While Lilli took after Lady St. Matthews in tenacity and stubbornness, she missed the extra loving. Gran didn’t coddle or pamper in her indulgence of Lilli. Her form of loving showed when she taught her another task and then gave the task to her as a reward for learning well. Lilli had learned a lot that way, but she could do with a little pampering. Longed for it, actually. Didn’t know how to ask for it or find it. Maybe a husband might be tender, if she chose right.
Her mother had claimed the women in their family were warriors. Lilli grappled with the expectations and the weight of tradition, finding it all a great bother. Sometimes staggering to carry, and yet, all she lived some days. Then to think that some man she didn’t even know would dictate to her and manage her life. The thought could not be tolerated. Why would her mind not settle on a path? It was most annoying.
Chapter Two
Oliver, the Duke of Weston, looked at the papers before him and wondered where to start on this first new round of his father’s private papers. His Grace, now deceased, had tried to help Oliver in the last weeks as he prepared to hand over the estate to his eldest son, but he often grew too weak to do more than half an hour at a time. The breaks the elder man required to recover between sessions were broad, and the time to learn the private information was narrow.
His father, Richard, was more of a private person than Oliver had thought. He knew how to run the estate because he had learned at the duke’s knee since he was old enough to be allowed to follow him throughout his day. However, there were secrets he had not shared, like this guardianship agreement he had committed himself to nearly ten years ago.
Evidently, an acquaintance’s wife had lost her life to bandits while returning home in the family carriage. Richard had come upon the tragedy while returning to his own home and encountered a heartbreaking scene. Oliver could still remember his father’s words.
“She was the most devastated child and yet her courage and strength were easy to see. Her beauty was striking. I have had glimpses over the years, and she has only grown more lovely.”
Richard sat with her until the girl’s father could be fetched. Later, when the bereaved father had left his daughter to be raised by her maternal grandmothers, the man said he was leaving the heartbreak behind him. He asked if the duke could be her guardian should she need it, and he agreed.
The Oliver sent a missive outlining the same to the girl’s grandparents, not having the slightest understanding of their position at present, and that was that. Or it could have been, except it was the one thing his father reiterated a number of times in the last weeks. “Check on the girl and let them know you will take over that obligation if she ever needs it.”
“Yes, Father, I will.”
The letter of introduction had been sent, and after his father died, Oliver, the new Duke of Weston, had informed the young woman’s grandparents of the changed situation. He hoped the girl was grown and married off by now and that would be the end of the obligation. He should be so lucky. In other business areas, it was not as easy.
Oliver asked his mother about her knowledge of the girl and was not surprised at her response.
“Your father, brilliant businessman that he was in most areas, was a private man, even from me. I know where his money is kept, and I know how to pay the staff. The housekeeping books were not kept from me, but his gambling was hushed even though I doubt it amounted to much. I don’t know where his will is, nor do I know where the land deeds, or paperwork like that are kept. I imagine his study.”
“He told me where most things are but his arrangements with the house in London, the tenants on the land, and a few other things must be in his paperwork. What his arrangementwith his siblings is, I have no information. But I expect them to demand their fair share, so the will is most important to retrieve. We must read it several times and be clear on what it says before interpreting it to the family. They have proven themselves petty over the years so prepare yourself.”
“Yes.” He reached for his whiskey. “I also sent a message to father’s possible ward declaring me as the new guardian should they need that service.”
“That girl held your father’s admiration from the day he met her.”
“Did that cause you any worry?”
“A child? Not a moment for the reason you think. He didn’t take any affection from us, but it did cause me to mourn that he didn’t have any daughters of his own. If she had needed him to take over her care, he would have done it, and I believe it would have filled the gap we had in our family. But that is all. We had sons. but a daughter would have been nice, too. I’m so looking forward to having a couple of daughters-in-law and hopefully a granddaughter.”
“How old would she be now? The young girl.”
“Nearly twenty, I think.”
“She might be betrothed by now or even married.” He sighed his relief at this possibly not being an issue for him to deal with at all.
“Well, we have not had word and because of your father’s role in her life, I believe we would have been invited to anything such as an engagement party for her. We were invited to her coming out but her grandmother died just days before, so of course it was called off. I don’t believe she ever had her introduction ball. I imagine life is different with just her great-grandmother, Lady St. Matthews, left.”
“Yes, I imagine you are right. Well, we will see how they respond to the message.”
Now he had all the private paperwork of his father’s life, and it was time to put things in order. His solicitor said he would come himself if things were not self-explanatory. Oliver couldn’t stop thinking about the young woman. Lilliana, the document said. He hoped the young lady was not too tiresome, for he’d had enough emotionally draining women over the past years.
Oliver wanted to find a woman who would meet his particular, not for public knowledge, needs. When he was in London, it was not too much of a challenge to find someone who would cater to him short-term. They called him Sir, not Papa or Daddy. That was set aside for his future wife and children. He called his paternal parent Father, but he rather thought he’d like his own offspring to call him Papa.
He had decided long before seeking a wife that she would address him as “Daddy.” The young women who warmed his bed for coin used “Sir,” which soothed but never satisfied the yearning within him. Still, Daddy was too precious a name for anyone but his wife to use.
He wanted a woman who could run his house alone and alongside his mother when necessary. She would set an elegant tea, presiding as was her due, with other ladies. Later, their children would demand a larger portion of her time, but in the beginning, he would have her all to himself. Those early months would be invaluable, to teach her what he expected and to learn how to provide for her desires as well. ?
She would yield to him everywhere: in his library during their evening discussions, in the ballroom as they hosted, in the playroom where he indulged her, and in the bedroom where his word was law.
Many women might accept such arrangements out of necessity to hold the title of Duchess, but he sought one who hungered for them instinctively. She would be a passionate loverwho could transform into his impish little girl at his command or naturally out of her own need.
It was a delicate matter and no easy task to discern who was an admirable candidate. Many women of his acquaintance were spoiled, but he wanted something different. He would be Daddy, and she would be his little girl. He would choose a woman who craved his authority not from desperation but from desire. One who would welcome his embrace, accept his discipline, and still maintain his home impeccably. She would crave what he craved. Companionship, to surrender her control to his loving embrace. Comfort, security and children would be among their goals. She would bask under his protection and bow to his possession.
