Life with Izzy was full of fun and excitement. They spent hours every day in the walled garden, playing games, creating make-believe fairy villages and gathering rosepetals to make perfumes and potpourri. In wet weather they created cozy nests in the attic and read books and played games of make-believe.
On hot days they splashed and cavorted in the lake, squealing with joy and delight, dressed only in their chemises. Until Izzy, Clarissa had never swum in her life. Never even paddled.
They climbed trees. Clarissa had never even thought of doing such a thing, but now they nestled high in the branches, gazing out over their domain, captains of a pirate ship, or princesses in a tower, prisoners of an evil wizard, and once, hiding from a pack of wolves.
They made friends with the shepherd who let them feed an orphan baby lamb, and oh, the fun of holding the tiny woolly creature with its wiggly tail as it greedily sucked down the milk.
They discovered a blackberry patch and returned to the house with scratched arms and stained and torn dresses, their mouths purple with blackberry juice.
At Izzy’s instigation, they learned to ride, secretly at first and bareback, because of Sir Bartleby’s restrictions, but then Clarissa fell off and broke her arm. Forbidden to ride again, Clarissa said with apparent placidity, “Very well, but only until my arm has healed.”
In despair, Nanny sent for Mr. Edwards, who, after interviewing the two girls, arranged for them to have riding lessons. “No use penning them up,” he told Nanny. “They’ve tasted freedom and there’s no stopping them now. Besides, riding is a useful skill for a lady and better they be taught properly.”
Sir Bartleby’s visits became more infrequent than ever, and when he did come, the girls simply avoided him. He never even mentioned Izzy, acting as if she didn’t exist. And as the girls grew older and he brought guests with him to go hunting or shooting, the girls learned to avoid them, too.
The walled garden remained their retreat. The servants knew their secret now, but they never told.
For the next ten years, Clarissa and Izzy grew up, side by side, as close as two sisters could be.
And then Sir Bartlebydied.
Chapter One
London 1818
I’m sorry, my lord, it may well be a mistake, but it’s definitely legal.”
“It’s definitely a mistake, and I don’t want any part of it,” Leo, Lord Salcott, said firmly.
The lawyer, Melkin, tightened his lips. “I’m afraid you have no choice, my lord. Sir Bartleby Studley’s will quite clearly stipulates that his daughter Clarissa is to be taken under the guardianship of Josiah Leonard Thorne, sixth Earl of Salcott—which is you.”
“I understand that,” Leo said impatiently. “But he meant my father, not me. My father was also named Josiah Leonard Thorne. It’s a family tradition—the firstborn son of each generation is given the same name, but Papa was known as Josiah while I am called Leo. Presumably if I choose to follow the tradition, my first son will be called Joe by his school friends, and his son will be Leo.”
“Indeed, my lord. Nevertheless,youare the sixth Earl of Salcott,” Melkin said gently. “And thus the will stands.”
“It’s perfectly clear to me that he intended my father to be the girl’s guardian. He simply made a mistake, that’s all.He was probably drunk at the time and forgot that Papa was the fifth earl, not the sixth.”
“Possibly so, but your father predeceased him by several months, and it cannot be denied that all the legalities have been met.” The elderly lawyer tapped the document with a bony, ink-stained finger. “Miss Clarissa Studley is, for better or worse, your responsibility until she is married. You could, of course, contest the will in the courts, but that would take time and money, and in the meantime you would still be responsible for the young ladies.” He gave Leo a shrewd look, then added, “My advice is just to accept it.”
Leo blinked. “ ‘Ladies’? What do you mean ‘ladies’? I thought there was only one daughter.”
“Yes... and no.” The lawyer cleared his throat. “Miss Clarissa Studley refuses to be parted from her, er, relative, and thus your duties will effectively extend to both girls.”
“What the devil is an er-relative? Some kind of companion, I presume.”
Melkin pursed his lips. “It’s rather irregular, my lord, but the second girl is Sir Bartleby’s natural daughter.”
“You mean I’m also to be landed with one of his bastards? As well as his legitimate daughter? Damn the old lecher.”
The lawyer winced slightly at Leo’s plainspokenness and sifted through the documents before him. “I wondered whether it might have been some private agreement, my lord,” he murmured. “Between your father and Sir Bartleby.”
A private agreement? That’d be right. He sighed. His father had made all kinds of arrangements he’d never told Leo about. Untangling his spendthrift parent’s tangled affairs had taken Leo years. He thought he’d finally broken clear of them. Apparently not.
Though acting as guardian for two young women was a new one to him. Lord, how his friends would laugh.
He’d never had much in common with his father, and he’d disliked most of his father’s friends, especially Sir Bartleby Studley. How spoiled would these girls be?
“I suppose if Studley has provided for the girl—”
