CHAPTERONE
“Ido not know why we bother to allow you to attend these events at all,” Ezra Bolton, the Earl of Druidstone, remarked haughtily. He folded his arms across his chest as the carriage rocked back and forth over uneven ground. “It is like taking a nag to market, hoping for a thoroughbred’s price.”
His daughter, Leah, had to laugh. “That is a new one. A nag.” She flashed a sour grin at him. “I shall add it to the ever-lengthening list, entitled: Ezra Bolton’s Compendium of Insults for Your Disappointment of a Daughter. I am hoping to publish by the year’s end. It ought to be ten volumes at least, by my reckoning.”
“Do not be obtuse,” her father retorted. “I am merely stating the truth. Darling, do you not agree?” He glanced at his wife, Sarah, for support.
Sarah sighed wearily. “I see your reasoning, my darling, but it does no harm for Leah to attend these gatherings. Indeed, I am ever hopeful.”
“You should not be,” Leah pointed out, though not unkindly. It was not her mother’s fault she could not speak her mind to her husband. He had a bad habit of sulking if he was not agreed with in at least some capacity.
Sarah gave her daughter a pointed look. “You never know, my darling. Olivia never thought she would marry, yet she is as happy as one can be with that… oh goodness, what was his name again? I can never remember.”
“The Marquess of Bridfield,” Ezra answered bitterly before Leah could. “You might not have been a marchioness, Leah, but you could have been a viscountess. You could still be a… baroness at least, if you would cease with your stubbornness.”
Leah shrugged. “Only the very desperate would have me, Father, and I do not intend to be anyone’s last resort. I shall be my own first choice and last resort, thank you very much.”
“And whose fault is that?” her father muttered, refolding his arms to show just how annoyed he was.
Leah mustered a smile. “It is mine, of course, and you shall never allow me to forget it.”
The truth did not matter to her father, nor did she see the use in explaining it for the millionth time, for even she did not know the full details of what had gone wrong that fateful day, three years prior.
“You do not even care, do you?” Her father’s cheeks flushed a livid shade of red. “You care not a jot about the disgrace and humiliation you have brought upon this family!”
Leah settled back against the squabs. “Apparently not, though you never ask me if I care. You do not care if I care.”
She had lost her desire to fight her father long ago though that did not stop him from trying to begin their quarrels afresh. She suspected there was something in the carriage air, for his accusations and snide remarks always sparked whenever the family was alone together in the carriage and especially on lengthy journeys, just to make them even more uncomfortable for everyone.
“You have ruined our prospects, Leah,” his father ranted on. “It is not as if we have a son or a second daughter who might claw back our reputation for us! You were our sole hope, and you simply will not bear responsibility for what you did, nor will you make amends by marrying anyone—and I do mean anyone—who would have you! I really could accept a baron. I could do it, but you… I blame this Spinsters’ Club of yours. They have put notions in your head. They caused you to upset Jonathan. Darling, why do we allow her to associate with these… these… wastrels?”
Sarah discreetly took Leah’s hand, hidden beneath layers of skirts and petticoats. “I see your meaning, dearest, but they are not wastrels; they are her friends. Indeed, I daresay, they might be a good influence, now that Olivia is married. It shall not be long before the rest of them marry, and then our dear Leah will desire it, too.”
Considering her mother was subtly defending her, Leah thought better of reminding her mother for a second time that it was pointless to hope for marriage.
She is aware,Leah knew.She knows it is hopeless, but she cannot say so in front of Father.
“Well, they had better be an encouraging influence,” her father snapped, “or this shall be the end of any clandestine meetings and unseemly gatherings at society events. They are always wandering off, up to no good, hiding where they cannot be found.”
Leah could not resist. “Only so we do not have to have our toes crushed by ungainly gentlemen of a certain age who have either lost their first wives or have never been rich enough or charming enough to persuade a lady to marry them.” She gave her mother’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Then, they make one speculation that makes them very wealthy, and they suddenly believe they are gifts from the heavens, attractive to all and sundry! Even ladies half their age.”
“I ought to stop this carriage and make you walk!” Ezra retorted. “You are too… wayward, Leah. I do not know why you have become this way; you were always such a sweet girl, dedicated to your manners and your propriety. I swear to you, it is those wretched friends of hers!”
Leah drew a breath. “Friends who were overjoyed for me when I became engaged, even those who were devoutly against the institution of marriage? Friends who helped me into my gown, put flowers in my hair, and sang joyful songs with me on the morning of my wedding? Friends who wished me utter happiness? Friends who sat and painted the future with me, discussing when they would come to visit me at the Chesterwood Estate and what a delight it would be to summer there with me?”
That silenced Ezra. Even Sarah seemed impressed by her daughter’s victory, however hollow.
“Yes, well, I suppose I should not blame them, for there is only one person responsible,” Ezra mumbled.
Yes, there is. My former betrothed, not me. Jonathan, not me,Leah wanted to shoot back yet again until it finally pierced her father’s skull and sank into his stubborn brain, but one warning look from her mother held her quiet. There was no point in going in circles.
“Ah, I think I hear music!” Sarah said cheerily, patting her daughter’s hand as if to say,thank you for keeping the peace.After all, she was the one who had to contend with Ezra after a conflict, not Leah.
Leah stuck her head out of the carriage window, spying lights in the near distance. “We are not far now!”
And she could not wait, for her friends would be there already; the only people she wanted to spend the evening with.
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