CHAPTER 1
“Miss,” the housekeeper said in a soft voice, “your mother wishes to see you.”
Margaret knew what her mother was going to say long before she arrived. Even so, her pulse raced as she approached the drawing room. The subject matter was of no surprise to her, but the suddenness of it all stole her breath from her.
“Maggie?” her sister Poppy asked when they saw one another in the hallway. “Are you well?”
Margaret pushed a dark lock of hair behind her ear, fixing a smile hurriedly. Her sisters were unaware of the circumstances, and she needed to keep it that way.
“Yes, of course, Sister. Mama wishes to see me, that is all, and I do not wish to keep her waiting.”
“You never do,” she chuckled. “I wish that I was half as good a daughter as you, sometimes.”
She hurried on, and Margaret hoped that she would not then also see Emily, for if she did then her two younger sisters would undoubtedly speak of their encounters and compare them.
Fortunately, she reached the drawing room unscathed. She sat across from her mother with her gray eyes steady on her mother’s green ones. There was an undeniable stiffness to her, but she did soften for a brief moment.
“You look just like him, you know,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.
“It must not be the best reminder to receive,” Margaret replied.
“On the contrary. You know that I loved your father very much.”
It was true, but Margaret knew that she was not the preferred daughter. Emily and Poppy were the true beauties of the three of them; blonde ringlets, bright green eyes, delicate little noses and slender figures. It had never been a competition, and Margaret was grateful for that because she knew she could not compete with them.
“Are you well, Mama?” she dared to ask, and her mother sighed.
“I am not. Margaret, do you remember a conversation we had a year ago about our family?”
“Our situation?” she replied, knowing better than to say it outright.
“Indeed. Well, at the time, I knew that we were on borrowed time. That time has come to an end.”
Her heart pounded in her chest, her fingers drumming against her skirts in a vain attempt to calm herself. She wanted to keep herself steady, but there was no use in that when she knew what was coming. She would be the one to shoulder whatever burden was to come. She always had been.
“Your sister debuted last year,” her mother continued. “You are now two-and-twenty, and you have no prospects, whereas your sisters are in their second and third seasons. They could build a life for themselves still, but you… Knowing that I can no longer support three daughters in society, sacrifices must be made by all of us.”
“All of us?” she echoed. “Then why am I the only one sitting here? If all three of us were to be affected, then surely they deserve to know too?”
“I can keep this from them a while longer, and I expect you to do the same. They can have their social season this year, albeit with smaller dowries. They are beautiful girls, and I have no doubt that with their accomplishments they will make their matches quickly enough. You, on the other hand, have never been impressed by a gentleman, and if we are honest and frank you know that even if you did find one, he would not…”
Her voice trailed off, and Margaret wondered if it was to take a breath given how quickly she had spoken. When she did not continue, however, Margaret knew that it was because she did not want to say what they were both thinking.
“He would not want me in return,” she finished for her. “I know.”
“And so,” her mother continued uneasily, “we must make other arrangements. I can only afford to have two of you out, and with you having the fewest prospects, it makes sense that–”
“That I stand aside. I know, and I am more than happy to do it.”
“Happy?”
“Accepting, perhaps, is more apt. The thing is, I know that you were warning me last year. I know that it was your attempt to tell me to lower my standards and take any offer that came my way. I did not do that, and so I must accept the consequences of that. It is a just punishment.”
“It is not a punishment, dear. I do not want you to think that this is because of anything that you have or have not done. It is simply how things have occurred, and there is no changing that.”
“Of course.”
“And I will not force you to marry, either. I am not cruel, and I know my daughter. There would be nothing worse for you than to be tied to a gentleman that you do not like, nor even know.”
