“Thank you,” Eliza whispered into the night.
Chapter Five
Sophie was still snoring—notthat she would admit to such a condition—when Eliza woke with no small amount of trepidation. She rather owed her mother an apology and was not excited to deliver it.
Eliza stepped into the breakfast room to find only her father buried in a book, and her relief was great. She kissed the crown of his head and sat. As she filled her plate, her mood lifted.
“Good morning, petal,” he murmured. Eliza rolled her eyes at the childish nickname, even as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Then vanished at the snap of his book as it closed.
“Good morning, Papa.” She delivered the greeting quietly to her cooling eggs.
“You can bring the smile back. I’m not cross and merely wish to talk.”
“I know I owe Mama an apology. I?—”
“Your mother owes you an apology—though one from you for the way you spoke to her would not go amiss. So do I.”
“What?”
“I had no idea you felt so… unappreciated.”
With a gasp, she turned to meet his gaze. His eyes were the same worn brown she saw in the mirror, though his had creased at the corners. Sophie inherited his near-black waves—without her father’s grey streaks at the temples—while Eliza earned her mother’s lighter, unruly curls.
“I knew you were unhappy, that the season wasn’t progressing as you wished. But I thought your dissatisfaction lay in the difficulty of finding a man worthy of you. Not thatyoufelt unworthy of them.”
“I— It’s so easy for Sophie.”
Her father squeezed her hand. “Oh, Lizzie—I know you findLizzieto be childish and prefer Eliza now, but you will always be my Lizzie. You must allow me this indulgence. It is easy for Sophie, not because she is prettier or livelier than you—she is not—but because she does not care. If she says something silly to a foppish lord, she laughs it off and moves on to the next. Youcareso much. You feel even the slightest misstep so keenly—you always have—you allow it to consume you. I hadn’t realized that it translated even to this.”
“Oh, Papa. I’ve become a jealous wretch, and Ihateit. I hate feeling this way. I love Sophie. I want her to find a man who loves and respects her. But I ache watching from the wall each night, while the gentlemen line up to speak with her. It’s hard to walk downstairs each morning and see every surface of the drawing room filled with flowers all for her—she doesn’t even like flowers.”
“ThatI understand. Not the flowers—I agree with your sister on those; they’re ridiculous. Jealousy, though… I know her well.”
“But you’re so happy.”
“Now. But you know how I grew up. I managed the Grayson estate for your uncle until he came of age. It wasn’t easy managing a viscounty and then transferring it to Hugh—who was not at all grateful. When I met your mother… daughter ofan earl and engaged to a duke… How was a viscount’s bastard to compete? It was devastating. I hated Hugh in that moment, and many that came before. He swanned around with a title he’d done nothing to earn—a title that would’ve made me respectable enough to offer for your mother.”
“But she chose you.”
“Yes, she did,” he said, a crooked smile blooming on his face. “But I didn’t know that then. And you do not know what will happen now. You don’t understand your power. You’re beautiful, charming—and wealth is the least of it. I respect this Lord Sinclair for being the first man brave enough to throw his hat into the ring. But you cannot lose your head over him simply because he was the first. He won’t be the last.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. I rather think that now that one has braved your stern countenance and they’ve all seen your smile, the rest will follow.”
Eliza doubted that, but she offered her father a small smile as a concession. “None so handsome as him,” she teased.
Her father rolled his eyes. “Yes, I heard a great deal about how handsome he was from your mother. I suspectshemight be your competition.”
A flush heated Eliza’s cheeks. “You do not know him? He implied he didn’t know the club.”
“I do not. I agree with your mother that he is certainly aware of the club. But he’s not a regular.”
“Perhaps then, his reputation is exaggerated?”
He sighed. “I do not wish to get your hopes up. He may be entirely unsuitable for polite society for reasons other than gaming. But I will look into him. Is that fair?”
“I doubt he will wish to speak to me after Uncle Hugh’s display. But…”
