Her first full day of being a wife. In the previous day, she’d seen her husband for a total of two hours, at the most. She was mulling on how to correct that situation when Mrs. Gardiner entered the room.
“Your Ladyship,” the housekeeper said, smiling, “Mr. Kerr would like to visit with you if you’ve a moment.”
“Mr. Kerr?”
“Lord Fairfax’s solicitor, Your Ladyship.”
“Oh yes,” Veronica said. “What could he want with me? Isn’t it Montgomery he needs?”
“His Lordship has taken himself off to the import warehouse,” Mrs. Gardiner said. “He’s buying more silk. Mr. Kerr specifically asked for you, Your Ladyship.”
Why on earth was Montgomery buying silk? Why was the solicitor requesting her presence? Just two more questions to add to the pile of them she’d accumulated since her wedding.
As she stood and left the dining room for Montgomery’s library, she pushed back her dread. Had Montgomery requested an annulment? She was certainly not underage, but did he think her mentally incompetent? They shared no relationship of any sort. What other grounds could he use?
Dear God, what would she do if he annulled their marriage? Where would she go? Uncle Bertrand would not take her in, that was certain. An annulled wife was almost as shocking as an unmarried girl who’d been ruined. She would really have to take the last of her father’s funds and travel to Scotland alone.
But what would she do, once there?
Fear is a wasteful emotion, my dear child. How much better it is to confront an issue than to be frightened into inaction.Her father’s words. He would have cautioned her to wait until she’d heard from the solicitor himself before imagining different scenarios.Never borrow from the future more than you can handle today,he’d always said.
She stood at the door to Montgomery’s library and waited until the solicitor noticed her.
“Your Ladyship,” Edmund Kerr said, standing at her entrance.
Mr. Kerr waved her to a straight-back chair in front of the desk.
She took her seat, arranging her full skirts with the dexterity born of years of practice. Finally, Mr. Kerr sat, stacked his papers in front of him, and gave her a toothy smile.
The solicitor’s face was long and narrow, his forehead broad, his nose a petite nub. His beard was closely trimmed to his face and extended to his sideburns as if calling attention to his large brown eyes. His ears were narrow, pointed, and lay flat against his head.
Regrettably, Mr. Kerr reminded her of an earnest squirrel, a resemblance accentuated by his habit of tapping his papers with the edges of his palms as if the stack of papers was a nut he’d found.
What she felt from him, however, was not as amusing.
An odd darkness surrounded him, as if he were angry and attempting to hide it. She bent her head, ostensibly arranging her skirts while she concentrated on Mr. Kerr’s emotions. Regret? Sorrow? There was something about him that was oddly off-putting.
“Lord Fairfax has instructed me to tell you about the marriage settlement he’s made for you, Lady Fairfax. Although this arrangement is normally made prior to the actual nuptials, His Lordship did not want to involve your uncle.”
“A marriage settlement?”
“Yes,” he said, and named an amount that had her staring at him in shock.
“That’s very generous,” she said. More than generous. She could live the whole of her life comfortably on that amount.
“Why, Mr. Kerr?” she asked, pressing her damp palms against her skirts.
“Why, Lady Fairfax?” Mr. Kerr’s mouth turned down, making him look like an angry squirrel. “I agree, Your Ladyship, itis odd. However, His Lordship was adamant you have enough funds to enable you to live well on your own.”
A ball of ice formed in her stomach. “Does he not anticipate being with me, Mr. Kerr?” she forced herself to ask. “Is he annulling the marriage?”
He looked surprised, staring at her without speaking for several moments.
“Have you any knowledge he might wish an annulment, Lady Fairfax?”
She shook her head.
“Then I should not concern yourself with that thought. Especially since His Lordship has made ample provision for your future.”
