2. Chapter 2 #2
An hour after luncheon, Mother, Margaret, Addie, and I sat in the drawing room of our rented home.
It was a beautiful mansion, though it was not as ostentatious as some I’d been in over the past two months.
For all Mother’s machinations to enter New York society, there was still a part of her that was a simple pioneer from Ohio whose father had set out to achieve the American dream.
I hadn’t known my grandfather, but I often wondered what he would think knowing how far his descendants had risen in society in such a short amount of time.
Especially now, as I sat waiting for a duke to arrive with a formal proposal.
“Don’t look so sickly,” Margaret said as she sat properly on the edge of the sofa across from me. “You’re about to become a duchess. You should look excited—or poised at the very least.”
“She’s about to move to a haunted castle with a stranger,” Addie amended, her mouth turned down. “I’d look sick, too.”
Margaret had already heard the rumors from Addie, who had brought them into the dining room during luncheon.
At the age of eighteen, Margaret was two years younger than me and would have her debut season in New York after returning from London—presumably without me.
Although she and Addie were Mother’s stepdaughters, because their own mother had passed away, Mother treated them no differently than she did me.
But she had kept her lips sealed about her plans for Margaret’s future.
Would she return with her to London to look for another titled aristocrat, or find a more advantageous match close to home with one of the older New York society families?
My stepfather, Richard, had stayed behind in New York, supposedly to manage the family’s concerns there.
Although, he did not work and simply lived off the interest from Mother’s wealth.
I was happy he hadn’t come with us, and I suspected that Mother was, as well.
Her marriage to Richard was strained and uncomfortable.
His determination and ambition before the wedding had been what attracted her to him.
His laziness and lack of motivation after their wedding was a great disappointment to her.
“I am not sick,” I told my sisters, taking a deep breath. “Just worried that I might make a mistake.”
“In marrying the duke?” Mother asked, pacing in front of the fireplace. “Or, in not marrying him?” She paused. “You’re not thinking about telling him no, are you?”
“I’m thinking of a great many things.”
She came toward me, wringing her hands. “He’s the most eligible bachelor in London this year. It’s not every season that a single, young duke appears on the marriage market. We’re fortunate that Clara Hill jilted him—”
“She did not jilt him, she—”
“It doesn’t matter. She left and he turned to you. If you say no, there are a dozen other ladies who would say yes.”
There were a dozen others, so why was he choosing me? And what if he regretted that choice? I had already felt the pain of being cast aside by a man I loved. I could not withstand it again. “I have not said I would not marry him. I’m just worried.”
“Then why marry him?” Addie asked, moving to the seat next to me and taking my hand.
“So that you and I may marry whomever our hearts desire,” Margaret told her, sighing as she looked down at her lap.
Margaret had already met a young man currently out of her reach. His name was Matthew Schermerhorn, Mrs. Astor’s nephew. I’d seen them together at a junior Assembly Ball last winter and knew that they were in love. But nothing could come of it if someone didn’t elevate the family name first.
Which was my job.
“Is that true?” Addie asked me.
“Yes,” Mother supplied. “Lily is our great hope to achieve what I’ve been trying to do for years. If she marries the duke, it will open doors to us all over New York and London.”
The four of us grew silent as the grandfather clock struck once, alerting us to the one o’clock hour—the appointed time for morning calls, even though it was afternoon.
As the minutes ticked past, a new kind of nervousness took hold of me.
What if the duke didn’t come? What if he’d had a change of heart or met someone else he wanted more, and I was stuck with the Earl of Cranford?
I was afraid I might lose my breakfast.
When the drawing room door opened, all four of us stiffened.
Our butler, Parson, entered with a silver server and presented a card to Mother.
“He’s come,” she said, letting out a breath. “Please show him in, Parson.”
Every muscle in my body tightened and my nerves hummed with energy.
Within moments, the duke entered, looking more handsome and intimidating than the day before. He wore all black and his hair, which was longer than the current fashion, was clubbed at the back with a black ribbon.
Mother, Margaret, Addie, and I rose and curtseyed as he bowed to the room, and though he acknowledged all of us, his gaze stayed upon me.
“Welcome, Your Grace,” Mother said. “May I present my other daughters? This is Miss Margaret and Miss Adeline Ranier.”
He nodded his greeting as they curtseyed again. Upon meeting Mother, he’d already learned that she was remarried, so he didn’t seem surprised that my sisters had a different last name than I did.
“And, of course, you remember Lily,” she said, motioning to me.
It was hard to read his emotions, which I was certain came from years of experience hiding behind his facade.
“Your Grace.” I curtseyed again.
He nodded at me. “Miss Parker.”
“Won’t you have a seat?” Mother asked. “I’ll ring for tea.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
None of us moved to take our seats as he remained standing.
“I would prefer to curtail the formalities and get on with the task at hand,” he said.
Mother’s eyebrows rose, but she nodded as she ushered my sisters from the room. “Yes, of course. Margaret and Addie, please give us some privacy.”
The look on Addie’s face would have made me smile if I wasn’t so nervous. She appeared utterly disappointed that she would have to miss this dramatic exchange. I was the author, but I suspected she would be a better writer than me one day.
As they exited the room, I took a seat, my legs too weak to hold myself up any longer.
Thankfully, the duke and Mother followed suit.
The three of us were in a sort of triangle. Mother on one sofa, I on the other, and the duke in a chair facing us.
“What did you have in mind to discuss?” Mother asked, laying her hands gently in her lap, though they were still trembling.
“I spoke to Miss Parker last night about becoming my wife.” He did not hesitate as he addressed her. “I am here to offer my formal proposal of marriage.”
Mother blinked several times, though I knew she wasn’t surprised.
“Lily?” she asked, her voice coming out in a sort of squeak. “Have you had time to consider the duke’s proposal?”
He turned to me, but again, his emotions were hard to read.
“I have.” I pressed my hands together in my lap. They were shaking more than Mother’s.
“And?” she asked.
The duke didn’t blink as he waited.
I swallowed my nerves, thinking of Margaret and Addie and all that this would mean to their futures. “I have decided to agree.”
There was a slight look of relief on his face before it disappeared, but then he nodded and said, “I hope you will be happy at Pickering Castle.”
His words surprised me, yet should they? If what he’d said was true, the very reason he was doing this was to provide for the people under his care. Would that not extend to me, as well?
The first bit of hope sprang to life in my heart—though it was tempered by all the things I did not know.
“I’m so very happy for the both of you,” Mother said, unable to hide her relief and pleasure. “We will plan for a fall wedding, perhaps in New York, before—”
“We must marry as soon as possible.” The duke was very clear. “Within the week would be preferable. I can acquire a special license today, if need be.”
“This week?” Mother straightened in her chair, her face ashen. “Impossible.”
“I cannot wait any longer. I must return to Pickering Castle. There are people dependent upon my care and we have many needs before the spring planting.”
Mother shook her head. “It’s not only impossible, but what will people think? They’ll assume there was another scandal.”
“I don’t think they will,” I ventured. “The duke has made it very clear that he wants to be married as quickly as possible.”
He glanced in my direction and there was a faint hint of approval in his gaze.
Mother pressed her lips together. “Two weeks, and that is my final say. I will send a wire home to Richard this very afternoon and tell him to book passage on the next ship available. It will take eight to ten days for him to arrive, barring any unforeseen problems.”
Richard.
I would have preferred not to have him at the wedding, but it would only be right. He was my stepfather, and people would wonder why he wasn’t present.
The duke’s cheek muscle twitched as he considered her stipulation. Finally, he said, “Fine. Two weeks. The seventh of June.”
“That will allow time for us to make all the arrangements and send out invitations—”
“I want a small affair,” he said. “The smaller, the better.”
“But—” Mother sputtered. “It isn’t every day that my daughter gets married.”
“A small wedding would suit me just fine,” I told him, ignoring Mother.
“Good,” he said to me.
With each nod of his approval, I sat up a little straighter. But there was one more thing to discuss before we could move forward. “We’ll need to talk about the financial terms of the marriage.”
Mother’s excitement dimmed as we stopped talking about the wedding.
Generally, a father would take care of the financial aspects of such an agreement, but I had no father. Not really, and the money was mine.
Squaring my shoulders, I faced the duke.
He watched me so gravely, I wanted to squirm, but I could not waver now.
“I will retain control of my money and will set aside a monthly stipend for living expenses,” I told him.
“I am under the impression that the castle is in dire need of repair, so I will allot a generous amount of money to that project. Beyond that, if there are other needs that cannot be met with the monthly stipend, you and I will meet regularly to discuss them.”
His jaw tightened. “You are suggesting that I beg for money each time there is a need?”
“No.” I lifted my chin, unwilling to be intimidated.
I had watched several American heiresses lose everything to their wayward husbands and I would not be one of them.
“I am a reasonable person and if you can show me that something is necessary, I am also generous. There will be no begging required.”
He stared at me for a moment and then said, “I am the master of Pickering Castle.”
“And I am the master of my fortune.” I held his gaze without flinching.
“Either we become partners, both bringing something of value to the marriage and working together to make a life worth living, or we go our separate ways. My fortune is a gift from my father, and I will not give it to a stranger—husband or not.”
Mother clasped her hands together on her lap, tightening them until her knuckles were white as we waited for the duke’s decision.
“Fine,” he growled. “I will agree to your stipulations.”
My shoulders lowered in relief.
With those terms in place, only a breach of contract could stop the wedding now.