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“What do you mean?” she asked. “What’s happened?”
The viscountess took a deep breath, looking away from her daughter, shame in her eyes.
“Our fortune is almost gone, dear,” she said. It was clear to Rowena that her mother was struggling to keep her emotions under control, and Rowena didn’t want to make things worse for her. But she didn’t understand how the viscountess’s words could be true.
“But how can that be, Mother?” she asked, her brows knitting. “Haven’t Father’s investments and business ventures always been successful and prosperous? Are you saying something serious has happened to change that?”
The viscountess glanced up at her daughter, and Rowena saw tears in her eyes.
“I do not know, exactly,” she said, sounding truthful enough. But Rowena thought she could also detect an air of suspicion in her mother’s voice. She sighed heavily.
“So, has some venture failed?” she asked.
Her mother nodded.
“I believe that’s part of it,” she replied. “Your father wouldn’t tell me much. Just that we are in financial trouble, and that he believes finding a wealthy husband for you is the only way to salvage our situation. He hopes such a match will benefit the entire family and rescue us from ruin.”
Rowena felt her face go numb. She could not believe the fate of her family now rested solely on her shoulders.
“But why?” she asked, beginning to panic. “How could he possibly think such a thing? What makes him think any gentleman would ever want to marry a spinster like me, let alone a wealthy one?”
The viscountess embraced her daughter and patted her back, but it offered Rowena little comfort.
“I know this is hard, darling,” the viscountess said, “and I am very sorry. But please, I must ask you to keep this discussion between us. Do not speak a word of this to your sisters.”
Rowena stepped back to look at her mother’s face. The viscountess looked exhausted, with blue rings beneath her eyes and skin as pale as paper. Despite her own distress, Rowena’s heart went out to her. What was afoot was just as unfair to her mother as it was to her. And her making a scene would not make things any better. Besides, her elder sister Nancy had been through enough with the loss of her husband to a sudden illness two years prior. Rowena hated keeping secrets, but perhaps this was one that should be kept.
With another heavy sigh, Rowena nodded.
“I promise, Mother,” she said. “I will not tell Nancy or Sybil.”
Chapter One
Andrew spent much of the first few days after returning to London closeted with his mother in his father’s old study. Usually, he tried to avoid his mother as much as possible, so as to reduce her opportunities to put pressure on him to bend to her wishes. However, as he had been away from London for some time, there was also much work to be done, some of which required her help.
Though Andrew was a mere baron, he was nevertheless very wealthy. His late father had made wise investments throughout his life, and they continued to draw in great profits for the family to enjoy. It was the reason why Andrew had been able to do so little in the way of work while staying in the country. But now, he had letters to write, meetings to attend, and new business ventures of his own to try to establish.
A week after being back in London, Andrew joined his mother for breakfast. After the meal, he intended to spend the morning writing to some of his father’s business associates regarding the matter of shipments and any requisite business trips.
His father had not been a likable man, not even to his family. The late baron had been cruel, caring only for amassing wealth, and obsessed with proving that a baron was just as distinguished as any duke.
Andrew wondered if his associates in London were of like minds. He certainly hoped not. He was very much the opposite of his father. The idea of working with such men made Andrew’s stomach churn.
“Have you forgotten your manners?” Lady Elsbrook, his mother, asked in her usual prim way.
Andrew resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he realized he had passed her seat without bowing and kissing her cheek. He did so then, giving her a tight smile.
“Good morning, Mother,” he said stiffly. “Forgive me. I am thinking of the work I must attend to directly after breakfast.”
The dowager baroness nodded in acknowledgment.
“I understand you have pressing business,” she said, “but a man must never forget proper behavior, not even when in the comfort of his own home.”
Andrew bit his tongue as he took his seat. It would do no good to point out that his father had always been too busy calculating his next profitable venture to bother with proper conduct during mealtimes at home.
“Forgive me,” he said again.
The baroness nodded again, seemingly satisfied with his repentance.
