Page 16 of Lady Willa's Divinely Wicked Vicar
Ah, here was the rest of the story.
Her father sighed and said, “I’ve invited his son to attend us here for a week.”
She put aside her soup spoon. Oh, no. “When?”
“No date set. But soon. His oldest is Gawynn. Lord Gawynn. Viscount Gawynn.”
She locked her eyes on her father’s and heard the broader message. The viscount was to be received as a possible suitor. “Papa, I met him years ago during my first Season. He was a flirt and a gambler then. I disliked him.”
“He’s more refined now, I would wager.”
Her mother sought to smooth Wills’s feathers. “I know his mother and she’s written that her boy is delighted to be invited. We shall make a lovely stay for him. An afternoon reception. A garden party, I think. Dinner and dancing, too. Plus, Gawynn has business with your father, dear.”
Wills would make them declare their intentions outright. “What kind of business?”
“Willa,” he said in his soft and pleading tone.
“No.” She rose from her chair. She’d told Charlie she’d wed no one. And now that she found him the most dashing, endearing creature, she would not kill him nor any other.
“Please do sit, my dear,” her mother begged.
“He is a fine fellow,” the earl went on as if she had not spoken. “With five thousand a year from his father. A house in Mayfair. Not large but large enough to accommodate a new wife.”
Wills threw her serviette to the table. “I don’t care if he’s got five hundred thousand and Carlton House! I will not marry him. You should not encourage him because I will not accept him. And you may not do that for me yourself without my permission.”
He scowled. “Enough of this, Willa! How will you live if we do not obtain a husband for you?”
“I will find a way,” she said and turned on her heel.
Climbing the stairs to her suite, she paused midway to gesture to Whistle and Thyme, her little Spaniels who sat at the foot of the stairs, panting for her every glance. “Come, my boys. You two know a thing or two about affection and respect.”
They scampered up the steps, yipping in their doggie delight to spend hours with her.
She’d end this marriage game once and for all. She’d put details to her escape that would secure the future she wanted.
