Chapter One
Marriage!Eleanor Middletonshuddered. The mere thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Ellie faced her father, determined not to allow him to guilt her into doing something she wasn’t ready for. As usually happened once a month, her father had called her into his study to have thattalk. She geared herself up to give him the same answer she’d been giving him for three years now.
The plea in her father’s expression, and the sadness misting his gray eyes, twisted her heart. There was no doubt he cared deeply for her, but why couldn’t he comprehend her plight as well?
“My dear,” he said calmly as he held her gaze. “It’s time for you to wed. If you wait any longer, men will think you’re not looking for a husband.”
Ellie took a deep breath for courage and released it slowly. She mustn’t get angry. He thought he was doing what was best for her, although she knew it was her stepmother urging him to do this.
“Father, I must tell you the same thing I told you last month. I’m not ready. Why can’t you understand?” Knowing this conversation would take longer than she wanted, Ellie turned and sat on the edge of the sofa cushion with her back straight.
He wore a different expression this time when she turned him down. Before, his shoulders drooped in defeat, but today, he pulled them back and lifted his chin.Oh dear!
The impulse to jump up and run to safety became overpowering, but she would not relent. Although her hands were clasped and resting on her lap, she wished to have a handkerchief to hold on to—or wring the life out of.
The day had started out lovely. Ellie awoke, ate breakfast, dressed, and strolled through her stepmother’s flower garden. Inhaling the sweet scent of the roses always lifted her spirits. But as soon as she stepped inside the house, a servant informed her that her father and stepmother were waiting to talk with her in the drawing room.
Ellie hadn’t dared ask why. She knew.
“My dear,” her father said with a gentle, caring voice, as he leaned forward in his black leather chair. “It’s been three years since Lord Adam died. I think by now your heart would be healed.”
Clenching her teeth, Ellie held back her temper. She took deep breaths, trying her hardest not to spout out the angry thoughts clashing in her head. Obviously, her father had never been so in love, only to have the ideal person that one imagined spending the rest of their life with just suddenly taken from their grasp, never to be seen again. Yet her father expected Ellie’s heart to be healed by now? No. Perhaps her heart would never heal.
She wouldneverbe that woman she’d been while Adam courted her. They were so happy and in love. Adam was unlike any man she’d ever known. How could she find someone to replace him when there was no such man?
Finally, she felt as though she could speak without saying something she might regret later. “Father, Augusta.” She glanced at her stepmother, who sat beside her on the sofa, before focusing on her father. “I’m deeply touched to know you care about my welfare. However, my heart hasn’t mended. Forgive me, but I’m just not interested in marriage at this point.”
Grumbling, her father pushed his fingers through his thinning brown hair with streaks of gray, as a grimace tugged at his mouth.
“No, Ellie, this will not do.” His voice lifted. “Augusta and I have given you ample time to recover. We both feel that three years of mourning is long enough. Youwillfind a husband. Immediately.”
Anger rose inside of Ellie, and she dropped her gaze to her lap, taking in deep breaths. She wasn’t inmourning, not like her father had suggested. She’d stopped wearing black and gray gowns nearly a year and a half ago. Why didn’t he understand?
“Father, I must remain true to my heart.” She tightened her fingers on the handkerchief. “You had once promised I could marry the man I loved and admired, just as you allowed Justina to marry the man she loved. Why can’t you give me the same privileges as my older sister?”
Silence stretched in the room for a space of several minutes. A gentle wind from outside blew through the opened window. The sheer drapes flapped softly. The refreshing fragrance of the roses outside drifted through the air, slightly calming Ellie. If she wanted to be fully relaxed, she would still be strolling through the garden right now. Instead, she had to tolerate her father’s insistent request.
Hesitantly, she raised her attention to her father. He drummed his beefy fingers on the armrest of his chair, as his mouth pulled into a straight line. It appeared that he wasn’t going to give in this time. She must prepare a stronger excuse as to why she wouldn’t marry.
If only Justina were here. Ellie’s sister had been married for two years already, and she missed having her around in times like this. Justina would know what to say to help their father change his mind.
“I’m sorry, Ellie, but whether you feel you are ready or not, your stepmother and I agree that you must start looking for someone to marry as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.”
She shook her head, desperation sinking in her chest. Would she lose the argument this time? Perhaps she wasn’t trying hard enough to argue the case. She must win.
Unshed tears stung her eyes, so she blinked to keep them hidden. “I don’t understand. Why is it so important for me to start looking for a husband now?”
“You see, my dear”—Augusta’s overly sweet voice drew Ellie’s attention to the slender, fancily dressed woman—“the longer you wait to wed, the more apt you will be to become a spinster.”
A surprised laugh bubbled up in Ellie’s throat, and she couldn’t hold it back. “Are you jesting? You are worried about me becoming a spinster?”
“Well, it’s more than that, dear.” Her stepmother patted Ellie’s hand. “The longer you wait, the more men will wonder what is wrong with you because you have not married sooner. Men will not want to court you. They will lose interest, and if one man loses interest, they all will.”
The thin woman looked at Ellie with such seriousness in her brown eyes. A few silver streaks highlighted her fading auburn hair. The woman had married Ellie’s father barely over a year ago, but Ellie hadn’t been able to consider Augusta her mother yet.
“Oh please, Augusta.” Ellie rolled her eyes as she pushed away her stepmother’s touch. “You cannot believe that will happen. I have it on good authority that Miss Evelyn Cummings waited four whole years after her fiancé died before she married, and her reputation wasn’t ruined.”
