SWNOVELS A Spinster for the Earl: Chapter 4
“Emma!” the Baron of Wilkes shouted. “What were you thinking?”
Lucy’s father stood in the drawing room, his fists clenched and his face red. He was usually an even-keeled man who disliked expressing his emotions, but he was so upset this morning that he seemed like a completely different man.
Lucy sunk into the couch, crossing her arms in annoyance. It had been two days since the auction, and much to her surprise, the Earl of Ramsbury hadn’t come to visit her. This was good, after all. As she had hoped, he had only made the bid because of her insistence that he donate a generous amount of money.
There was, admittedly, a small part of her that hoped he might stop by and sweep her off her feet, but she had already shamed herself for such a desire. She wasn’t willing to marry him, so there wasn’t any point in him coming around.
“Father, if I knew the Earl of Ramsbury would bid on the promenades, I would have never offered them,” Emma said.
“Who did you think would bid?” the Baron asked, his hands splayed and shaking in the air as if he wanted to take his daughter by the shoulders and rattle some sense into her.
“It does not matter who bids, Papa!” Emma stood up from the parlor couch and crossed the room so she was an arm’s length away from him. She pointed at the door. “Right now, we have solved two problems. One, Lucy has secured us five hundred pounds for the education of young ladies, and secondly, every eligible suitor in London is standing outside that door, waiting to talk to the woman on whom a notorious rake was willing to spend a modest family’s yearly allowance just for promenades.”
“But, Emma!” Lord Wilkes shouted. “This is not the kind of man we want associating with our family, with my youngest daughter!”
“Actually.” Priscilla, their mother, perked up in her seat. One hand fidgeted with the tassel on a throw. “Our Emma might just be right! Lucy’s value has risen tenfold now that a man who refused to settle down has shown interest in courting her!”
Lucy cleared her throat. She had been growing tired of the entire room discussing her future while she sat around like a decorative pillow. “Allow me to say a number of things,” she began.
The room turned to look at her. Her poor mother was rattling with all the anxiety of a dog in a thunderstorm, Emma and her father were standing opposite each other in a fiery back-and-forth, and the Duke of Radford sat at the table, observing the chaos.
“The Earl will not come to see me. It has been two days. At the auction, completely unaware that I would be an offer, I insinuated that he must place a generous bid. The five hundred was a donation. I do not believe he expects any value from it, especially if you say he has no interest in marriage.”
Colin stood up, rubbing his hands together. He nodded assuredly at Lucy. He had always been protective of the Hale sisters. Any word of his was trustworthy. “The Earl of Ramsbury is a close friend of my younger brother’s. While the rumors are true, he would never risk ruining the reputation of a lady.”
“I would also like to remind everyone in the room that my value is not my beauty, or my youth, or my ability to fan myself in an enticing manner! My value is my intelligence and my strength and my—”
“Men don’t care for intelligence, dear.” Priscilla shook her head, an incredulous smile on her face. “And certainly not strength!”
“If I may,” Colin interjected gingerly. “I do.”
“Also, Emma.” Lucy pointed a finger at her sister. “I do not appreciate your meddling, when I am perfectly happy dying alone.”
“Lucy!” Priscilla gasped, draping herself across the couch as if she had been struck with an arrow. “I forbid you to die alone!”
“You will not stop me.”
“Lord Wilkes, do something! I cannot reason with her!”
The Baron turned to look at his youngest daughter. He crossed his arms. “Why do you wish to remain unmarried?”
“Because I want to be a governess. My dreams involve teaching children, not rearing them. May I live the way I see fit?”
The Baron sighed. “Lucy,” he whispered.
He drew his hands down as if to beg for everyone to sit back in their seats. Reluctantly, Lucy agreed, settling back onto the couch. Emma sat back down beside her husband, obviously frustrated but trying her best to hide it.
“May we come to a compromise?” the Baron asked.
“It depends,” Lucy said.
“Emma is right. There are suitors waiting to speak with you, and you have already been obligated to five promenades. If you speak with every suitor outside this door and fulfill your obligations and you still do not believe marriage is for you, then—”
“Lord Wilkes, you cannot agree to such a ridiculous—”
“Lady Wilkes.” The Baron put a hand out to stop his wife. “Can we trust Lucy? She is not one to be forced into doing something she wishes not to do. She is a Hale. She will make her own way in this world. It is simply our nature.”
“Thank you, Papa,” Lucy said, her hands clasped together as if she were praying. Her father smiled stiffly at her.
Lucy knew that her father wished for her to marry a good man, but he also knew how serious she was about her dreams. She also wondered if it had ever crossed his mind that one day, she would leave the family home and he would be without the daughters he cherished so much. Hopefully, she could prove to him that she was making the right choice.
Lucy took a deep breath. “Then I shall take my callers,” she stated, folding her hands neatly in her lap.
The footman nodded and opened the doors to the parlor. He stood tall and announced, “The Viscount of Langley!”
Lucy pushed her tongue into her cheek and stared at the tall fellow in the doorway. He hadn’t yet opened his mouth, but the smug smile he offered showed that he was already confident in his chances.
Lord Langley was handsome enough. He was incredibly athletic and always very popular at balls. He had never once shown any interest in Lucy, so the fact that he was suddenly here with flowers in hand made her feel more resentful than anything. Becoming valuable because another man had bid money on her was insulting at best.
She smiled as politely as she could. All she had to do was make a dozen men realize that she was not marriage material. And, if the Earl of Ramsbury did come for his promenades, then she would just have to go through with it. One promenade for one hundred pounds toward the education of young ladies each was well worth the confusion that Lord Ramsbury made her feel. It was only temporary, after all.