“Yes, it would ease my mind immensely.”
Perhaps if he had less to worry about, his sickening would slow. Perhaps all the worry he had felt for her these past two weeks had worsened his condition.
“I will, Father,” she said. And with those words a light went out inside of her. That love she had felt for two short months was put to rest. She would marry Lord Beauchamp after all.
Unless, a part of her whispered,Michael came to me after all.
Please God! Please?
Exactly one week later,following a brief and somber ceremony, Lilly rode in another coach. This time with her husband.
A husband who was not Michael.
She made a mental attempt at summoning some pleasure, anticipating a closer relationship with her niece, but she hadn’t the energy.
She sighed.
Lord Beauchamp glanced up from his reading with narrowed eyes. “You’re slimmer than you were last Christmas.” He spoke grudgingly. “Almost like Rose, only she was taller.”
“I wish Rose was here.” If Rose were here, then Lord Beauchamp would not have needed a wife. Perhaps her father would not have sickened.
Lord Beauchamp’s eyes seemed even glassier than normal for a few moments, then realizing he had not responded to her, he nodded and went back to his letters.
Even while Rose had been alive, the baron had never been a particularly amiable man. And in the years since her death, he’d grown even more morose. His reddish hair, even his horrible mustache, were now streaked with gray. His eyes were dull, his skin white and pasty, and his lips pinched thin, always disapproving. Lilly turned her head away from him.
God help her, she was terrified to contemplate her wedding night.
Surely her brother-in-law had no desire to consummate their marriage. Surely not! There had been no discussion on the topic, but of course, it was to be a white marriage, wasn’t it?
When they arrived at Beauchamp Manor, Lilly climbed out of the carriage, stiff and tired. Since returning from Edgewater Heights, she had gradually come to feel her heart was exhausted from lost love.
It pumped only what was required to keep her alive.
Having rained for most of the day, the weather precluded the servants from lining up outdoors to greet their employer’s new wife. They stood in a formal line along the entrance hall instead. Lilly hadn’t paid a great deal of attention to the manorwhen visiting before. Her attention had been diverted by spending time with her sister, and then later, with her niece. Now, as she entered, she looked around and thought it gloomy and the air stifling. A life-size painting of her sister hung on the wall near the staircase—the perfect English rose.
The painting had been commissioned around the time of her wedding, and her smile spoke of happiness untold. It ought to make Lilly happy, seeing an image of Rose like this, but on this occasion, it did just the opposite. In fact, Lilly turned her gaze away from it quickly.
Except that Rose was memorialized throughout the house.
On every pedestal was a vase. In every vase, roses. Fresh roses in some, dried in others. No wonder the air was thick with perfume. It was pungent with the scent of roses.
Lord Beauchamp cleared his throat so he might have her attention. Lilly obeyed his nod and faced the servants.
“Mr. Richards, Mrs. Bertie, this is the new baroness, Lady Beauchamp. Lilly, Richards and Bertie have the house well in hand. If you are in need of anything, direct your requests to either of them. Mr. Richards and Mrs. Bertie manage the household to my standards. You need not interfere.”
Lilly blinked in surprise. Surely it was the lady of the house who managed the home? But she would not argue today. Exhausted from the turmoil of the past month, she lacked the energy to address such a trivial matter right now.
The baron then introduced a dozen or more servants to her. She nodded and greeted them but knew she would not remember most of their names. Today had been a nightmare with no end in sight. And yet, tomorrow held only bleakness.
“I’ll show you to your chamber.” The baron winged his arm in her direction.
Lilly had been introduced to too many servants to remember, but her young niece was nowhere to be seen. “Is Glenda napping? I was looking forward to seeing her.” The prospect ofspending time with her sister’s daughter was like a candle in the darkness.
“She and her current governess, Miss Hokes, are with an aunt of mine in Wales this summer.” His voice sounded matter-of-fact. “Glenda will return here for a few weeks and then depart again for school. Miss Hokes will leave us for a new post at that time. Your father suggested you perform the duties of a governess to Glenda while she is at home.”
A governess? Not a mother? Was that not part of why the baron needed a wife? So that Glenda would have a mother? Lilly looked over at the man she’d married. He continued holding out his arm for her to take. His pale face showed impatience.
She was not comfortable taking his arm. There’d never been a need until today. It felt…awkward.
