“Much, much worse,” her mother responded. “You can’t go around breaking rules in Society and expect to be accepted by them.”
“But I didn’t break any rules.”
“Forming an attachment is an unwritten contract between a man and a woman,” her mother explained. “It is not something to be taken lightly.”
“But it worked,” she argued. “No one is talking about my tumble in Hyde Park anymore.”
Her mother rose and walked over to the window. After a long moment, she said, “You will break things off with Lord Charles at once and enter a betrothal with Mr. Drew.”
“I will not!” Henrietta cried. “Besides, Mr. Drew doesn’t even want to marry me. He has an understanding with another woman back home.”
“Why do you say that?” her mother asked.
“Because he told me all about Rebecca,” she replied. “She is the daughter of the vicar, but his parents don’t approve because she doesn’t have a dowry.”
Her mother furrowed her brows. “He told you this?”
“He did.”
“If that is the case, then why did he ask your father to draw up the contract to marry you?” her mother asked.
Henrietta reared back. “You are lying.”
“I’m not,” her mother replied. “I was even in the room when he discussed your dowry.”
Henrietta stared back at her mother in disbelief. Why would Mr. Drew do such a thing? He knew that she had no intention of marrying him, so why was he discussing her dowry with her father?
Her mother walked back over to the settee and sat down. “The sensible thing would be to marry Mr. Drew and move back to his estate.”
That would be the sensible thing to do, but Henrietta wasn’t about to throw away her future for someone who had been deceiving her. “I have no desire to marry Mr. Drew, especially after hearing this.”
Marjorie spoke up. “But what of your future?”
“I would rather become a companion than marry Mr. Drew,” Henrietta asserted.
“Is this because he is only gentry?” Marjorie pressed.
Henrietta frowned. “This has nothing to do with his position in society,” she said. “He lied to me.”
“Apparently, you have been lying to us, as well,” her mother muttered. “It would appear that you two deserve each other.”
Henrietta felt the anger build up inside of her, and she knew it was time to ask a few questions of her own. “Are you that disappointed in me, that you would cast me aside?”
“Of course not,” her mother replied. “Your father and I are concerned about your future.”
“Yet you are marrying me off to my cousin.”
It was her mother’s turn to frown. “It is a good match for you.”
Henrietta let out a huff. “You are banishing me to the countryside.”
“No,” her mother said firmly. “We are protecting you from the harsh realities of life. Thetoncan be cruel to people who do not abide by their rules.”
“It is a risk that I am willing to take,” Henrietta said.
Her mother leaned forward in her seat. “Everything we have done is to protect you, you must understand that.”
“It doesn’t seem that way.”
