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Every word felt forced, but Daisy had grown used to pretending that she was the perfect young lady, grown used to smiling and saying the sweetest things and being quiet whenever she was required to be. Yet inside her mind was a turmoil of wishes and dreams, hoping that one day her life would not be like this any longer.
“And I, you, Lady Daisy,” Lord Elgin responded with a nod of his head. “Though I do believe we met several times during your childhood; I imagine you do not remember me.”
Though Daisy knew the man’s name well from her father’s stories, he was right. She could not quite remember ever having met him formally, though she was sure she remembered him from seeing him enter her home when she had been too young to attend formal events.
She had been forced to watch from the upper floor of the balcony, hiding behind the bannister so that she could watch the myriad of gowns and suits as they flowed into her father’s ballroom whenever Agnes insisted upon having one of her balls or dinners.
“I am afraid you are right, My Lord,” she admitted, keeping a smile plastered upon her face, knowing that if she insulted one of her father’s oldest and truest friends, she would never hear the end of it. “Though I am pleased to finally meet you formally.”
“Yes, I do believe it is long overdue.” The earl nodded in agreement, and Daisy was pleased that the man did not appear offended by her lack of remembrance.
“Well, Your Grace, are you going to tell the poor girl, or am I?” Lord Elgin insisted, turning to her father. He glanced between George and Daisy Lockhart, the smirk upon his face suggesting that he could see Daisy’s anticipation. “Won’t you put her out of her misery?”
“Daisy, sweetheart,” Lord Balfour began, taking hold of Daisy’s gloved hand, and she braced herself for yet more news to be imparted upon her. From the happiest of smiles on her father’s face, she was sure she would loathe whatever he had to tell her. The two of them had not exactly been seeing eye to eye of late. “Lord Elgin’s second son has been studying medicine at Oxford University.”
The moment Daisy’s favourite place in the world was mentioned, her interest was piqued. Holding her breath so not to get too overly excited, she pinned her gaze on her father. She could feel Lord Elgin watching them both with a smile on his face.
“I would have liked him to pick something other than medicine, but he was most insistent upon it,” the lord admitted with a huff and a shrug, taking a sip of his champagne. From the corner of her eye, Daisy saw his distaste, but what his son studied was of little interest to her. What mattered to her was her father’s mention of the university.
“Lord Elgin has offered his son’s services,” her father continued. “I have decided to hire Philip Radcliff to tutor you.”
A mixture of emotions threatened to overwhelm Daisy in an instant. Heart hammering, she forced those emotions not to show through on her face, choosing instead to allow her mouth to fall in a gentle and courteous smile.
I … um … Father, Lord Elgin, I am at a loss as to what to say,” she admitted because all the excitement, happiness, confusion, and frustration had settled into one emotion deep in her gut, disappointment.Papa, I wish to go to university!
She wanted to whine the words at him, but with Lord Elgin watching on and her father looking more excited than she had seen him in a long time, she couldn’t bring herself to dash his hopes like that. Turning back to Lord Elgin, she added, “It is a kind gesture, My Lord, but is your son truly willing to do such a thing. He must be quite busy with his own learning.”
“Philip is very nearly finished with his current schooling, and I am sure he would be more than happy to help you in your latest venture, Lady Lockhart. Besides …” Lord Elgin smirked at her and offered Lord Balfour a knowing look before adding, “it will keep him out of my hair for the summer.”
Daisy bit back laughter, struggling to stop herself from pointing out that the earl had very little grey hair for his son to get into anyway.
Just accept the proposal,she insisted to herself, trying to tamper her frustration at her father’s current attempt to dissuade her from her thoughts of going to university.I can frighten off this tutor just as I have all others.
All the other tutors her father had ever given her had dismissed themselves due to her constant need to question, correct, and point out the obvious. Her own self-learning had left her with just as much if not more learning than any of the tutors her father had managed to find for her over the years, and she was entirely sure that Lord Elgin’s son would be no different.
Perhaps I might even be able to teach him a thing or two,she thought, the first real smile of the evening spreading across her face.
Chapter 5
Philip was determined to prove to his father that his choice to study medicine had been the right one. School had been his main focus for many years now, sure that he would give his father a reason to be proud of him while his older brother worked hard to become the next great Earl of Elgin.
And so, he often sat in his father’s study well after dark, pawing over old books that had been gathering dust on the bookshelves for as long as he could remember. It still amazed him that his father even owned a single book on medicine, and over the years, Philip had used his allowance to add to the collection to further his studies.
It was in the study, reading a book about the human digestive system by the light of the fireplace, that Lord Elgin found his youngest son. Philip had heard his parents entering the manor five minutes earlier, and a part of him had known that he ought to get up and go and greet them, but he had been unable to pull himself away from what he was reading.
After having been so distracted over the last few weeks by the mysterious strawberry blonde woman who had taken more and more to sitting outside his classroom, he found he was more enamoured with his father’s books than ever. At least if he were to catch up at home, none of his professors could complain too badly about his lack of interest in class.
“Philip, what are you still doing up?” his father demanded almost as soon as he let himself into the study, not bothering to knock. Though why would he when the very room and all its contents truly belonged to him? “I thought your entire reason for missing tonight’s ball was because you wished to get an early night.”
I knew I should have gone to bed an hour ago!Philip thought grimly, remembering the moment his eyelids had begun to grow heavy, and he had considered putting down the book he was reading to take himself up to bed. But then he had found a particularly interesting passage of text, and his exhaustion had been beaten away by his thirst for knowledge.
If only he had listened to his body and gone to bed, he might have been able to avoid any unpleasantness with his father. He was in no doubt as to the fact that his father would insist once more that he could not understand why he had chosen medicine of all things to study. Philip was well aware that his father would have much preferred him to study something such as business or even politics, just as his brother had been forced to do as the heir to the earldom.
“What is the point of having two businessmen in the family?” Philip had pointed out when his father had made his wishes clear. It had taken some persuading, but with a little help from his elder brother, he had managed to get what he wanted.
Now he was forced to live through his father’s underhanded comments and his obvious distaste for his choice.
“I was just finishing up in here,” Philip admitted, lifting the book he was reading, careful not to lose the page he was on. Bending in the corner of the page, so that he would not lose his place, he put the book down on the armrest of his high-backed armchair. “Did you have something you wished to talk to me about, Father?”
