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He looked at me long and hard, then ran a hand over his face and helplessly turned to his mother. “She cannot go to them. I promised she would not.”
“Promised who?”
“I promised Thea that if she returned with me to Chelton, we would not force her to go to Cousin Matthew’s.”
“Lord Claverley,” Lady Edith corrected. “He has the title because he is anearl. We need his status in order to receive the invitations necessary to find Thea a decent match.”
“But why?” Benedict asked. “Her parents were perfectly respectable. There is no scandal associated with the Northcott name.”
Silence fell over us with the heavy thickness of an impenetrable fog. Lady Edith looked to me, her eyes holding the secrets that I’d hoped had long since faded in her memory to nothing. But of course they hadn’t. The Northcott name had not been on wagging tongues in recent years, not with my parents’ deaths having occurred five and six years ago, respectively, but that did not mean my appearance in Society would not breathe new life into the stagnant scandals that had faded to a dormant state.
“What is it?” Benedict asked quietly, sensing that there was something he did not know. “What are we facing?”
Something about the quiet resolution of his voice and the way he had saidwe,as though accepting that he was unavoidably embroiled in my future, made my heart skip a beat.
Lady Edith wrecked the pleasant sensation by bringing me back to the matter at hand. When she spoke, her voice was calm and measured, careful, as though she wished to handle the matter delicately. “I loved Thea’s mother dearly, but after the Northcotts moved to Sweden, she gained a reputation for her infidelity—both she and Mr. Northcott did. If Thea has any hope of gaining a decent match, it will be through the extension of Lord Claverley’s spotless reputation and rank.”
“I do not want his help,” I said, stepping forward and gaining the attention of both Lady Edith and her son. “I never did. I am happy to make my own way, even with the consequences of my parents’ tarnished reputations.”
“Your own way? How will you pay for your own way, then, while your inheritance is tied up with your uncle until you come of age? We are happy to have you here, Thea, but you cannot—” Lady Edith stopped, her gaze seeking the ceiling. She was too kind to say that I could not rely on their charity forever. But I did not need to. I had money . . . just not any access to it yet.
“I have never desired to marry a gentleman, and I certainly would prefer not to live under Lord Claverley’s care. I refuse, as Benedict is perfectly aware, and I only agreed to return to Chelton under the stipulation that the agreement with Lord and Lady Claverley would be nullified.”
She looked to her son. “Is this true?”
Benedict nodded, but he watched me. “It is. I went to Cousin Matthew’s house today to inform him that Thea is now with us, and that she will remain here.”
Lady Edith shook her head. “He will not be pleased. He wants our money.”
Benedict and I both looked sharply at Lady Edith.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You are both aware of how he avoids conflict and scandal, yes? I could find no other way to entice him to help us than to offer a healthy sum in exchange for his assistance.”
Benedict sneered. “He deserves to lose it, then. Greedy git.”
“You were going to pay Lord and Lady Claverley to be my chaperones?” I pressed my lips together in order to avoid speaking further and angering Lady Edith, but the revelation stung, especially when I had been so vocal about my disdain for the Season and my desire to find a love match. I could not bear to be shackled to a gentleman—not when gentlemen in my life had so far proved their unwillingness to commit to one woman.
“Perhaps not anymore. If Benedict has ruined—”
“Iwill notstay with them,” I said. She could not make me go to them, for she was not my mother or my guardian. As Benedict had previously reminded me, I had nearly reached my majority, and was close enough to be entitled to some say in my own life. “I was perfectly content in my last position before Benedict forced me to come home with him.”
Lady Edith looked at me as though I was a feral cat and she did not know how to contain my outburst. It was immature of me, I would grant her that.
“Until you are twenty-one, you do not have a choice in the matter. Since I have the fortune of being your godmother, your uncle has seen fit to grant me control over your inheritance. He will not move to grant or deny any of your requests without my approval until you are of age.”
Another layer revealed. “You are in communication with Uncle Northcott?” The wretch had not wanted me. He had sent me here the moment I’d landed on his front door. I did not wish to be with my uncle any more than he wished to have me, and the idea that he communicated with anyone about me was a shock, since I had not heard from the man in years. My quarterly allowance had always been sent to me by his man of business, and any notices by that same man.
“I had no other choice,” Lady Edith said. “He is your legal guardian.”
I turned and sat hard on a wooden chair at the round, empty breakfast table. I could not fault her, for it made perfect sense that she would write to Uncle Northcott. How else was Lady Edith to have paid for my schooling or retrieved funds for new clothing or books I needed? He was irascible and a solitary creature, but until I reached my next birthday, he was legally responsible for me.
Except he had passed all responsibility to Lady Edith, had even given her the authority to manage my income. She watched me now with trepidation, and I couldn’t help the flood of compassion and gratitude that swelled within me. As one of my mother’s dearest friends, Lady Edith had done all she had for me merely out of the goodness of her heart, and I had repaid her poorly.
My expression was undoubtedly as conflicted as my heart. Benedict looked at me with uncertainty, as though he did not know whether to offer me comfort or leave me in peace.
“It is growing late, and we have much to consider,” Lady Edith said as though she had not revealed excruciating truths about my situation. “We need to find a way to mend the situation to our best advantage.”
