Page 7 of A Wild English Rose
“We do care about you. Which is why you need to make this marriage with Lord Horsham. With his money and title, you will be forever beyond the reach of those vicious stories.”
Cecily had heard enough. Her parents wanted her off their hands. She turned and reached for the doorknob. “You and father have always made certain that I was beyond the reach of anyone. I barely know my older siblings, and you, dearest Mama, have withheld your affections. Let it be known then, that the day I marry is the last day you will ever hear from me.”
She opened the door and, after giving her mother one last withering look, slammed it hard behind her. The door rattled in its frame.
Once in her bedroom, she let the tears come.
Chapter Seven
Cecily’s father sent for her later that morning. As she stepped into his study, he pointed to a chair opposite where he sat at his desk. A number of papers were arranged in front of him.
“Settlement papers for your dowry. My solicitor drew them up last week; I was just going through them before you and I pay Lord Horsham a visit this afternoon.”
“So, I am to go through with this farce of a marriage?” she replied.
“Yes. And considering the conversation that you had with your mother this morning, I have decided the sooner the better.”
She had wondered how much of her argument with her mother would reach his ears. Her mother, as usual, had scuttled off and no doubt told him everything that had transpired. There was nothing held in confidence by Lady Norris. She would do whatever it took to protect both herself and her family name.
“I mean it when I say I shall have nothing to do with any of you once I am married,” she said.
Her father folded up the papers and placed them into a leather satchel. He rose from his desk and rang a small bell. A footman appeared within an instant.
“Take these to Lord Horsham. Inform his lordship that Lady Cecily and I shall be arriving at one o’clock.”
After the footman had left, Lord Norris came to Cecily and held out his hand. She reluctantly took it, and he pulled her to her feet.
“Now listen here. I have done far more for you than many other men in my situation would have. I gave you my name and ensured your place among the nobility of this country. After you marry Lord Horsham, and yes, you will be marrying him, you will be the picture of a happy bride to all who see you. I don’t give a damn what happens to you in private. If you try to embarrass me in public by ignoring me, I shall do what I should have done all those years ago.”
Cecily met his gaze and tried to hold it, but quickly failed. “And what is that?”
“Had you destroyed.”
A red-eyed Cecily and her father alighted from the Norris town carriage just after one o’clock that afternoon. She knew her father well enough to know that his threats were never empty. Sometimes she wondered why he had ever bothered to acknowledge her as his daughter.
Inside Lord Horsham’s home, she followed her father into a formal drawing room and took a seat on a plain black leather couch. As her gaze roamed the room, she picked up on a constant depressing color theme. Everything from the furniture to the curtains and floor coverings were either black or a dark unappealing brown. No woman’s touch had ever reached this house.
“Ah, Norris. Good to see you,” said Lord Horsham, stepping into the room. He did not bother to acknowledge Cecily.
Her father and Lord Horsham shook hands. “Did you manage to check the settlement papers that I sent?” asked her father.
Lord Horsham nodded. “Yes, they are all in order. Dowry was a little less than I had hoped for but needs must. Once I have that filly of yours in foal, I will be satisfied.” He laughed dryly, then coughed.
Cecily felt nauseous. She was being discussed as if she were nothing more than a brood mare. When Lord Horsham handed the papers to her father, she knew she had just been sold.
Her father turned to her. Lord Horsham nodded in her direction, the first actual sign that he had noticed she was present in the room.
“My solicitor’s office is just around the corner. I am going to deliver the papers myself. That will allow his lordship and yourself some private time to get better acquainted. I shall be back shortly for you,” said her father.
Lord Horsham chuckled once more. “Don’t be in too great a hurry, Norris. Young Cecily and I will need time to get comfortable, if you gather my meaning.”
A chill slid down Cecily’s spine. She had lived long enough without parental protection to know the words of a predatory male. She was being left to her fate.
As soon as her father had made his convenient exit, Lord Horsham made his move. He took a seat on the couch next to Cecily and took her by the hand.
His touch was as cold as she had imagined. His grip was full of self-assurance. In handing over the marriage settlement papers to Lord Norris, he had finalized the purchase of his bride. The matter of a wedding was now a mere formality. “So, my dear, what do you think of my home?”
Cecily was no fool. She knew that old rouse. Get them talking, gain their trust, then move in for the kill. She was having none of it. “Actually, I find this room rather dark. Is the rest of the house decorated in the same vein?”
