Francesca wasn’t the only one wondering when the men would make an appearance. Lucia sighed with relief when she saw that the gentlemen had finished with their port and cigars. The moment she’d exited the dining room, Lady Dandridge had clasped her elbow, steering her toward the chaise longue.
Reginald’s mother was a woman just shy of fifty, tall, slim, and regal. Lucia’s mother had told her that Lady Dandridge was the reigning beauty in her day, and Lucia had to admit the widowed viscountess was still a handsome woman.
She was also a dragon, who had relentlessly pushed her husband to attain power in Parliament and was now pressing her son to follow in his footsteps. Lucia often wondered if Lady Dandridge would push Reginald to an early grave like his father. Reginald already subscribed to his father’s vice of heavy drinking. She only hoped he wouldn’t add gambling and whoring as well.
Lady Dandridge leaned back on the chaise to openly scrutinize her, and Lucia folded her hands in her lap and tried to look demure. She’d made the mistake of speaking too soon in the past, and she wasn’t about to make it again.
“The story goes, Lucy,” Lady Dandridge finally said, “that this marriage was the favorite wish of my late husband and your father.”
Lucia hated how Reginald’s mother never called her by her given name, preferring, as her own father did, to call her by its English equivalent. But she swallowed her annoyance and answered, “So I’ve heard, madam.”
“But you know that is not true.”
“No, my lady. Actually I’d always been told—” Lady Dandridge flicked open her fan. “Yes, well, it is possible your father really believed the union was Charles’s idea, but, in point of fact, it was mine.”
Lucia had the wisdom to affect surprise, since her future mother-in-law seemed to expect it. But she doubted anyone in Lady Dandridge’s household could so much as change their undergarments without the dragon’s approval.
“Yes. I chose you for my dear Reginald. I thought about your sister, but Franny is perhaps a little too close to Reginald’s own age, and boys do need to sow their oats before marrying.” She smiled, and her dragon fangs flashed in the lamplight.
So Lucia had been second choice. Not only that, but Reginald had not even chosen her. She’d suspected as much, but she hadn’t wanted it confirmed.
Lady Dandridge was still smirking, and Lucia searched her repertoire for a suitable reply. Unable to unearth one, she remained silent.
“You must be wondering why I chose you,” the viscountess prodded.
Lucia wasn’t, but she knew she was about to hear the explanation anyway.
“I chose you because I believed your father had the potential to become a man of some power and influence. And while he has not completely disappointed me, his devotion to Fox has certainly not furthered his career.”
Lucia stiffened. “My father—” she began indignantly. But then she saw the gleam in Lady Dandridge’s eyes and the plume of smoke trailing from her dragon nostrils. The woman couldn’t wait for her to argue, so she could take her down with a foul breath of fire.
Well, she wouldn’t give the scaly monster the satisfaction. Lucia averted her eyes and wiggled her toes, focusing on stretching the fabric of her tight pink slippers. But not speaking her mind was like trying to suppress a coughing fit in church. She knew the long hours her father had worked, the sacrifices he’d made to accomplish all that he had. She admired his devotion to his friends. And unlike most MPs, her father was loyal, even when it wasn’t politically expedient.
Lady Dandridge seemed to read her mind. “I have always told Reginald that he must be willing to change allegiance from time to time. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices to accomplish our goals.”
Lucia stifled a snort. Sacrifice? Hardly. Spineless about-face were the words that came most readily to mind.
“In any case, your family is not in the position I had hoped. Your sister married very well.” Lady Dandridge’s gaze passed over Francesca’s opulent drawing room with approval before settling on Lucia again. “But, if I may speak frankly, Lucy, you do not bring much to a union with my son.”
Lucia’s head snapped up. “I think Reginald feels otherwise, madam.”
Lady Dandridge sneered, and Lucia ground her teeth, knowing her retort had given the dragon exactly what she wanted. But how dare this woman treat her as though she were little more than property! Oh, where was her knight in shining armor, her own personal dragon slayer? Her eyes darted around the room and stopped on her mother. Lady Brigham glared at her, silently telling her to behave. With a sigh, Lucia turned back to Lady Dandridge.
“Oh, there’s no doubt that Reginald has been taken in by your beauty, which I hear exalted at every turn, but it is your character that concerns me.” Lady Dandridge fluttered her fan. “Now, don’t look so anxious, Lucy. Your virtue has not been impugned. Even my son praises it. When you refused his advances at the Pools’, it only increased his respect for you.”
Lucia coughed, all the air whooshing from her lungs.
“Oh, my! Do you need a glass of water, my dear?” The cloud of smoke streaming from Lady Dandridge’s leering mouth threatened to choke Lucia.
Beads of perspiration ran down the small of her back, and she knew from experience that her face was bright pink. Did Reginald actually share these intimacies with his mother?
Lady Dandridge snapped her fan closed and sat back smugly. “Oh, yes, he told me, Lucy. But, as I said, you made the prudent choice.” She tapped her fan on Lucia’s arm. “What truly disturbs me, however, is your lack of political knowledge.” She pointed the fan at Lucia. “I’ve been watching you, and it seems to me you take too little interest in politics. You know a little, but this is not piano or drawing, my dear. You will be expected to host my son’s friends and acquaintances and perhaps even his enemies. If you are to build Dandridge’s political standing, your soirees must be the most glittering, your invitations the most coveted. Not to mention—” She raised a hand and began ticking off points on her fingers. “You must know whom to include, exclude, and you must have intimate knowledge of what goes on in Parliament.
“Don’t purse your lips like that, Lucy. Who are you to be so high in the instep? Your dowry is acceptable at best and your relations, well, we won’t discuss Lord Selbourne. I must tell you, I have concerns. Serious concerns.” She whacked her fan against her gloved palm.
Lucia bristled. Oh, if only she were a man, she’d punch the dragon in her fire-breathing nose. Instead she contented herself with sputtering, “Lady Dandridge, I assure you I will do everything in my power to make Reginald happy. Further, I am quite certain his interests will become mine. However—”
Lady Dandridge waved her hand, cutting her off. “Yes, yes, Lucy, you have good intentions, but it will take more than that. I have decided to join you and Reginald at Boyle House after you are married.”
