Page 23 of Long Live the Baron
Her mother lifted a hand to cover her mouth, a sob escaping as her chocolate brown eyes glistened. Lily’s heart wrenched in her chest. Her own eyes prickled with the threat of tears as she dropped her head to stare at her twisting fingers. “I am … so sorry. I … did not know what else to do.”
“Nay, this is my fault!” Aidan jumped to his feet, pacing back and forth and flinging his hands into the air. “If I had been here that night, I would have seen him myself and been able to step forward as his alibi. It is my fault that Lily was alone. If not for me, she would never have been in this situation in the first place.”
“Aidan.”
Her brother continued to pace in front of the large fireplace, mumbling about his culpability.
“Aidan!”
He stopped to look at their father, who said, “Lily made her decision, and there is no unringing that bell. News of her spending the night with Ridley will spread through thetonshortly, and we must prepare ourselves.”
Aidan nodded dully, still pale from the shock of recent revelations.
“Will … will Mr. Ridley offer for her?” Mama’s voice was fretful, and guilt stabbed Lily.
“I shall contact him forthwith to learn his intentions.”
“And if he does not?”
Papa firmed his jaw at the question.
Please, Lord. Mr. Ridley must help me!
“We must find a gentleman willing to marry her.”
Lily nearly choked at Mama’s declaration. What kind of man would be willing to marry her now? Surely not an upstanding one?
Papa shook his head, much to her relief.
“Aidan will take her to the Continent until the scandal dies down?” Her father glanced her way, and Lily nodded in agreement. She had contemplated many alternatives over the course of the night, and that was the only one which appealed.
But Mr. Ridley will do the right thing. He must!
Aidan came to sit by her side, his boyish face gaunt in the morning light. “Whatever you need, Lily Billy. I will pound Ridley until he comes up to scratch, if you wish. Failing that, we will visit the wonders of Europe together.”
Lily pulled her lips into a halfhearted smile as she dropped her head against his shoulder. She was grateful that her family would support her over the coming days.
CHAPTER6
“The principle on which to lead an army is to establish a standard of courage that all must achieve.”
Sun Tzu, L’Art de la Guerre (The Art of War)
* * *
JULY 23, 1821
Richard’s voice was still ringing in his ears as Brendan’s carriage came to a halt in front of the Abbotts’ home. Through the window, he noticed Lady Slight’s townhouse across the street.
Miss Abbott’s strange decision made a little more sense now that he could see that it was her home where he had disembarked several nights earlier. Practically a stone’s throw apart.
A footman opened the door, lowering the steps for him. Brendan descended the steps and then peered up at the modest home of Viscount Moreland. Three bays wide and three stories high, there was no ostentatious display despite the family’s wealth. Brendan knew Lady Saunton, the viscount’s niece, had boasted a large dowry that had led to all her troubles the year before. The earl had saved her from a dire situation unbeknownst to the Abbotts and had nearly been killed for interceding.
Which reminded him of Richard’s agitated admonishments early this morning. Butterflies set flight in his stomach as Brendan once again thought about his looming proposal. His lack of sleep, and the shock of the baron’s death followed by his almost arrest, had his head aching. There were moments where he felt entirely disoriented, something he had been battling since the runner had informed him of his imminent arrest the day before.
Now he was to offer for a young girl he did not know.
Brendan had always promised himself that he would never allow the baron to trap him in an unwanted marriage. When he learned the truth about his parentage—and realized that his mother had married Josiah Ridley out of necessity, to save Brendan from bastardy—he had vowed to never find himself in similar circumstances. His mother had been beauty and grace, and she had deserved better than the marriage with his uncle-father.
