jeremy is Baz’s right hand,” I explained. “He would be lost without him.”
“Indeed,” Jeremy agreed. “A damn shame we’re going north on bad news.”
I fought a laugh. Baz practically skipped out the door earlier.
“Yes, it’s such a shame,” Mum said sarcastically.
“Lady Osgoode, are you ready, then?” Jeremy asked.
The mere mention of my title inflamed my mother.
“Yes,” I answered. “We’re ready.”
We left via the alley, finding the motorcade waiting. Cal stood on the phone discussing something with his chief of staff.
“This is… certainly something,” Jeremy noted, confused.
“We travel in hordes,” I said. “And we had a lot of luggage.”
“Luggage?” Jeremy asked.
“You’re rolling with a bunch of straight ladies and a man who appreciates a nice suit,” I said. “We’re annoying as fuck. Just be grateful Chloe couldn’t come. She would have brought an entire piece of luggage filled with shoes.”
I snickered, sliding by my mother in the second car—behind Cal and Daphne.
“It’s odd to ride second,” Mum noted. “I suppose it’s telling. You think you’re first, but you aren’t. You never will be again.”
“What do you mean?”
“You think marrying the man at the top empowers you. It doesn’t, however.”
I furrowed my brow. “Mum, I didn’t marry him to be important. I married him to help save Braemoor. I married him because—in some way—it makes sense to me. He lets me be myself. He will give me my independence and a comfortable life.”
“That is a farce. Marrying a powerful man is a complicated proposition in ways your young mind cannot understand. It’s about sacrifice. It’s about putting yourself second always.”
“Mum, Daddy always put us first—”
“It’s adorable you think that,” Mum chuckled. “I picked up the slack. I let him shine. He loved me immensely, but I gave up my nights and weekends to be supermum. Daddy got to shine because I twisted myself into knots many times over.”
“We aren’t those people.”
“You’re naive. Wait until you have children and he strays. You’ll ask yourself what the point is. You’ll feel like nothing more than a nanny. Just wait.”
My heart stopped. Was she implying my father cheated? I didn’t want to believe it.
“Mum, are you saying—”
“It is ancient history. It’s also part of the price you pay.”
“We have an agreement,” I said. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
“See how he adheres to it. He’ll cash in his chips regularly—especially when you’re pregnant or nursing a baby. No matter how nice or fair an agreement seems, it will not be worth it. Mark my words.”
“Mum, I am sorry you ever felt that way. I never saw it,” I said. “But… saying that is gross. I refuse to believe Cal would ever do that to Daphne.”
“I don’t think he is the type. His mother would castrate him.”
I snickered.
“Then why do you assume Baz is out to hurt me? Is it so hard to believe a man could respect me? I am sick of being treated like an object by everyone! Baz seems to be the only one who sees me as a partner. It’s pointless to tell you this, of course.
You won’t believe me, Mummy, but I believe his actions speak loud for what he will give me. ”
“For now. While you’re young and beautiful. Now, you’re very convincing. In ten years? You’ll see. Have a child and run while you still have your looks.”
I fought tears. I couldn’t believe what she said!
I’d never heard this line from my mother.
In my eyes, my parents had a perfect marriage.
My father loved her more than anything. My mother adored him.
They loved us deeply. They did anything to protect us.
I measured the standard of what a husband and father was by my father as a metric.
I knew sacrifices were made, but Dad always showed up for us.
Was that the truth or was that just me thinking that way since one never spoke ill of the dead?
BAZ
I woke the morning of the funeral to Lanie sleeping quietly beside me.
The more often I fell asleep by her, the more it normalized her permanence in my life.
I never expected to feel this close to anyone that I would sleep better with them next to me.
I wonder if we’d get to that point. I certainly preferred life with her.
The house remained quiet. Ellie took the dogs for her usual morning walk.
“Sir,” the butler said, “Lady Danna has taken breakfast in the dining room. I do hope that is acceptable. And are we to call her Lady Danna still?
“She is more than welcome to take breakfast there, and yes. Please continue to do so,” I said. “Thank you. I will join her.”
It was unorthodox and not the proper use of a title.
Others might quibble, but it wasn’t a battle I wanted to fight while keeping the peace.
I tried to keep an open mind with Lanie’s mother.
Putting myself in her shoes, I’d not trust me.
Daughters were always at-risk. I was the rake whose father had shattered her dreams of this place.
Instead of argument, I focused on a charm offensive.
My goal was to show the Delphines the best hospitality and to treat Lanie like a queen.
The latter was simple. Something about her melted me.
She’d broken my brain even if I was loathe to admit it.
“Lady Danna,” I sat at the table. “We are the first up this morning.”
“I rise early,” Danna noted.
“As do I. My clock starts before dawn.”
A footman arrived for my order.
“Just a fry up, same as the lady’s,” I said.
He rushed away.
“Lanie won’t ever do a fry-up,” her mother noted.
I smiled. “She prefers pancakes or waffles. She’s quite American.”
“All of them are. Daphne is less so, I suppose. She’s lived in London longer than she lived in the States. Life for her is more complicated.”
“Lanie fits in, though,” I said. “Her manners are impeccable. When she first arrived here, everyone was impressed with her grace. You did well by your daughters.”
“My mother had us all presented at court. I raised my girls to do the same I am glad you do not take it for granted, Lord Osgoode.”
“Please, Lady Danna, call me Baz.”
She looked dubious. I did not expect her to offer the same. Danna was born of a time when one did not offer to go without their honorarium or title. To me, it was uncomfortable, but to a woman of her status and age, it was an insult.
“Lanie will sleep late. You’ll need to wake her so she can make mass,” Danna noted.
“I will. She sleeps in. I usually use the first few hours she’s still dozing to work,” I said. “Today, I am more focused on the ceremonial bits. I do think everyone should get a proper breakfast, though.”
Danna nodded. “Agreed. It was something I always forced David to do. He was so typically American—go, go, go. There is something important about having a nice breakfast. Especially here.”
She looked over to the wall where her debutante portrait hung.
“We have been staring at you for years,” I said. “And looking at Delanie next to it, ma’am… the resemblance should have been obvious.”
“She is the great beauty of the family,” Danna declared. “Which you benefit from.”
“I benefit from how clever and domineering she is. Beauty is an added benefit. She is formidable, Lady Danna.”
“My father would be over the moon to know his granddaughter was Baroness Oban. So, in a way, I am grateful for this turn of events. But, given how young she is—and how little I trust your kin—I worry for her.”
“Ma’am, can I speak my mind without fear of retribution?”
Danna gestured to go on.
“You all infantilize her. I’d expect that for the baby of the family.
Dora Elizabeth is so young and softhearted.
She’s precious, but Delanie is the opposite.
She’s not powerless or a doormat, ma’am.
It angers her. She loves you all so much.
She always puts family first, which is something I respect.
We never had that. Father saw us as pawns in a game.
I am grateful you married Mr. Delphine. You deserved a better life.
However, Delanie is tough as nails, and I have no intention of harming her. She’d also never put up with it.”
“She sees you as a victim of your father,” Danna said.
I looked to the ceiling, worrying about how vulnerable to be. Putting all my cards on the table made me weak, but if I lied and blew it off, she’d always think I was my father. The women of this family exhausted me!
“My father treated me with little respect—all of us. He abused us verbally, physically, and emotionally. I suspect you always knew that. Boarding school was an escape in a way I suspect it wouldn’t be for children raised in a good household like yours.
A girl like Lanie would have her spirit broken by constant abuse.
My dear sister became the one I had to protect—always.
In a way, she learned to fly under the radar to avoid his ire, but she has more scars than myself and my brother.
We got out early. She has terrible social anxiety, so she was educated here her whole life.
I don’t want to whinge. It’s not like I wasn’t incredibly privileged, but I suspect all your children had a beautiful—if not unconventional—childhood. ”
“They had different experiences. To hear Daphne and Davey tell it, they were tortured living in our shadow, but they grew up while their father was still climbing the ranks and courting the press. The younger ones were used to it all. They expected it. But, yes. My children were my calling. It is what has made the empty house so difficult.”
“I would imagine it does.”
“Your father was a scoundrel, but he kept this place together. I am grateful for that, but I also must grieve the loss of memories made here for my younger children. That dream died with Da. This place needs children to fill it with laughter as it did during my childhood. And I worry that will never be the case.”
I took a deep breath. “I think you and Ellie would agree on that, ma’am.”
“And what are your thoughts?”
“Your daughter is broody,” I said. “And this is her home. Of course, we will have children here. It will be different than the way I was raised where children were to be seen and not heard, but that’s for the best.”
Lady Danna raised an eyebrow. “So, you know?”
“Ma’am, I have seen the way she fusses over her niece. There is no ‘fixing’ that. I’m not going to tell her not to love our children or to keep the house quiet. And as I said, attempting to order Lanie to do anything is an exercise in futility.”
Danna smiled slightly in the softest gesture I imagined I would get.
“Ma’am, this is Lanie’s home now, too. And you? I welcome you here. It should be a place you visit often. This was your home, after all.”
“I shall be back after you father is buried in the graveyard,” Danna said.
“Why?”
“Your wife promised me a dance on his grave, and I intend to take her up on that offer.”
I chuckled. “Lady Danna, you may have the first dance, but not the last.”