He rose from his seat when he saw her. “Simone,” he greeted. “Good, you came.”
Simone waved him back down as she went to sit down to the right of him. “Is everything all right?”
Her father gave her a blank stare. “Yes, why wouldn’t it be?”
“I was just surprised you wished to dine with me for breakfast,” Simone replied. “Not that I am complaining.”
“There is something I wish to discuss with you, and it is of a delicate nature,” her father said.
Simone assumed he wanted to tell her that he was selling her grandmother’s estate, but she couldn’t let on that sheknew. “What is it?” she asked as a footman placed a plate of food in front of her.
Her father met her gaze. “As you know, it has been almost two years since your mother died and I have been rather lonely,” he started. “Which is why I have asked my mistress to move in with us.”
Her mouth dropped, but she quickly recovered. “You have a mistress? And you want her to live here, with us?”
“That is right.”
Leaning back in her seat, Simone asked, “How long have you had a mistress?”
“Honestly, it is none of your business,” her father replied, dismissively. “Miss Laurent and I have been very happy, and I want to include you in that part of my life.”
“Then why not marry her?”
Her father stiffened. “My reasons are my own.”
“Father, you can’t be serious,” Simone said. “Thetonwill not be kind to your mistress. She won’t be welcome at any social events that we attend.”
“You must let me deal with that.”
Simone decided to try a different tactic, one that might sway her father. “If you are in earnest about Miss Laurent moving in with us, it might affect the ability for me to pick a suitor. I could very well be ostracized by thetondue to the scandal it could cause.”
Her father’s face grew hard. “You have had your chance to be happy. It is my turn now.”
“But, Father?—”
He cut her off. “It is done,” he shouted. “Miss Laurent will be moving in later today and she will be residing in your mother’s old bedchamber.”
“Mother’s bedchamber?!Surely you cannot be serious!” Simone demanded. “How is it that you can replace Mother so easily?”
“I do not see it as her being replaced,” her father responded.
Simone shoved back her chair and rose. “I didn’t complain when you removed Mother’s portrait from the drawing room, but now you have gone too far.”
Rising, her father said, “You are emotional. We will continue this conversation when you stop being so hysterical.”
“I will never stop fighting for Mother.”
“She is gone!” he exclaimed. “It is time for you to accept that and move on. I have.”
Simone could feel the tears pricking in the back of her eyes and she knew crying would do her no good. If anything, it would prove her father’s point.
While she blinked back her tears, her father’s voice turned calm. “I know this is hard to accept, but you have no choice but to learn to live with it.”
“Do I not even get a say in this?”
Her father returned to his seat. “I didn’t think you would object so heartily.”
“You didn’t think I would object to a stranger taking over my mother’s bedchamber?” she demanded.
