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“He has a terrible temper,” Michael argued, rubbing his temples. “Her spirit would be crushed in a matter of years. Come on, better than that.”
“The youngest son of the Earl of Carlisle.”
“Edward?” Michael asked, shocked again. “Our old friend?”
“He had a commission for a while, now is back at his father’s home, looking to settle down.”
“Settle down because he’s broke and out of gambling money,” Michael shook his head. “Are bachelors that hard to come by? Lady Lydia would not be an attractive match for him. Her family has no fortune to speak of, hence why she’s in such a desperate need to marry.”
“Well, you’ve shot down all my ideas. How about some of your own?”
Michael tapped his fingers on the desk in front of him, racking his brain for any suitable match for his Lydia. Other eligible bachelors came to mind, but he quickly found fault with all of them. Frustrated, he pushed away from the desk.
“I’ll have to think on it some more. Perhaps, come up with a list of peerage that are unmarried. Surely, there will be someone that is well titled, financially stable, and not old enough to be her father.”
“And not you.”
Michael gave him a cold look.
* * *
After dressing, Lydia wandered down to the front parlor, wondering where the family had gone after breakfast. She found everyone gathered, occupying themselves with their own activities. Kitty sat at the piano, browsing through pages of music. Lionel had a book in hand, her Uncle Francis had a paper. Ranora was working on a sampler. Michael and Joseph were missing.
Lionel looked up first when she entered. “Lady Lydia, we all missed you at breakfast.”
“I was quite affected by yesterday’s long adventure,” she explained, sitting across from Lionel and Ranora. “A hot bath helped me feel more myself.”
“It’s such a shame you never had the opportunity to learn to ride,” Ranora said, hardly looking up from her stitching.
Kitty started playing a song on the pianoforte, distracting Lydia from responding.
“I am curious, what other opportunities did you have in the city?” Ranora continued. “Did you have a thorough education?”
“Most thorough,” Lydia assured her.
Uncle Francis looked up from his paper as though waiting for her to continue.
“Father advocated for us all to have the highest education,” Lydia explained. “We learned French and Latin, learned how to play the pianoforte, how to draw. We all are excellent with embroidery. We are all highly accomplished.”
“Sounds as much as should be expected,” Lionel said kindly. “What other opportunities would you say a young lady should get?”
“I would think my lady could have benefited greatly from traveling, getting to know other families, and making connections. After all, five young girls close in age, all unmarried, says to me a want of connections,” Ranora said matter-of-factly.
Lydia flinched, unable to hide the shock of Ranora’s insult. Kitty stopped playing the pianoforte for a moment to chime in. “It was my family’s ability to make connections, after all, that resulted in my engagement to Mr. Conner.”
“Exactly, the Benrow family had no title and new money, but they made the most of their wealth and circumstances. Such a shame your poor father and mother did not make more of an effort.”
“We did have the misfortune of losing our dear father just over a year ago, it was a huge blow to our family,” Lydia reminded her. “So unfortunate, and at such a critical time in my and my sisters entry into society.”
“Ranora, darling, the girl is barely out of mourning,” Lionel said gently.
“Viscount,” Ranora said, turning her attack. Francis looked annoyed at being disrupted from his paper, briefly. “Now that you’ve taken over Rackcliff, do you find that your brother left a good reputation on the title?”
He looked taken aback at her cutting question, telling her, “Mrs. Conner, we’re a small estate and never had much by way of prowess among the peerage. I do not attribute that to my late bother. He was well liked in society.”
“It’s ill-will to speak of the dead,” Lionel said, snapping his book shut as though to emphasize his point. “After all, Lady Lydia has indeed become engaged to my nephew, who is a good and kind man.”
Ranora tried to hide a small smirk, “You always speak so highly of the duke.”
