Page 74 of Wedding the Widow

“Because . . .” Elizabeth gazed down at her lap, unable to meet Dotty’s puzzled expression.

“Elizabeth!” Bella’s hushed voice sounded loud in her ears. “You aren’t . . .”

“Yes, I am.” Still keeping her head down, she forced the admission out from between clenched teeth.

A sharp gasp from Bella, and Elizabeth wanted to bury her face in her lap.

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Dotty’s voice was a mixture of exasperation and bewilderment.

In the silence that followed her question, Elizabeth raised her head to find her sister scowling first at her, then at her mother. It was her fault. She must be the one to explain. “I am already carrying Lord Brack’s child, Dotty.”

The shock in her sister’s face was almost comical. “Elizabeth! You can’t do that. You’re not married to him yet!”

“Hold your tongue, Dorothea.” Mama snapped at her. “This is not a discussion for the ears of a girl betrothed, much less one not yet out. However, as it could well affect your prospects, I suppose you must hear it.” Marshaling a calmness she certainly must not feel, Mama stared into Dotty’s face. “A woman does not have to be married to have a baby. She is ruined if she does, so take note of that, miss, but the fact remains that it is not impossible to do so. Elizabeth and Lord Brack will marry soon, so we hope it will be of no consequence for us. However”—Mama pinned her youngest daughter with an evil glare—“you should not take their somewhat special circumstances as an example to follow.”

“Oh, no, Mama.” Dotty scooted away from Elizabeth as though she might contract leprosy.

“Lord Brack,” her mother turned her keen gaze toward Jemmy, “do you know the direction of your father’s letter to Lady Locke?”

“No, I’m afraid not, my lady.”

The smile that touched Mama’s mouth had an air of triumph to it. “Well, even so, I am thinking that perhaps we are not quite lost after all.” She sat back and took up one of the lobster patties.

“How so, Mama?” Elizabeth grasped her teacup and added another lump of sugar. After this conversation, she needed some fortifications of her own.

“Yesterday, when I was visiting Lady Gant, I learned that Lady Locke, who is her cousin, has left London and gone to her daughter’s home in Northumberland. So if Lord Blackham isn’t possessed of this particular piece of news, and likely he isn’t, he will have sent the letter to either the lady’s London address or to her late husband’s estate in West Sussex. In either case”—her mother’s voice took on that triumphant sound reserved for her particularly satisfying coups—“it will languish for at least a month, unless she’s left instructions to have her mail sent to her. Should that be the case, we should still have a week or more, what with the holiday and the state of the post roads in this weather. As soon as you are married, we can put it about that your father was trying to discourage the match, Lord Brack. Then when Lady Locke’s letter comes to light, we will have already sown the seeds of doubt.”

“Whatever the case, we should marry as soon as possible, to help dispel any rumors that might pop up.” Jemmy came forward again and sat beside Elizabeth. “The problem remains that I will not inherit the bulk of my mother’s money until I am thirty. That is only until next August, but it will be a hardship until then.”

“So you propose to marry my daughter when you have no means whatsoever of supporting her?” Mama drew herself up from the depths of the wing-backed chair like a dragon emerging from its lair.

He raised his chin and looked her parents squarely in their faces. “I intend to lay the problem before my mother’s father after Elizabeth and I marry. He may feel inclined to assist us for the few months it will take to get past this obstacle.”

“And at this point, my dear”—Papa hastened to deflect her mother’s wrath—“I think they have very little choice.” He nodded to Jemmy, kindness in his eyes. “I believe we can accommodate you and Elizabeth here at Worth House, Brack, until August. This is not the time for Elizabeth to be any more distressed than she already has been.”

“Thank you, my lord, for that generous offer, but I am in the process of working out a solution on my own.” Jemmy’s lips were set in a very firm line, but his ears had turned a disturbing shade of pink. Did that happen when he was under duress?

“I understand your wanting to provide for you family yourself, young man,” Mama came back at him, determinedly, “but my daughter is in a delicate condition. She has two children who should not be uprooted higgledy-piggledy. I insist that you remain with us after the wedding and until the child is born. Then you may set up your housekeeping wherever you wish and move them all into it. Not a day before.” Her gimlet eye made even Jemmy squirm.

“We needn’t settle every detail this instant.” Elizabeth rose, hoping to spread a soothing oil on the roiling waters. “But we will need to discuss plans for the wedding over dinner. And since Jem—Lord Brack—has had a rather tiring two days, I suggest he be allowed to refresh himself before dinner.” She smiled at Jemmy. “Let me show you to your chamber. The Alexander Room, Mama?” Decorated with pictures of Alexander the Great and many military hangings and artifacts, it was the most important guest room in the house.

“Yes. I think that will serve well for Lord Brack.”

Jemmy bowed. “Thank you, my lady. My lord.”

“Tell Porter to see to him,” her mother called as they left the room.

* * *

“Well, that went much better than I had anticipated.” Jemmy laughed as they headed down the carpeted corridor and turned to the right.

“Indeed, it did, considering that two hours ago Mama wanted to give you the cut direct. Now she’s got you in the best guest room and is practically forcing us to live with her.” Elizabeth sighed. “That may be a mixed blessing. Dickon and I lived with my parents for a short time after we married. It was difficult to be . . . intimate while under my parents’ watchful eye.”

“Considering the alternative, I believe we will learn to live with the arrangement, my love.” He took her hand and kissed it.

“What was the alternative solution you spoke of just now? Is that something we should still pursue?”

He chuckled and tucked her arm back into his. “A bluff, pure and simple. I had no plan in mind other than the one to ask my grandfather for assistance. But I have found that if you claim to have one, people take you more seriously.”