Page 65 of The Spinster's Stolen Hear
“I… I do not havelax morals,” Pippa stammered. “Mama, I…”
“Quiet! I’ve heard enough of you and your excuses,” Bridget snapped. “You made a mistake, Pippa. We are all of us human, but there is no room in Society for mistakes. That almost-kiss on the balcony was just as damaging as if you had spent the night in a man’s house, unchaperoned. Believe me, it is. Your entire world will crumble. Nobody will have you in their houses for fear of being tainted. No young woman will be permitted to befriend you, and no man would ever dream of courting you for fear of the shame. And your cousins, of whom you are so fond? They’ll turn their backs on you, too. Nobody’s reputation is too strong to withstand contact with a fallen woman.”
There was a silence. Pippa felt as if she were falling in more ways than one.
A fallen woman. The lowest of the low. An unlucky woman who failed to measure up to the austere standards and had the misfortune to fall from her perch. There’s no getting up once one has fallen.
Bridget came forward, taking Pippa’s hands. She gave a tentative smile, looking straight into her daughter’s eyes.
“A small mistake ought not to ruin your life, Pippa. And I intend to see to it that it does not. Lord Barwick will save us, you may count on it. You must abandon hope of Lord Whitmore, do you understand?”
Pippa swallowed. “But… but why?”
Bridget sighed. “Lord Whitmore does not care for you, Pippa. I daresay he is opportunistic, and you have been obvious enough in your affection for him.”
“I think he does care for me,” Pippa pressed, and Bridget’s gaze hardened.
“He does not. If he cared for you, he would never have put you in such a position, would he?”
This was a point that Pippa could not refute. She jerked back, thinking it over, and found that there wasn’t a reply. At least, none she could think off. A headache was pounding behind her eyes, and she was feeling more and more nauseous.
“You see, my poor girl?” Bridget asked, sounding faintly pleading. “I am your only ally. Believe me, if a breach opens up between us, Katherine will throw you out in an instant. If any scandal is attached to either of us, William will send us away, and then what will we do? You must see how vulnerable we are.”
Pippa closed her eyes. She had been thinking the same thing about what would happen if a breach appeared between her and her mother. Could it be that she’d misjudged the situation? Her cousins were kind and friendly, to be sure, but how well did shereallyknow them?
One thing was clear, however.
I’ve made the most terrible mistake. And now I must accept the consequences.
“Perhaps… perhaps you are right,” she managed at last, her voice faintly strangled.
Bridget smiled, relief creeping over her face. “Of course, I’m right, darling. I know you and I haven’t seen eye to eye on many things, but I am still your mother, and I still love you. It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”
Pippa tried to summon a smile, but it would not come.
“Now,” Bridget said, her tone turning brisk, “it’s time for you to retire, I think. You may go.”
Pippa walked out of the parlour, feeling somewhat dizzy, and stood in the hall for a moment or two, staring into space.
“Pippa? There you are.”
She flinched at Katherine’s voice, spinning around to face her.
Katherine waddled along, one hand on her swollen belly, looking concerned.
“Oh, hello, Katherine,” Pippa managed. “I am so sorry we had to come home early, but Mama was so unwell.”
“It’s quite all right,” Katherine said, smiling. “I hope she recovers. But it was you I wanted to see, Pippa. You haven’t been yourself lately, and tonight you just seemed… well,odd. And after you had such a success with your violin playing, too!”
Pippa managed a faint smile. “Thank you, cousin.”
Katherine frowned. “Youare not in your usual spirits. Did something happen with Lord Whitmore?”
Pippa’s head snapped up. “What? Why him?”
Katherine chuckled, shaking her head. “I’m not a fool, you know. It’s clear that you’re in love with the man. And I quite approve, you know.”
She swallowed. “It’s… it’s apparent that I love him? Do you mean that everybody knows?”
