“Very good,” Davy said before he went to do his bidding.
Greydon wasn’t quite sure what he was about to walk into. Harriet was always poised and composed, but she had only lost her husband a few days ago. Would she be crying? He hoped not. He was never quite sure what to say or what to do when a woman cried in front of him.
As he approached the study door, he heard his father’s gruff voice echoing in the hall. He wasn’t sure what his father was upset about but no doubt it was a situation of his own making.
He stepped into the room and saw Harriet, who had tears streaming down her face, as she sat across from his father on a settee, dressed in a black gown. She was a beautiful woman with her black hair, thin face, and pointed nose.
A flicker of relief crossed his father’s face when he saw Greydon. “Good, you are home,” he said. “Will you kindly tell Harriet that she will not be receiving one penny of her dowry back?”
Money. That is what this was about. That is what it was always about to his father. If anything cost a farthing over what his father thought was fair, then he would feel as if he had been cheated.
Greydon smiled at Harriet, despite feeling deucedly uncomfortable by her show of emotion. “Good morning, Harriet,” he greeted. “How are you faring?”
She swiped at the tears on her face. “I am well.” Her words sounding anything but believable. “I just came to speak to your father and…” She stopped and started sobbing.
Addressing his father, he asked, “What does the marriage contract say about the dowry?”
“It is to be returned only if he dies within the first year of marriage,” his father replied matter-of-factly. “Harriet and Phineas were married for almost two years.”
Harriet hiccupped. “But how shall I live without Phineas for support?”
“You are entitled to a jointure, which is quite fair, considering the circumstances,” his father responded. “We will continue to support you until you are wed.”
“Where will I live?” Harriet asked.
“You will remain at the townhouse that you shared with Phineas. I will continue to pay for it until the end of the Season. After that, you can reside at the dower house at our country estate,” his father replied.
Harriet stared blankly at him. “You wish to exile me to the dower house?”
Greydon reached into his jacket pocket and removed a white handkerchief. He extended it towards Harriet. “We do not wish to exile you,” he said. “What of your parents? Can you not go live with them?”
“They are living in Russia since my father is an ambassador, and I do not wish to live there,” Harriet revealed as she wiped her cheeks. “But I do not want to live at the dower house either. All of my friends are here in Town.”
“You are a widow now and we are expecting you to mourn my son properly,” his father said firmly.
“I know my duty,” Harriet remarked as she clenched the handkerchief in her hand.
“It would be best if you retired to the dower house right after the funeral,” his father said. “I shall see to the arrangements.”
As his father rose, Harriet shook her head. “I would like to stay in Town until the end of the Season.”
“For what purpose?” his father demanded. “You are in full mourning for a year and half-mourning for six months.”
“This is true, but I am not ready to leave London,” Harriet said.
His father looked displeased by her response. “You are not thinking clearly at the moment and I have work that I need to see to.”
Harriet’s voice was hesitant as she said, “I was hoping to discuss the possibility of me attending Phineas’ funeral.”
“Absolutely not!” his father exclaimed with a swipe of his hand. “Women’s constitutions are much too delicate to maintain a stoic calm in the face of death. I will not have my son’s funeral gossiped about.”
“It isn’t unfathomable for me to attend,” Harriet said.
“I understand your need to say goodbye, but a funeral service is not the appropriate place for you to do so,” his father asserted.
Harriet’s eyes lowered to her lap, and her shoulders slumped. She looked sad, defeated, and Greydon knew that he couldn’t just stand by and not intercede on her behalf.
“I do not think Harriet’s request to attend the funeral is unreasonable,” Greydon said.
