Authors: Elizabeth Michels
“I will move to a brothel before I stay one night under your roof.” She paused for a moment, allowing that barb to sink in before adding, “I cannot see how staying with you would improve my situation. After all,
you
are in trade, dear brother.”
A moment of silence passed, the wheels rolling over stone and the distant clip-clop of the horses’ hooves the only sounds as they progressed into town. Then Solomon’s dark eyes found hers and he attempted a smile. “Lillian, dear Lillian, how did things become so heated between us? We are blood relations, after all. Surely it is not this nudge toward a better life in marriage that upsets you.”
“A better life. Is that what you believe you’re accomplishing by selling me to the highest bidder to further line your pockets?”
“Lillian, if any peer is going to offer for you, you must learn to watch your tongue. And I
am
seeking a better life for you. Surely, you don’t wish to grow old with Josiah as company.”
“His company has nothing to do with the matter. Our family’s lands will suffer in my absence. Josiah is not the one who manages the estate. I wish you could get that through your head.”
“Don’t fret on that score. I will assist Josiah in the estate business. You need not trouble yourself over such things. You should be focused on presenting yourself well at balls and such.” His eyes narrowed on her. “You may want to practice some light banter that does not challenge the listener so.”
“I will present myself as I always do—with dignity and grace. And while we are discussing my presentation in town, I will need a ball gown or two to wear while here.”
“I’m sure Nathaniel can point you in the direction of the appropriate shops. That is hardly something I need to be involved in.” He shifted his weight to cross his ankles and look down at his hand, assessing the ring he wore on his little finger.
“Yes, however the bills for those gowns will have to be paid. Did Josiah draft the appropriate account to cover the costs before we left?”
“Certainly not. You have dresses you can wear.” He waved a hand toward her in dismissal. “You have one on now.”
“This is a traveling dress. The fanciest thing I own is only appropriate for a small country dinner party. I can’t wear that to a London ball.”
“Must we discuss London fashions? You have pin money. If you would like something new, use your own funds.”
“The pin money I receive is only enough to bet while playing a round of whist or to purchase a new fan. It’s not enough to cover the cost of a gown worthy of a London ballroom.”
“That is too bad. Perhaps if you had been more agreeable with the family over the last year, I might see fit to spend precious funds on your wardrobe, but that ship has sailed, hasn’t it?”
He straightened his cuff and looked back at her. “And yet, it matters not what you wear. I will find a suitable husband for you without spending a fortune on fancy dresses and such. All you need to do is be available for the gentlemen I see fit as potential husbands to view you and see that your looks are acceptable.
“So you see, frills and lace are quite an unnecessary expense. Men truly don’t care about a lady’s ball gown, only that she is well-proportioned within it. That points to healthy heirs in the future, you know. By the way, you could stand to eat a bit more while we are in town. You’re a little on the thin side as of late.”
“You make it sound as if I will go up for auction just like Mama’s writing desk or Papa’s horse.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Lillian. Being married is what every woman desires. How that end is achieved matters not.”
“I don’t! I don’t desire to be married!”
He looked at her in astonishment as if he were seeing her for the first time. “Truly? How odd. Nevertheless, it’s what is best for you. I only push this issue with you because I care.”
“You don’t care for me. You only care for the monetary gain or influence you could achieve through my marriage. Will it help you build more ships, Solomon? I know the profits from your ship-building business are all you really care about.”
“Again with that sharp tongue of yours. Do try to work on that, or we will have difficulties in this little endeavor of ours.”
“I want no part of our little endeavor!”
“As I pointed out to you back at Bixley Manor, you have no choice in this matter. Please, do not make me the villain in all of this. I am only doing what the family requires.”
“And you cannot see fit to even purchase one ball gown for me to wear while I endure this catastrophe?”
“All funds are allotted, Lillian. I have expenses, too, you know.”
“Yes, I can see that by the new cravat pin you’re wearing.” Lillian gripped the seat cushion to keep from hitting him in the face.
“Let’s not begin this adventure on the wrong footing, Lillian. I do not wish for my decisions to be questioned. It upsets me greatly to be contradicted, and I know you do not wish to upset me. We are family, and we should stand together and act accordingly.”
“I will be standing with Nathaniel, as he is my family.”
“Lillian, I do not wish to quarrel with you, so I will allow you to stay with Nathaniel if that is your choice. But I insist that, in return, you honor my choices.”
She would agree to almost anything to end this conversation and get out of this carriage. “I will not disagree with you in public, if that is your worry. My beliefs, however, will not change for you or any other man.”
“That is very well…for now. I believe we are there.”
“Good.”
“I expect you to be at the Dillsworth ball in three days’ time.”
“I’ll fulfill my family obligation and make an appearance, although I will be in rags, thanks to you.”
“You need only be in attendance.”
She nodded, gathering her skirts and stepping down before assistance could be offered to her. She did not want to spend even one second more in Solomon’s company, and she certainly did not want help from any man just now. Thankfully, she found her footing on her own as her half boots met the brick pathway leading to the front steps.
Gulping large breaths of fresh air, she tried to push her anger at Solomon down before it suffocated her. Her hatred of him had increased over the past hour, if that were possible. How was she related to such a horrible man? His selfishness knew no bounds. No ball gowns? And he made her feel more than ever before like a cow up for auction. This experience was going to be just awful! However, now she was at Nathaniel’s home. Friendly territory, as it were. And she would not allow Solomon’s vileness to cling to her hem as she entered.
“Your trunks, m’lady,” the driver offered as the second trunk dropped at her feet with a thud.
“Thank you. I will see to my things from here.” She shook out her skirts and gazed up at the facade of Nathaniel’s home. It was not as large as a few homes she had seen out the window of the carriage, yet it was quite elegant for its size. The white trim surrounding the bricks almost still held the smell of fresh paint where it nestled with ivy that was allowed to grow artfully on the corners. Lillian smiled at the sight of yellow roses lining the small garden, because Nathaniel had always been partial to yellow roses.
Striding up the front steps, she glanced around to see that the carriage was already gone. Solomon had not even waited to ensure she made it inside safely. A small part of her was offended, while the sane majority of her mind was relieved that he was no longer there. It was just as well. He and Nathaniel had not carried on a civilized conversation in years. Even when Papa passed, they could not manage to get on for the sake of appearances while the family gathered to grieve.
“Lillian! You made it safely!” Nathaniel’s voice called over her shoulder.
She turned back to the house to see his tall, fashionably clad frame filling the doorway. She was tugged inside, and orders were being given for her trunks to be brought in and a bath made ready before she could even respond.
“Nathaniel, I’m glad you received my letter. You are willing to let me stay with you?”
“You’re always welcome here, darling. I could never leave you to the wrath of our brother. How did you fare on the journey here with him?”
“It was so terrible that I cannot even think about it now that I’m here. I will just say that I did in fact survive. Let’s discuss a more pleasant subject.”
“Of course. We’ll leave the ugliness of our family relations out in the streets where they belong.” He finished with a dramatic slam of his door that rattled a crystal vase filled with flowers on a nearby table.
Lillian jumped, chuckling at her brother’s outlandish actions. His own butler appeared outraged but did not say a word. She looked up, taking in the ornate chandelier filled with candles and the polished staircase that wound its way to the upper floors. “Your home is lovely.”
“Oh, this? It is a work in progress, you know, but it does serve to keep the rain from my head.”
“I didn’t interrupt your daily routine, did I? I don’t wish to be a burden while I’m here.”
“You? A burden? Don’t even think it. Now, let me show you the suite I have had readied for you. I think it will suit you.” With that, he turned and led her up the stairs with an endless string of chatter over this vase and that painting.
She could feel the tension of her journey fading from her limbs. Perhaps she did not like the reason for her trip to London, but at least her stay with Nathaniel would be enjoyable. He had the ability to put her at ease and make her laugh even in the worst of situations. And this situation certainly qualified as the worst she had endured so far.
“Thornwood? Thornwood! Are you still in the game? Did you hear me? I said I hate to steal from you. Next thing you know, I’ll walk out of here with your pocket watch and cravat pin, the way you’re playing.”
There was an answering round of laughter and someone hit Devon on the shoulder in jest. It was true. His mind was not on his play this afternoon. He smiled, hiding the turmoil that stirred within him at the mention of someone stealing his belongings.
“Gentlemen, this game has become too rich for my shallow pockets. I wish you the best of luck in squandering your collective inheritances. Enjoy your future of poverty,” Devon stated as he rose from the card table at the back of White’s gentlemen’s club.
There were one chuckle and a few intakes of breath at the insult. Yet Devon was no longer entertained by the cards in his hand or the conversation at the table, especially after the mention of stolen pocket watches.
He’d been sitting there all afternoon, partly in search of some diversion on an unseasonably warm day, but mostly hiding from his mother. She had been in fine form over luncheon, pressing him further about tonight’s ball and fussing over his clothing, the food on his plate, and how his hair desperately needed to be cut.
Escape could not have happened fast enough. So he was greatly relieved when he spotted an old friend arriving at the club as he was preparing to leave. “Steelings, I thought you were set to be in the country for a few weeks. Back so soon?”
“My trip was cut short. It’s a rather long tale as to why.” His blond brows drew together into a grim expression rarely seen on his jovial face. “I will just say I’ve returned. It’s good to see you, Thornwood. Care to have a drink?”
Devon had been friends with Holden Ellis, Viscount Steelings, ever since he had shared the answers on an exam with Holden during their school days. From that day forward, they had been finding trouble together. Months—or once even years, while Devon was in Africa—would elapse between their visits. Yet they always picked up the conversation where they had laid it down at the last meeting, as if no time had passed.
“Certainly,” Devon returned. “I’m looking for any excuse to avoid my home at the moment.”
“Her Grace is in town?” Steelings asked, pulling out a chair from a nearby table to sit.
“And wreaking havoc on my sanity. She has it in her head that this is the year she will convince me to bend to her will and marry. She believes my being settled will be to Roselyn’s benefit next season. I keep telling her it won’t happen, but does she listen?”
“Does anyone of the female persuasion listen when we proclaim what is truth?”
They paused in their conversation to signal for drinks to be brought to their table. That was one of the benefits to White’s over dark taverns on the other end of town: They knew his preferences here and kept a bottle of his preferred whiskey in the back room. It was a small benefit in the face of being known and watched by everyone, but a benefit nonetheless.
“What are your evening plans?” Devon asked idly as he leaned back in his chair, settling in for an afternoon of chatting with his old schoolmate.
“I’m escorting my cousins to the Dillsworth ball. Will you be there as well?”
“Hell no.” Devon recoiled, his brows drawing together in concern for his friend’s sanity. Why would he go there of all places? And why was Steelings subjecting himself to such torture? “That’s the same ball my mother is harping on me to attend. Cry off from your cousins, and we’ll drink ourselves senseless.”
“Not a chance.” A guilty look crossed Steelings’ face and he attempted to cover it with a shrug of his shoulders.
Devon had seen that look on his friend’s face quite a few times, and it usually indicated a distinct lack of honesty. His eyes narrowed on Steelings as he waited for him to confess whatever agenda he had for attending the ball this evening.
Steelings dropped his voice so as not to be overheard before continuing. “You see, there is this extremely vexing female.”
“There always is.” With Steelings’ charm, he had never been in short supply of female companionship, however short-lived that companionship might be.
“Yes, well, this particular vexing female is said to be attending the ball this evening. She’s actually the reason I’m back in town so soon.”
“I do believe there’s a story here,” Devon teased, wondering why in the world Steelings would change his travel plans for a woman. Even for him, that was rather extreme.
His friend then set into the telling of his rather long-winded story of a vanishing lady and his subsequent chase across half the country. Steelings always did have a flair for the dramatic. Yet there was a look about him as he spoke of this woman… “My God, you’re smitten! I can hardly believe it! Who is this temptress who’s lured you in?”
“Her name is Suzanna. Lovely, isn’t it?” There was a dreamy look in Steelings’ eyes that Devon had not seen there since Miss Fountaine when they were seventeen. This was serious indeed.
“And this is all you know of her?”
“Well, yes. She disappeared, you see. You have no idea how infuriating it is to have a chit vanish in such a manner. I only want to see her once more. Perhaps it is only a proper ending to things that I am looking for tonight.” His brows drew together as he became lost in thought, taking another sip of his drink.
“Disappearing ladies are annoying, to say the least.” Why did Lily’s memory keep coming to mind today? Devon had lost a month of productivity in organizing shipping routes last year in a fruitless search for her. Now, just when he thought he had permanently banished her from his head, he was thinking of her twice in one day? He ran a hand through his hair. It had all been a game to her.
Her cruelty still rankled to this day, but he didn’t allow himself time to think about her. He had, therefore, spent the last year focused on profitability in his business, attempting to make up lost ground. Yet today her memory kept creeping back into his thoughts. Only he knew now that he would never see her again.
What he
could
do, however, was stop his friend from becoming entangled with a devious lady such as this Suzanna. “She disappeared on you. She could be running from any sort of thing. She could be a thief. Did you check your pockets after that dance?”
“A thief? Why in the devil would you think that?”
“It’s a possibility to be considered. I’m sure it happens occasionally.”
“I hardly think a lady would steal from me while at my cousin’s home. What’s gotten into you?”
Devon released the tense knot that had grown in his stomach and was etching lines of concern on his face, instead relaxing into an easy smile. “It’s nothing. And I’ve changed my mind. I believe I will attend the Dillsworth event this evening. I must meet this mystery lady that has you chasing her all about the countryside.”
“Spectacular! I really wasn’t looking forward to keeping the company of my cousins for the whole evening. They tend to squeal. It’s quite annoying, really. But with you there, I can slip away easily.”
Devon attempted a smile. “I suppose if it keeps you free of unwanted relations, you can use my notorious nature for good this evening.”
“It should go to some good use. You certainly haven’t used it recently, staying holed up in your library working, with no time for any ladies or entertainment. Yes indeed, this will work perfectly. My cousins are terrified of you as it is. I’ll have the whole evening free of them to find Suzanna. And you will finally leave your home to socialize with me. Who knows, perhaps you’ll even dance.”
“Ah, but now you will have me taunting you as you make a fool of yourself for a lady. Yes, this evening’s entertainment is sounding more enticing by the second. But there will be no dancing,” Devon warned as he rose from his chair. He clapped his friend on the back and headed for the door. “I’ll see you there. I have a few things to attend to first.” With a nod he was striding down the street toward home.
***
After a morning spent stalking aimlessly through the well-appointed town home, Lillian sat in her bedchamber with her nerves jangling. The day of the Dillsworth ball had arrived. The four hours until she must leave had turned slowly into three and three-quarter hours.
The trouble was that there did not seem to be a single useful activity she could sink into. Some task about the house would at least give her something else to focus on for the afternoon, rather than sitting in dread. Much to her chagrin, however, Nathaniel ran an immaculate home.
Her room was lovely. Perfectly arranged flowers sat on the writing desk by the window. All of her dresses were already hanging in the wardrobe. Her books were stacked neatly on a table. And the clock on the mantel opposite the bed kept perfect time. She knew, for she heard every tick, tick, tick.
Taking a deep breath that did nothing to calm her nerves, she took down her tightly knotted hair and brushed through it once, then twice, before replacing it at the back of her neck. Was this the worst day of her life? Surely, it had many rivals. But this would certainly go down in the history books as the most humiliating.
Her eyes darted over to the dove gray dress lying across the bed. It was the nicest gown she owned and certainly suitable for a dinner. However, a ball gown it was not. She would surely be the worst-dressed, not to mention the oldest, lady in attendance this evening.
The dress would serve the purpose of keeping any marriage-minded men away, if Solomon wasn’t planning on forcing someone upon her anyway. Therefore, it only served to humiliate her in front of London society. The mended seam that had split when she tried it on yesterday stood out under her gaze. No one would notice, but she knew. She was going to look like the most ridiculous spinster that ever lived.
Worse still was the knowledge that all of this humiliating production was to find a husband she didn’t desire. The last thing she needed in her life was another man who would bully her into following his will.
Why must all men insist that they knew best?
She slammed her silver-backed brush down on the vanity table a little harder than she had intended. Taking an unsteady breath, she looked into the abyss of the mirror until she saw only a grouping of shapes and colors swirled together. She was not sure how long she had been sitting there, mourning her short-lived freedom, when there was a knock at the door.
“Lillian?” Nathaniel’s voice called through the door. “You haven’t jumped from the window to end your misery yet, have you?”
“Come in,” Lillian called, blinking her eyes back into focus and straightening her high collar with a gentle tug of her dress. As she heard the door open and footsteps cross the floor, she mused, “As I am only on the second floor, I would likely just break both legs. And Solomon would carry me into that ballroom in full bandages if he had to.”
“It seems you’ve already thought that option through,” Nathaniel returned with a chuckle.
Lillian attempted to smile but knew she had not achieved it.
Nathaniel took a few steps closer to her, appearing behind her in the mirror. “I shudder at the thought of being presented to the
ton
while completely wrapped in bandages. That would certainly be the talk over tea tomorrow. As compelling as it may be to make such an immediate impression on London, might I offer another option?”
Lillian turned abruptly to regard her brother with narrowed eyes. “There’s another option?”
“Yes, although it does involve attending tonight’s ball.”
“Oh. I don’t believe I like your option after all.”
“You have yet to hear it, but I do understand if you still desire to jump.”
“Very well. What is this brilliant idea?”
“We make you over into a ravishing beauty for the ball. You will make a grand entrance and turn every head in the room. Then you will meet your one true love and dance the night away, and Solomon will be out of your life forever.”
“Have you been reading gothic novels again, Nathaniel? Such romantic notions. I hate to disappoint, but I hardly think I could be made into anything more than a poor relation who is also a little long in the tooth.”
“Oh, Lillian. I wish I could change this for you somehow.” He walked over to the gray dress and lifted the edge, inspecting it with disgust. “Dreadful,” he muttered to himself.
“I know. But none of this is your fault, Nathaniel.” She took a deep breath, forcing the usual calm back into her limbs as her spine straightened at the challenge before her. “You are helping by allowing me to stay in your home. If I had to spend all of my free time with Solomon, I might just leap from a window.”
“Pleased to be of assistance. And I did do a little something for you.” Nathaniel’s smile could be heard in his voice as he walked back to the door and reached into the hallway to pick up something he’d left there. When he returned, he was holding a teetering stack of parcels, a broad grin covering his lean face as he peered around the tower in his arms.
“What did you do?” Her eyes were wide as she rose from the chair at the vanity table. It looked as if he had bought the entire selection from every window on Bond Street!
“It doesn’t take much twisting of arms to convince me to do a little shopping, darling,” he replied, dumping the stack of boxes on the top of her bed and covering the old gray dress in the process.
“Oh, Nathaniel. I can’t believe you did this! What have you purchased?”
“Only a few necessities for my dear sister. I couldn’t have you traipsing about fashionable London in those horrid country rags you brought with you. I have a reputation to uphold, you know.” He gave her a friendly shove on the arm.
“But Solomon and Josiah refused to pay for a new wardrobe for me.” She ripped her eyes away from the packages and parcels to peer into his face. “How can you afford this, Nathaniel?”
“Never mind the finances of it all. Your only concern should be which slippers to wear this evening.”
Lillian was once again skeptical of Nathaniel’s apparent wealth. Not only did he have this lovely home in a fashionable part of town, but now he was buying her lavish gifts? How did he afford all of this without the benefit of their family connections? How long had it been since Father disowned him? Ten years, perhaps? He didn’t appear to have gone into trade. But the thoughts slipped away into silken dreams as he lifted the lid to the first box in the pile on top of her bed.