The Bad Luck Bride (The Brides of St. Ives #1)(70)
Alice could feel a blush bloom on her cheeks. “Lord Northrup knows what happened?”
“Of course not. No one knows but your father and me.”
“Then why must I marry Northrup?” She literally bit her tongue to stop herself from saying, It’s not as if I were foolish enough to lose my virginity. Oh, but it was a temptation that was difficult to resist.
“Because he has asked for your hand. Again. And your father agreed.”
Anger replaced concern so swiftly, Alice could feel her body heat with it. “Lord Northrup has seen Papa yet I was not allowed?”
Elda waved her hand as if that was inconsequential. “Lord Northrup wanted to be certain to do the correct thing, the proper thing, and be sure that he had consent in case your father did not get well.”
Alice opened her mouth to protest, but her mother’s steely look stopped her.
“You must make me a promise. You will never see Henderson Southwell again.”
This was her punishment for kissing a man? Marriage to a man she did not love and a promise to never see the man she did love? Everything inside Alice rebelled at the thought of how unfair it was.
“I’m sorry, Mama, but I cannot make such a promise. I love Henderson and he loves me.”
Elda’s eyes widened slightly and her mouth turned downward; then her face softened and Alice finally saw the mother she’d known all her life. She’d hardly recognized the one who’d walked through her door. “I’m certain you believe you do, but I must say that cannot be possible. He’s been gone for four years and you’ve hardly seen him since he’s returned. Yes, he is handsome and I understand there may be some allure to the forbidden, but you cannot be foolish.”
Elda sat down on the small vanity stool, her skirts rustling in such a familiar way, Alice’s heart ached. She wanted her lively smiling mother back, not this sad and stern and determined woman. “There are times in a mother’s life when she must make decisions for her children that are not popular, that may seem harsh. But I have no doubt that marriage to Mr. Southwell would not suit you. It matters not that he was once welcomed into our home. That welcome is no longer forthcoming. Do you understand me?”
Alice could feel the now-familiar ache in her throat. “No. I do not. It is unfair to punish us for doing nothing more than kissing. Are you blaming us for what happened to Father?” What had seemed a logical conclusion in her own mind, suddenly seemed outrageously unjust when her mother came to that same conclusion.
Elda smiled gently. “Not entirely. But he would not have gotten so gravely ill had he not seen the two of you together. Mr. Southwell was not acting like a gentleman.”
“And I was not acting like a lady. Mama, I love him and I was there of my own free will. If Father had not come along, I might have acted even more foolishly. Haven’t you ever done something you knew you should not?”
Her brow furrowed slightly. “He was not forcing himself on you?”
Letting out a small laugh, Alice said, “My God, no. No. Was that why Father was so upset—he thought Henderson’s advances were unwelcome? I can assure you, Mama, they were not. I’m not proud of that, but I would never want anyone to think ill of Henderson.”
“That changes nothing. Oh, Alice, can you not see how very inappropriate such a match would be? I like Mr. Southwell enough, but we’ve never met his family. We know nothing of them. Do you not see how this could be just as uncomfortable for them as it would be for us?”
“They are not indigents living on a poor farm. They are well-respected landowners who were able to send their grandson to Eton and Oxford. Goodness sakes, Mama, you have never been a snob.”
“My daughter has never wanted to marry so far beneath her.”
Her mother’s words stunned her. “How can you speak so of him? He was Joseph’s best friend.”
“Yes, he was. Against our better judgement, I would like to add. Alice, you are the grand—”
“—daughter of a duke and an earl. Yes, Mother, I know. It is not Henderson’s fault that he is who he is. He is a good man and I love him.”
Elda rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. “Doors would be closed to you, do you understand? People who have been friends with you your entire life, will no longer want you in their home. Is that what you want?”
“That wouldn’t happen—”
“I’ve seen it happen,” Elda said harshly. Taking a deep, calming breath, she said, “My cousin Beatrice married a grocer. I haven’t seen her in years. They’re living in some tiny house in Kent, scraping by, with a brood of children they cannot afford. Everything she had is gone, her friends, her family, her station in life. I will not see you throw away your life like that.”
“So this is about money? I’m sorry, Mother, because Lord Northrup doesn’t appear to be all that well-heeled. Lord Berkley hinted at a gambling problem.”
Elda stood suddenly. “I am not going to continue to argue with you, Alice. You cannot marry Mr. Southwell and that is that.”
Alice blinked at the anger her mother was displaying, but remained silent as Elda left the room.
“I am going to marry him, Mama,” she whispered after her mother had rather forcefully shut the door. She gave a small shrug, but one that held a world of defiance. “And I’m afraid there is nothing you can do about it.”