Margaret nodded and threw her arms around her sister's waist.
“I don't want to stay here, Tory,” she said. “Aunt Nelly is a mean old hag and that maid–”
“Everything will work out. Now it's time for bed.”
Victoria gathered Margaret in her arms and carried her to the large bed that swallowed her tiny frame. She lay beside her and Margaret curled up into a ball wrapping the blankets tightly about herself. Victoria sang softly the song their mother would sing every night before tucking her youngest in bed. Once Margaret was asleep she placed a soft kiss on her brow and moved to the chair before the fireplace.
She had lived in the country all her life and had only ventured out into the world when her mother had taken her on a tour of the continent for her sixteenth birthday. Hating the city and the gossip mongers who lived there, her parents refused to allow her to have a coming out season. She had attended a few parties and picnics back home but they were nothing like what she would 5
experience here. There would be more people watching her, criticizing her behavior, and gossiping about her parent’s hasty marriage all those years ago. Now they would be spreading rumors of their deaths.
Sighing, she rested her head against the back of the stuffed chair and let the warmth of the fire wash over her.
“This is not going to be easy,” she whispered to the flames.
Her whole future happiness rested on the out come of this very month.
6
Chapter Two
“You what?”
“I must find a husband by the end of the month,” Victoria said before taking a sip of the dark, delicious tea.
“Why?” Lana asked.
“It is rather complicated.”
“Complicated?”
Victoria took a deep breath. She did not want to show her nervousness to Lana. “Yes, you see, my aunt is going to toss me to the streets if I don't marry by the end of the month.”
“Oh,” Lana said in understanding. “Well you needn't worry about that, you can come live here. I'm sure that my parents would be glad to have you.”
“No, you don't understand. I must marry in order to see Margaret. Aunt Nelly has made it clear that if I don't wed I will never see my sister again.”
“Oh dear,” Lana sighed. “But one month isn't much time.
How can you possibly get to know someone well enough to marry within a month?”
“I don’t have time for a normal courtship and I am prepared to propose, if I must. Will you help me?”
“Of course I will help you. I just don't like these circumstances. A wedding should be something beautiful not a necessity.”
“I don’t like it either, but I don’t have a choice.”
On the thin side, Lana was fetching, with her soft blond hair and blue eyes. It was odd that she had yet to find a husband, but her family had never pressed the matter. Victoria longed to be in Lana’s position right now. Victoria had enjoyed every freedom there was when her parents were alive, but now her aunt was forcing her to marry. She only hoped that the man would be understanding and not oppressive.
“This is so unsavory. How can someone hate their own flesh and blood so much?” Lana said with disgust. Taking up her own cup of tea for the first time since Victoria sat down, Lana insisted, “You must accompany me to the balls this season.”
7
“I have no gowns, Lana. I have no money or dowry. Who will want me? I pale in comparison to the other women. This is going to be very difficult, if not impossible.”
“Difficult? Impossible? Tory, you will have men coming at you from all sides, money won't matter to them. As for gowns, I have old ones that we can tailor to fit your form and modify to match the trends of the season. It will be simple. Don’t you worry about it,” Lana smiled. “We will find a man to shackle you to.”
“Thank you Lana, I don't know what I would do without you.”
“I'm sure you would have managed without my help.”
“Do you think that I’ll have a problem because of my age?
I am twenty-two after all.”
“You are hardly a spinster, Tory,” Lana laughed.
“A lot of the other women are younger.”
“You are much more beautiful than those other women.
They don't stand a chance against you.” Lana squeezed Victoria's hand. “I always wished you and I would marry for love.”
“Most marriages are loveless,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Yes, I suppose you are right,” Lana paused in thought, then with a smile and a chuckle she added, “You could always keep a lover.”
Victoria laughed, spilling a little of her tea on the great patio of the Richmond mansion. She could not remember the last time she had a good laugh. For some time she thought she would never laugh again. Her mother had lain dying for months and with the sudden loss of her father she was sure she would never find happiness again.