Chapter 17
“The last thing I want in this world is to let you leave this carriage right now,” Alexei, her prince, said as he kissed her once more.
“I never wanted to leave the library.”
“That could’ve been arranged.”
“I must go. The consequences if I am caught … are unthinkable.”
“You know how to reach me. If you need me, simply send word.”
“Will you be at the Westin ball?”
“If you will be there, then of course.”
“I will see you then. Three days.”
“A lifetime, my lady.”
She pressed another kiss to his lips. “I have to go. Soon.”
“Soon,” he repeated. “Go. Before I change my mind.”
With one last look at his handsome face, she slipped out of the ornate carriage and darted for the hedges and reentered the back garden.
The candle was still burning in the window.
Thank goodness.
With the hood of the cloak covering her messy hair, she tiptoed to the rear kitchen entrance.
One hoped for love once in one’s life. For that love to be given by a prince was like living a fairy tale. To find love again was a miracle. And for that second love to also be a prince … it seemed utterly impossible. And yet Thea was living it.
She practically floated through the kitchen and up the back stairs. It wasn’t until she entered her room that her reverie was broken.
“Where the hell have you been?” Her uncle’s voice came from a dark corner that lightened every moment as he turned up the lamp beside him.
“You look like a harlot. Hair falling down around your face. What are you wearing? Where have you been?” His voice grew angrier and louder with each question that he didn’t let her answer.
“Uncle, I … I … didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Doubtless. Now answer me. Where have you been?” His booming voice would surely wake the whole house.
But it didn’t matter how loudly he asked the question. Something within Thea knew she would never tell him.
“Your silence speaks volumes. Is this what you do at night? Sneak out like a whore?”
“No!”
“Then what is this? Where were you? Who were you with? Your face says it all, Thea. You think a man doesn’t know what it looks like you’ve been doing? The wagers and rumors tell me everything I need to know.”
“Wagers? What rumors? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You, Thea. They’re all about you.”
He stood, and Thea took a step back.
“You’ve got nowhere to run, girl. Wait, that’s not true, is it? From what I learned tonight, you’ve got a veritable lineup of men wanting to make arrangements with you.”
“What are you talking about?” Thea’s heart pounded.
He couldn’t already know …
“The duke, for starters.” Confusion poured through Thea as he continued, “He was the one who sent me the note.”
“The duke?” Thea’s mind was jumbled as she tried to process his words.
“Carlton. He wanted me to be aware of exactly what was happening—a fact I appreciate since I didn’t realize I had taken in a liar under my roof all those years ago.”
“What?”
“That grief-stricken girl you were neglected to mention she’d married an Indian. And that you got my brother killed!”
“What?”
“You deny it?”
Waves of confusion, grief, regret, and fear lashed Thea as her uncle stepped closer.
“I didn’t kill my parents. Whoever told you that is lying. They drowned in a ferry accident. It was a horrible tragedy.”
“After you disgraced them by marrying an Indian!”
“Who told you?”
“So, it is true.”
“Yes. That part is true.”
“Had I known, I never would have let you into my home or near my daughters. And now, you’ve filled their heads with nonsense for ten years. No longer. You’re done. Pack your bags. After tonight, you’ll not spend another night under this roof. I’ll not feed you another meal.”
His prejudice—his hatred—was blinding and bordering on insanity.
“And to think, I treated you like one of my own daughters. Any one of those men wagering can have you, as far as I’m concerned. What they want is all you’re fit for now.”
Thea’s heart felt the slash and burn of his words, but her mind knew they were irrational. He was enraged. Hatred did that to people.
“Father? Why are you yelling at Thea?” Sophia’s voice came from the hall.
“Go back to bed. You’re meeting your future husband tomorrow. I’ve received an offer for your hand.”
“What?” The word came from Thea and Sophia together.
“You, shut up and pack,” he said to Thea.
“Father!” Sophia exclaimed. “Listen to yourself. Are you okay?”
“I am doing this to protect you. You won’t understand now, but someday, you will see I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice.” Louisa’s voice came from behind Sophia.
“I didn’t want for you to have to marry an industrialist and speculator, but you shall. Mr. Beaumont will be here to call on you tomorrow, Louisa. He has made his preference for you known. I expect he will offer for you when he arrives, and you will accept.”
“Father? What is happening?” Louisa replied.
“You will accept or face the ruin brought on us all by your cousin. As soon as word of her past gets out, your prospects will be gone. Dead, like her parents. You can thank me later.”
Thea sucked in a breath. How could she have been near floating up the stairs only minutes ago and now want to crawl into bed and cry?
But self-pity and falling apart wouldn’t help. They never did.
“Girls, listen to your father and go to bed. You will need the rest.”
“I need to know who I am marrying,” Sophia said.
“Viscount Ridley. You can thank me later.”
“Viscount Ridley? Is he an old man?”
“No, Soph. He’s the quiet, bookish one. Couldn’t be a day over twenty-five,” her sister replied.
Thea’s heart breathed a sigh of relief at that. “Girls, to bed. Tomorrow will be a big day.”
“What about you?”
“She’s leaving. Say your goodbyes. You will not be seeing her again in the morning.”
Louisa rushed to Thea’s side. “Father, what are you saying? Listen to yourself. This is Thea. She’s family.”
“And she will be gone before breakfast. I’ll make sure of it.”
And then he strode out of the room.
“What in the world is happening?” Louisa said.
“I fell asleep. I left the candle lit. This is all my fault,” Sophia said with tears pouring down her cheeks.
Thea held out an arm, and Sophia came toward her.
“No, stop that. It isn’t your fault. None of this is.” She wrapped both girls in her embrace, the way she had countless times over the last decade.
“What happened to Father? Has he lost his mind?” Louisa asked.
“He is angry and full of hate. They are blinding him.”
“But why?” Louisa cried. “How could he do this to you? How could he do this to us?”
As much as she wanted to break down and join them in tears, Thea decided it could be a productive teaching moment instead. Perhaps the last lesson she would ever impart to them.
“He isn’t thinking rationally. This is why we do not lose our tempers and let anger guide us. This is why we choose love over hate. Anger and hatred are unreliable guides as well as being dangerous, destructive, and unpredictable.”
“He did look like he hated you, Thea. I don’t understand,” Sophia cried.
“Because in that moment, he did.”
“But how? Why? This makes no sense.”
“Emotions often don’t. That is why we don’t make decisions based on emotion. That is what your father is doing right now.”
“But what happened?” Louisa asked. “Was it because you snuck out?”
“In part. Now you can both see firsthand that sneaking around is never wise. Learn that lesson, my dears.”
“But there must have been something else,” Sophia said.
“He learned of something in my past that I chose not to share with anyone. And now that it is known, your father fears it will ruin you.”
“What?” Sophia asked.
She looked at the two girls who had become beautiful, intelligent, kind young women. “I was married before.”
“You were?” Louisa’s eyes went wide. “When?”
“In India, of course,” Sophia said for her. “Was it romantic? Was he wonderful?”
“Yes. It was, and he was.”
“This is why you know so much about men?”
“Only a very little, my dear,” she replied to Sophia.
“Why did that enrage Father so? How could that ruin us?”
“Because he was not British. He was Indian.”
Both girls gasped. “Really?”
“Yes, and he was handsome and kind, and he loved me very much. And I loved him.”
“That is so romantic,” Sophia sighed.
“Yes, it was. But he is gone, and shortly after, my parents passed on as well. Then I came to live with you.”
“That’s why you were so sad.”
“You two saved me. And for that, I will be forever grateful. I love you both, and I would never want to hurt you or your prospects in any way.”
“We know that,” Louisa said.
“You’re the best person we have ever known, Thea. You can’t leave us,” Sophia said in protest.
“It is not my choice, but if your father wishes me gone, I will leave.”
“But where will you go?” Louisa asked.
“I will be fine.”
“You’re going to the prince, aren’t you?” Sophia said.
“Yes.”
Both girls squealed.
From tears to joy in the space of a few moments. Life is unpredictable yet amazing, Thea mused as they hugged her.
“When will we see you again?”
“I don’t know, but once I am married and you are both married, your father will have no say in any of our lives.”
“Isn’t that the silver lining of the night?” Louisa said. “I never imagined I’d be married to an industrialist. Do you think he really will let me paint him?”
Thea couldn’t help but grin. “I think he will be utterly charmed if you ask him.”
“Especially if you tell him you want to paint him nude.” Sophia laughed.
“Maybe save that part for after you’re married, my dear. So he doesn’t wonder what kind of girl you are.”
“But after … you think he will let me?” Louisa sounded intrigued in a way Thea had never heard from her before with regard to a man.
“Time will tell, my dear.”
Sophia let out a breath. “And a shy, bookish Viscount for me. What do I do with that?”
“Treat him with respect and kindness, and you will be fine,” Thea said, praying she was right.
“You will charm him, and he will do anything for you,” Louisa said.
“Perhaps having a husband who secretly adores me from afar will be fun,” Sophia said with a positive note in her voice that was a balm to Thea’s battered heart.
“Everything is going to work out. It always does,” she said.
“Easy for you to say,” Sophia said with a smile. “You’re about to become a princess.”
Thea hugged them both tightly. “You’ll see. Everything will be all right.”