Chapter Five
The Bradford householdhad a strict rule about Sunday dinner. Regardless of Philip’s privilege and the accommodations made for Penelope, all were to be present at what was often the only meal the entire family shared in a week. It was therefore the ideal opportunity for Lewis to announce his news.
He waited until everyone was seated and the footmen had served the soup. Talk had already begun, though it wasn’t conversation as such. Lewis considered these meals to be his parents’ way of eliciting a sort of report on their lives, a means of establishing whether their adult children were progressing as they should.
For a while, Pen had always fared the worst in these assessments. Her obstinate refusal to consider marriage had put her at loggerheads with both their mother and father, who could not fathom how they had raised such a foolhardy child. They had threatened to cut off her pin money if she did not marry, only to find her the following week—after great consternation by Mother and an extensive search by all the servants—at the docks about to board a boat to America, having sold some jewelry to pay for the ticket.
After this incident, Lewis would have thought their parents might have tightened the constraints even further where their daughter was concerned. But he had underestimated how great the impact of possibly losing Penelope would be on them.Perhaps they truly cared. Maybe they feared a scandal. Whatever the case may have been, an understanding had been reached. Lewis suspected that his mother held a secret hope that, one day, a gentleman would prove so irresistible that Penelope would throw all caution to the wind and choose marriage after all. So far, such hope had come to nothing.
As far as Philip was concerned, his life followed a predictable and pleasing path. He attended all the right functions, shook all the right hands. He was expected to propose to Miss Irene Sangford any day now. He said what he should, did what he should, and had few thoughts of his own. He was therefore, ironically, free to do whatever he pleased. If he gambled a bit too often or drank a little too much on occasion, well, it was all part of being a vigorous gentleman, was it not? Provided he did not shame the family name, he might be allowed some leeway.
And then there was Lewis. Their second son. Intelligent and successful, and friends with the most powerful man in Munro. And yet all of that did not seem to count for much. Lewis, as required, did not upset the apple cart. And as long as this remained the case, he was all but invisible. They neither worried about him nor commended him on his achievements.
Which was why, on this Sunday afternoon, Lewis’s news caused more of a stir than he thought it would have.
Penelope had confirmed she was doing nothing by way of marriage or causing a fuss. And Philip had briefly described a pleasant ride with the Sangford sisters. Chaperoned, of course. Everyone had returned to their meal. Lewis had been discounted as unlikely to have done anything newsworthy.
That was about to change.
“Mother,” Lewis began, “I should like to invite a guest to dinner next Sunday.”
“Sunday is a family meal,” Lord Bradford said firmly. “We do not invite guests. Choose another day.”
“And if the guest is to become family?” Lewis asked, waiting for understanding to dawn.
“Oh, Lewis!” squealed Penelope, first to draw the correct conclusion. “Is it Miss Kinsey? Have you asked her? Did she sayyes?”
“Who is Miss Kinsey, pray?” asked Lady Bradford, the tight line of her mouth matching the thin streaks of black and gray in her hair. “I am not familiar with the young lady. I do not recall you mentioning her before.”
“Oh, Mother!” cried Penelope. “How can you say that? Lewis has spoken of almost nothing else these past months! I can’t wait to meet her. She sounds an absolute delight.”
“Who is her family?” their mother inquired. “Why have we not been previously introduced?”
“She is not a resident of Munro,” Lewis explained. “Her family is from Ermenbrough, about four hours east of us by carriage.”
“Then how did you meet?”
“We were introduced by Lady Howell. Miss Kinsey is a dear friend of hers. They grew up together.”
“I assume she comes from a good family,” said Lady Bradford, ticking along with her interrogation.
“They are very good people, indeed,” Lewis said, feeling the first prickles of defensiveness. “I have never heard anything to the contrary.”
“And yet she has escaped my notice,” pondered his mother. “Is there something you are not telling us, Lewis?”
“I cannot imagine what else you need to know,” Lewis said stubbornly. “Miss Kinsey is friends with the Viscount Howell and his wife. She has not created a reputation for herself by which you might be dismayed. Most importantly, she has agreed to marry me.”
“What do mean, she has agreed to marry you?” Lord Bradford blustered. “We haven’t even met the lady. What do you mean by proposing without our knowledge?”
Lewis clamped his mouth shut, lest he say something untoward to his father. He counted to ten. It didn’t help. With barely restrained annoyance, he answered. “Father, I am thirty years of age. I am a man of independent means. And I have never done anything that warranted your attention before. I had hoped that my marriage might be a joyous announcement, but I owe you nothing more. I certainly do not need your permission to marry the woman I love.”
“‘Love’!” His father scoffed, his jowls billowing slightly. “What sort of foolish talk is this? A man of your standing must consider more than banal sentimentality.”
“Why?” Lewis retorted. “Since when has my role in this family mattered? I have done all that I should. I have not hampered Philip’s progress in society. I have not exposed Penelope to anyone of bad character. I have earned my independence, as a second son is supposed to. Further than that, you have seen fit to all but disregard my existence. And now you would claim rights over me?”
“Don’t be churlish, Lewis,” Lady Bradford scolded. “Your father is quite right to be concerned. You could yet harm your brother’s and sister’s prospects with a bad match. Why would you be so selfish?”
“‘Selfish’?!” Lewis nearly choked on the word. “When have I ever done anything for myself? And why would Miss Kinsey, when she becomes the wife of a humble barrister, be a threat to them in any way? You haven’t even met her, and already, you have decided she is not good enough.”
