There was of course nothing he could do but reluctantly got to his feet and shuffled off, closing the door behind him.
It was suddenly very quiet in the morning-room, with only the heavy ticking of a grandfather clock to break the silence.
“Your father and I have remarkably understanding of your… foibles,” Mrs Thornhill said at last. “Digging in the dirt, preparing tinctures for theservants, endlessly with your nose in a book, wasting away in the library. You don’t practice your pianoforte, you don’t paint, I can scarcely get you to embroider two stitches together. How do you intend to get a betrothed, Felicity?”
She nibbled her lip, staring down at her hands, folded in her lap.
“Would it be the worst thing if I never found a betrothed, Mama?”
Mrs Thornhill recoiled as if her daughter had slapped her.
“Really, Felicity! Do you need to ask?”
“I will have a great deal of money when I marry,” Felicity tried again, desperation creeping into her voice. “If I could have it now, I could live an independent life, I could…”
“Don’t talk of money, Felicity, it’s unbelievably vulgar, and quite unforgivable in a young lady.”
Silence bloomed between them again. Felicity scarcely dared speak in case she said the wrong thing – something which happened quite frequently. She was careful to keep her spine straight – Mrs Thornhill was a great advocate for Proper Posture – and didn’t allow her mouth to turn down at the corners or anything like that. A lady, Mrs Thornhill said, must always be composed and placid, always ready to be Fascinating, whatever that meant.
Actually, that wasn’t true. Felicity knew what Being Fascinating didnotmean. It did not mean talking about oneself or one’s own interests, if one was a woman.
“Have you considered,” Mrs Thornhill said abruptly, switching tack, “that your refusal to settle down and behave properly reflects badly on Daniel?”
Felicity flinched. “What do you mean, Mama?”
That was nonsense. It had to be. Gentlemen’s reputations were sturdy things, able to weather just about anything. A lady’s reputation was like wet paper, crumpled into smithereens after one unchaperoned conversation. Even balconies were frowned upon – it was exhausting.
Mrs Thornhill pursed her lips, inspecting her nails.
“It won’t do him any good to have a positive harridan as a cousin. Besides, there are rumours about the two of you. That Daniel intends to get the rest of the Thornhill fortune by marrying you, which is why he is not married, and why you do not concern yourself with acting like a proper woman – you know your marriage is all arranged.”
Felicity recoiled. “People can’tpossiblythink that. Marrying Daniel would be like marrying a brother.”
“Yes, well, I think on that, at least, we agree. But you must see my point, Felicity? People are beginning to talk. You don’t want to end up like Lady Lucy, do you?”
Felicity curled her fingers into tight fists, pressing until her nails left red crescent-moons on her palms.
“Lucy is my friend, Mama. I know you don’t think well of her, but…”
“But what, Felicity? Lucy was once the foremost lady of Lanwood, and now she’s reduced to a guest.”
“That’s not true. She’s written to me often and says that the new Lord Lanwood and his mother are very kind. She’s part of the family, she said.”
Mrs Thornhill gave a derisive snort. “You are a fool, Felicity. Now, listen.Think. Lucy has a small amount of her own money, but she is heavily dependent on her new benefactors. They can make her life very uncomfortable, if they wish.”
Felicity swallowed hard. She would be lying if she hadn’t thought of this before. The late Earl had doted on his daughter, and Lucy had adored him in turn. Now, she was thrown on the mercy of strangers, with a portion waiting for her only if she married. If she chose not to marry, she would be in a difficult position indeed. What about if and when the new earl married? What would her position be then?
Heaving a sigh, Mrs Thornhill moved from her armchair, plumping down on the sofa beside Felicity.
“I know you think I am too hard on you,” Mrs Thornhill said quietly. “And it’s even more obvious by your father, who can’t bestir himself to even join us at mealtimes. He’s not a bad man, but… my point is, Felicity, if I hadn’t married your father, I would be nobody and have nothing. In our world, women marry. That is the only choice left open to them. I have seen it again and again, when spinsters are turned out of their homes when their fathers die, thrown on the mercy of unfeeling relatives, forced to live on a fraction of the income they are used to, removed from their friends and the lifestyle they are accustomed to. It can happen far too easily, Felicity. You have no brothers to care for you. You arewasting time.”
A lump rose to Felicity’s throat. To her surprise, Mrs Thornhill took her hand in a cool, loose grasp.
“You are going to the earl’s soiree,” Mrs Thornhill spoke again. “You will act like a lady. You will apply yourself to finding a match. If you do not, your father and I will be forced to take extreme measures to make you pay attention. Your books will be taken away. You will not be allowed to go into your garden. If you continue to be stubborn, I will have all of your plants pulled up and burned. Do you understand me?”
Felicity’s hand lay in her mother’s like a dead fish.
“Yes,” she whispered, her tongue heavy in her mouth.
