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She took a deep breath and led her mother over to one of the stone benches. They sat, and she took her hand between hers. “I visit on the invitation of Lord Wyndham to his country estate.”
Her mother fell silent, her mouth frozen in a small ‘O’ of astonishment. “Oh, Felicity, I never wanted that for you.”
“What for me, mama?”
“To be a man’s mistress. I—”
Felicity choked and flushed. “I assure you, mama, the earl is not interested in me in…any amorous capacity. His grandmother and mother will be in residence, and though I should hope at my age I have a certain freedom, there shall be ample chaperonage.”
Her mother nodded slowly. “It will be good for you to make more connections, but why are you going there?”
“He has asked me to pretend to be his fiancée.”
Her mother stared at her with incomprehension. “Pretend?”
“Yes, to fool his grandmother. But mama, you must not speak of this to anyone! Not even the dowager duchess.”
“Good gracious!” Her mother glanced to where she had seen the earl, but he had moved on. “Why would he need to do this? And why would you help him in this terrible scheme?”
Felicity laughed lightly. “I am not so certain it is terrible, but his grandmother is ill, and Lord Wyndham had invented this fiancée some time ago in the hope of stopping her matchmaking efforts. I think he wants to make her happy.”
“Fine, but why are you helping him?”
She took a deep breath. “He is paying me five thousand pounds.”
Her mother looked ready to faint. “Fivethousand pounds?”
“Yes.”
Her mother’s hand fluttered to her chest. “Perhaps you misunderstood the earl’s intentions?”
She smiled gently. “No, mama, only this morning, the agreed half of two thousand five hundred pounds bank draft was delivered to me at the dowager’s home. Her Grace is assisting me with the necessary arrangements with a solicitor to deal with our banking matters. I have thought about it in great detail, mama, and I believe this is an opportunity I dare not dismiss. We might gain a measure of financial independence that will see us no longer a burden upon others.”
Her mother appeared afraid to hope. “This is…the entire affair is inconceivable. Why would a man pay such a fortune for this scheme?”
“I wondered the same thing, and as a few ladies mentioned at the club, gentlemen often lose more than that in a night of gambling!” She lifted a shoulder in an elegant shrug. “Perhaps the sum is negligible to a man of the earl’s consequences.” Or perhaps it was a kindness because he knew her to be a servant of a sort.
Her mother thought for several moments, then she nodded. “The sum invested also shows this affair is important to him. Are you certain he is not asking this of you under the guise to tempt you to be his soiled dove? It is a reality far too certain for a young lady without protection or means of wealth and connection,” she said softly.
She leaned over and brushed a tender kiss over her mother’s cheek. “I assure you, the reason the earl perhaps considered me for this delicate role is that he is quite immune to my nonexistent charm.”
“Pish!” her mother said. “You are lovely, and that man would be a fool if he does not know it!”
Felicity laughed and urged her mother to stand. They continued strolling through the park, discussing the matter. She promised her mother to write and appraise her of all happenings, for it was clear her mother worried she might fall under the earl’s wicked spell. Felicity reassured her she was far too practical to ever be so swayed; however, she recalled that brief but delightful brush of his mouth on hers and that they would share at least eight more kisses. She was frightfully aware of the wish that the earl might indeed be tempted by her charms.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Almost a week later, Felicity strolled inside one of the most beautiful manors she had ever seen. Phineas had told her it boasted over seventy rooms and sat on two hundred acres of lawns and woodlands. From what she had seen as the carriage clambered along the long driveway, admiring the gorgeous beech trees that lined it, the estate grounds were glorious and situated around a most splendid lake. She wondered whether the lake had been formed by damming part of a nearby stream or had been dug out to satisfy the conceit of some landscape designer at a former earl’s request. The manor with its sweeping arched entrance and high ceilings was no less glorious. She had the impression of fine furniture and grand paintings and a twinned winding staircase while she was led by a proud housekeeper into a large and tastefully furnished drawing room.
Inside that room, five ladies waited, all so beautifully arrayed and drinking tea. Five pairs of eyes touched upon and stared at her with varying degrees of curiosity and suspicion. As to how she had been practicing calling him, Phineas entered behind her and gently rested his hand at the small of her back.
A gentle nudge urged her forward. As she strolled further into the room, she was quite aware of the dreadful anxiety searing her.Drat. They had practiced this several times in their hours of travel. She had no reason to be nervous. From his vivid descriptions, she could even identify his grandmother, mother, and sisters individually.
“Nanna,” he said, “Allow me to present my fiancée, Miss Jane Felicity Harrington. My dear, please meet my grandmother, the Dowager Countess of Wyndham.”
Felicity dipped into a deep curtsy. “Lady Wyndham, a pleasure to meet you.”
Next, he introduced his mother and sisters, Mary, Sarah, and Annabelle. The two eldest, Mary and Sarah, were married and were both viscountesses. Annabelle referred to herself as a proud bluestocking. Mary shared Phineas’s blue eyes and black hair; in fact, they would be easily recognized as siblings. However, like their mother, Sarah and Annabelle were blondes, although Annabelle’s hair was a brighter gold. She had green eyes, whereas her mother’s were more hazel in color. Phineas’s mother was slim despite childbearing, and her hair was devoid of any silver threads hinting at a ruthless chamomile rinse regime similar to several of the blonde matrons Felicity and her mother had as patronesses. The ladies of his family presented a very pretty picture, and they clearly knew it.
