Page 5 of A Scoundrel All the Way
KatieandPaulahad helped wipeLucy’sdress and dry her tears in the ladies’ receiving room after the unfortunate incident.
“Ona positive note, you accidentally ruined that wicked widow,LadyEndoraDeville’sdress.”Katiehad giggled at the time.Thenasty-tempered woman had stepped into the vomit and slid across the floor on her bottom.Muchto the secret delight of many in theton.
“Andshe deserved it for what she tried to do toThomasandFrankie,”Paulahad added.Ithad been obvious to the girls at the time that theWidowDevillehad been afterKatie’shandsome brother,Thomas, who was unmarried at the time.He’djust metFrankieagain after circumstances and misfortune had separated them for years.
Evenso, despite the scandal surrounding the widow, thetonhad dubbedLucywith the moniker,UnluckyLucy.
Forthe rest of thatSeasonand the next,Lucyhad become a wallflower, spending most of her time sitting with the rest of the wallflowers at most balls and routs.Oh,PaulaandKatiewere always there for her, andKatie’sbrother,Thomas, had always asked her to dance.Buther friends had always been popular and sought after at social events, whereasLucy, thanks to her nickname, was studiously avoided by men and women alike.Honestly, a more apt nickname should have beenInvisibleLucy,for that’s how she’d felt.Eligibleyoung men never looked her way.
Shesupposed another reason was her spectacles.Theywere most unflattering and made her look rather like an owl.Sothat had only added to her wallflower status.HerfirstSeason, she’d tried to avoid wearing her spectacles, but that triggered one disaster after another—tripping on the hem of her dress and stepping on the toes of several guests.Then, after “the unfortunate incident” when she’d vomited all over herself and the ballroom floor, she’d decided never to take her spectacles off.Wearingthem made her less prone to accidents and made her feel safer, in an odd way—as if she had a mask on.Itwas certainly better than tripping or bumping into furniture and people.
Spectaclesor not, the first place she’d checked at every ball was the retiring room—just so she knew where it was, in case she needed to wipe lemonade from her gown or in case she got sick to her stomach again.Eventually, she’d stopped going to balls altogether, except the ones her mother forced her to attend.Butwhen it came to other societal functions ortonevents,Lucyavoided as many as possible.Ofcourse, then the gossip about her was that she was so ashamed of herself that she spent her time hiding away.Well, she’d rather people gossip about that, rather than her tripping on the stairs or throwing up.
Lucyhad come to accept that she would most likely end up a spinster, no matter how much her parents had wanted otherwise.Herparents, meanwhile, had become desperate to marryLucyoff. “Youmust marry,” her mother had declared during one of their arguments. “Itis your duty to marry.Besides, you can’t go through life spending your days rescuing those awful wild creatures and keeping them in our garden shed!”
“AmIsuch a burden to you that you feel the need to marry me off?”Lucyhad countered, almost in tears.
“No, of course not, dear, but your father andIwant you to be happy.”
“Spendingtime with animals makes me happy,”Lucyhad said.Itwas true.Animalsdidn’t gossip.Theynever laughed at her.Andexcept forPaulaandKatie, they were more enjoyable to be around than most people.
But, givenLucy’sstatus, it was no surprise that her parents had eventually engaged the services of a matchmaker who “discovered” a gentleman interested in marrying her.Lucy’sparents had been thrilled.Lucy, not so much.
Hisname wasDirkTenet.Hewas forty-two years old and had told the matchmaker that he was a foreign diplomat.Lucydidn’t think he’d had the intelligence to be anything of the sort.She’donly met him twice.Onceat her parents’Londontownhouse for tea and the second time for a carriage ride.Bothtimes, all he’d done was talk about himself.Hereminded her of a puffed-up peacock.He’dalso had a habit of smoothing back his hair when he spoke.However,Lucycouldn’t understand why, as he only had a few wispy gray hairs on his head.Whatwas there to smooth?
Butperhaps what had made her most uncomfortable was his smile.He’dmade a little sucking sound with his teeth every time he smiled at her, his small muddy brown eyes looking her up and down as he did so.Ithad made her uncomfortable, to say the least.Likehe could see through her clothes.Lucy’sinstincts had told her to turn down his proposal, but when she’d tried to bring it up with her parents, they’d refused to hear anything about it.Herparents had reminded her that she should be happy with what she could get since they couldn’t afford a hefty dowry to attract a high-ranking peer.
Lucyhad given up and resigned herself to her fate.Andthen, the strangest thing happened.Mr.Tenethad suddenly informed them that he had to travel toIndiafor an important diplomatic mission.Herparents had never questioned him—even though it meant he would not be inLondonfor their wedding day.Instead, her family had encouraged her to marryMr.Tenetby proxy.Hisidea.
Banswere read, a trousseau was purchased—modest, of course—and the church readied for a small, intimate service.Practicallyeveryone in thetonknew about the upcoming nuptials and had gossiped about it because of the oddity of the wedding by proxy and becauseUnluckyLucywas finally getting married.
Asit was all happening—and seemingly without incident—Lucyhad allowed herself to think about what her life might be like asMrs.LucyTenet.Theson of one of her father’s close friends agreed to stand in for her betrothed inSt.George’sChapel, as was expected with a proxy service.
Thensomething astonishing happened.
Threedays after the marriage ceremony had concluded—almost before the ink had dried on the marriage certificate—Lucybecame a widow.
Itturned out that her betrothed had not been a diplomat after all but a charlatan and a thief who had gone toIndiato steal jewels from a wealthyBritishfamily that he had cased for months.He’dbeen caught in the act and shot—dead.
Afterthe shock had worn off,Lucyhad removed her diamond engagement ring and placed it in a drawer along with her wedding band.Mr.Tenethad given her the ring just before he’d left forIndia.Whilehe’d claimed it to be a family heirloom,Lucyhad wondered afterward if it had been stolen, too.Shehad been so surprised by the presentation of the ring that she never asked a thing.
Severalweeks after learning ofMr.Tenet’sdeath,Lucyhad had the ring appraised.She’dbeen stunned at its worth.Overfour thousand pounds!Eventhough the ring had most likely been stolen,Lucyhad had no way of knowing when or from whom.Andbeing of a practical nature, she’d promptly sold it.She’dsmartly invested half of the funds in theEasternStarTradingCompany,ThomasLatham’slucrative enterprise.Therest of her funds she’d invested wisely withThomas’sguidance.Bestof all, she purchased herself a pair of the finest spectacles that suited her face and, yes, made her feel quite confident that she could see and that she no longer resembled an owl.
Thehappiest day of her life had been the day she’d found a modestLondontownhouse to rent and moved out of her parent’s house.Shewas now a widow with some means, and that meant she could do more of what she pleased.Lucyeventually hoped to find a small property that she could turn into an animal sanctuary.Butthat would have to wait a few years for her to grow her investments.
“Lucy, are you all right?”Katieasked, tuggingLucyfrom her wool-gathering. “Yourmind seemed a million miles away.”
“Iwas thinkingIshould stop reading theTattler,” she declared. “Ihave much to be thankful for.Andwho cares what the gossips think?”
“Here, here!”KatieandPaulasaid in unison as they raised their teacups supportively in a toast.
“Thoserags should be ashamed of themselves,”Paulaagreed.
“Iread the article that mentioned you,”Katiesaid, pattingLucy’shand. “Ibelieve someone had brought up the rarity of proxy marriages and then recalled yours.”
“Ofcourse, they did.Iffor no other reason than to rub my nose in it…again.”Lucyhad had enough of theton’snosiness.Shedesperately wanted to strike out on her own; however, her parents were still under the impression that there was a lord or gentleman who would scoop her up and make her his wife.Andshe would live happily ever after.Wheneveran article inTheTonTattlerwas published mentioning her, her parents would ask her over for tea and start to pester her again about marriage.Bah.Shedidn’t need marriage to make herself happy.Especiallywith her new-found financial freedom.Shehad other plans, and having already set up investments, she had taken her first step.Lucysighed. “Thenews rag has no shame.”
“Well, how about we forget about gossip and scandals,”Katiesuggested. “Andthink about what to pack for the house party.”
