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“The Earl of Gillingham’s daughter? You want to marry her?”
“Yes, I do.”
“But… they’re practically penniless! They have no money! And you want our family to be attached to them?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Derrick spread his hands. “Getting married to me would help them. Her father is sick, and she’s in need of support regarding her sisters. I can give that to her.”
“You think marrying a penniless woman is going to help anyone?”
“It will be beneficial to both of us.”
“How? Just how?”
“She’s what I would want in my wife, Mother. She’s just what I need.” Derrick shrugged. “It may not be a love match, which is what I wanted, but we get along well enough that it would be a marriage that would work between us. If I have to marry someone, I’d rather be with a woman I can get along with.”
“But her? Really?” Lady Northampton demanded. “She’s got nothing to offer us!”
“Didn’t you hear what I’ve just said, Mother? She has got plenty to offer me.”
“Not in terms of connections! Or money! As far as everyone is concerned, their family is not one to touch because they have no money. How is that an enticing marriage?”
Derrick frowned. “Her sisters are quite popular. They’re getting flowers sent to them so much their home could pass as a flower shop. And I’ve seen the attention they get.”
Lady Northampton snorted rudely. “They’re just playthings to pass the time. I’ve heard it from some of my friends whose sons are quite taken with them. They may flirt and have a bit of fun with the girls, but nobody’s going to marry them when they have nothing to offer. Beauty means nothing if they don’t have money.”
Derrick couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He stood up and glared at his mother.
“So what are you saying?” he asked in a low voice. “Are you saying that you don’t approve of my choice after you said you would give me freedom to choose?”
“Of course I don’t approve! Why would I approve of someone who would bring nothing to the family?”
“You prefer the social standing and monetary value of a woman rather than who they are as a person?”
“That’s how things are, Derrick! You have to be thinking about that, especially down the line. What is everyone going to think if you end up marrying a penniless nobody?”
“How is she a nobody when she’s an earl’s daughter?”
Lady Northampton scoffed. “She may have the title, but that means nothing when there isn’t a wealthy bank account attached to it.” She folded her arms. “I refuse to let this happen. You are not marrying a girl like her. I won’t allow it.”
Derrick was almost about to protest when he remembered something. He drew himself up and fixed his mother with a hard stare.
“You’re forgetting something, aren’t you, Mother? I’m not a little boy for whom you can dictate what I can and can’t do. I’m the Earl of Northampton, which means I have authority over anything you do.”
Lady Northampton’s head snapped up. “What?”
“Of course I can tell you what I’m doing with my life, and I’m happy to do that. But you can’t tell me what I can and can’t do. And I intend to marry Eleanora Drummond.”
His mother’s face had gone pale. She looked like she was about to faint. She shook her head.
“No,” she said softly. “I won’t be allowing it.”
“Like I said, I don’t care what you think. You can make objections all you want, but I’m not going to take it under advisement. I know who I want to marry, and I’m going to do it as soon as I can.”
“No, you can’t.” Lady Northampton’s voice was starting to fade. “I said you could choose who to marry if it was before your thirtieth birthday, but I can’t tolerate this.”
“You can’t really complain. I found a wife on my own. And she is going to become my wife.” Derrick stepped towards her. “Don’t think about objecting, Mother. Because if you do, I have no problems with cutting you out of my life.”
“What? You would cut me out over this?”
