Page 50 of The Mysterious Miss Lydia
All the more reason she needed to get back to the School of Charm.
Her father seemed to think that his comment that she ought to be there to see Wendell marked the end of the conversation, and as Lydia stood there dallying, her father resumed reading. She cleared her throat. “Father, I...”
He looked up and she faltered. She wasn’t scared of her father, of course. But that didn’t stop her thoughts from scattering when he gave her that expectant look.
There was a hint of impatience there, and that combined with what she truly wished to say had her shutting her mouth once more.
But then, suddenly and inexplicably, she heard Lord Galena’s voice in her mind.What is life without risks?
When he’d said it then, and when she heard it now, she had a visceral reaction. Almost like the words were what she’d been waiting to hear all these years. It was the thought that made her mouth open and words tumble out. “I don’t wish to marry Wendell.”
Everyone went silent. Her father lowered the paper as her mother’s jaw dropped.
Even Imogene forgot to smirk as her brows arched up all the way to her hairline.
“I beg your pardon,” her mother said.
“I-I don’t...”
“You can hardly afford to be choosy, Lydia,” Imogene said, apparently over her shock. “Not unless you want to wind up a spinster.”
Lydia turned pleading eyes to her father, willing him to understand. He didn’t look angry or smug like her mother or sister. But the disappointment she saw in his eyes was so much worse.
“We’ve been over this, Lydia,” he said quietly. “He’s a good man who will treat you well.”
“Yes, but...But what if he’snota good man? What if I don’t trust him?
“One dance with a viscount and your sister’s getting ideas,” her mother said under her breath.
The mockery wasn’t meant to be heard by Lydia—or anyone other than Imogene, Lydia imagined, but the words cut like a knife nonetheless.
“Lydia, darling...” Imogene set down her embroidery, and Lydia inwardly flinched at the patronizing tone. “You cannot so much as speak to a man. How do you expect to be courted?”
Lydia’s lips parted but nothing came out.
She had no answer.
But she’d talked to Galena last night. Granted, it was in the dark and hardly a normal conversation. But it was something. She’d taken a risk in talking to him, and maybe...maybe if she put her mind to it she could try it again.
Not with Galena. Her mother’s words rang true in her ears.
She knew he did not see her as a romantic prospect. She’d thought he did for a little while there, and she’d been proven a fool. He’d thought her a suspect, nothing more.
That wasn’t a mistake she’d not make again.
She might be of assistance to him and his investigation, that was all. And now that he knew who she was, he’d treat her with kindness and consideration to protect her reputation. But she would not be so silly as to confuse that for something more.
Even so...
Her shoulders went back as she swallowed hard and faced her father. He was giving her a sympathetic look, and his voice was kind when he said, “I hate to admit it, but your sister has a point, my dear. You’re in no position to be choosy.”
“I’m not being choosy,” she said. “I’m being honest.”
Her sister snickered.
“I’m being decisive,” she amended, her voice a little stronger.
No one in the room seemed moved.
