“Are you going to tell me I must rush away and find Ian and marry him again? That is what everyone else is saying.”
“And everyone else is quite right, although you need not worry about finding Ian. He is very good at finding you. Izzy, you must marry him. You could be with child again, and you will not want to inflict illegitimacy on another child, I am sure. The sooner you marry, the sooner your life will become normal again, and no one need ever know that there was a point when you were not legally married.”
“I could say the same to you, Mama. Yet here you are, far away from Papa, and not rushing to marry him at all.”
Lady Rennington hesitated. “My case is different, Izzy. I am fifty years old, past the age of having any more children. It would be quite wrong for me to marry your father at this point. He must find himself a new, younger wife, one able to bear him legitimate sons to inherit the earldom.”
Izzy sat bolt upright. “No!You cannot mean it, Mama, youcannot!Papa married to someone else, someone who isnot you?It is unthinkable.”
“Nevertheless,” her mother said implacably, “I have thought of it, and so has your father. It will be best for everyone, Izzy. As things stand, your Uncle George is heir presumptive, and neither he nor your Aunt Jane want to inherit one little bit, nor does Bertram, poor fellow. Such a quiet boy, always with his head in a book. Believe me, it is much better this way. Jane has drawn up a list of suitable candidates, and your father will meet them one at a time, and pick the one he likes best. Then perhaps by this time next year, you will have a new little half-brother.”
Izzy stared at her, aghast, too horrified even to cry.
4: A Fresh Start
Dressing for dinner was even more fraught than usual. Izzy never could make a decision about what to wear, so Brandon was used to laying out several gowns for her to choose from, or hastily pressing others, if required. Brandon never grumbled — Izzy would not employ her if she did — but she had a way of pursing her lips that showed disapproval.
Izzy paced about her room, too agitated to stay still for more than three seconds at a time, giving voice to all her grief for her mother, who was to be cast aside at the age of fifty.
Brandon followed her around the room, removing or adding garments whenever Izzy stood still for long enough, but her lips grew steadily more pursed, until she burst out, “Well, I think it’s a good thing, my lady.”
“My father marrying again? How can it possibly be a good thing?”
“Her ladyship’s taking thought for the future of the family, my lady. Better by far to have a new son to bring up in the properway than have the title fall to those who are unprepared for it. Make a fresh start, like.”
“A fresh start?A fresh start?Is a wife of thirty years to be cast aside so that her husband can make a fresh start? Does he not owe his wife his loyalty? Does he not have a duty to care for her unto death? That is what he swore, so how is it right for him to toss her away as if she were a worn out shoe?”
“It’s what she wishes herself, my lady, and I think—”
“You think?And who asked you for your opinion, Brandon? I certainly did not! You are a servant, and it is not your place to have opinions. If there is one thing I cannot abide, it is a pert servant. Keep your thoughts to yourself, in future. There are plenty more lady’s maids in the world, you know.”
Brandon paled. “Beg pardon, my lady.”
“And get rid of all those gowns. I shall wear the white satin — the one I wore to dinner at Marford House that the Prince of Wales admired.”
“Very good, my lady.”
Izzy was the last down to the Yellow Parlour, where the family had gathered for dinner, owing to getting lost on her way there, so she was already out of temper.
There were four ladies awaiting her. Josie and Lady Rennington shared a single sofa, while Lady Tarvin and Mrs Edward Harfield sat on chairs at opposite sides of the room. Lady Tarvin was Lady Rennington’s sister, a plump, affectionate woman who smiled kindly at her niece, and Izzy greeted her with a kiss.
“Aunt Myrtle! How are you? I did not see you in town this year, not once.”
“No, I have not left Harfield all spring. Heavens, Izzy, there is nothing of you! Do you never eat, child? But I see you have not lost your propensity for being late.”
“I beg your pardon, but it is not my fault… not entirely my fault, anyway. There was no footman on hand to guide me through this rabbit warren that you live in, and I wandered about for an age until I stumbled upon someone to ask.”
Aunt Myrtle only laughed, and allowed her to pass on to the final member of the group.
“Mrs Harfield,” Izzy said, making a decorous curtsy. “You are well, I trust?”
Mrs Edward Harfield was of a different nature, an angular woman who looked Izzy up and down with a disparaging frown. “I am well. It would be more convenient if you could inform us in advance of your coming here, Lady Farramont.”
“Oh, but I never know where I am going until I arrive,” Izzy said lightly.
“Nonsense! You must have known when you set out where you intended to go.”
“But I might have changed my mind, and besides, I only left Corland yesterday. A letter could hardly have reached you before I did myself.”
