Page 20 of Forget Me Not

Father stopped moving, his mouth twisted in thought. Was Lucas getting through to him?

“I would be an annoyance to her, and she would be something of a weight to me.” He hoped it was an exaggeration, but he harbored a great many doubts on that score. Resentment could grow between people so quickly.

“You will find your middle ground given time,” Father said. “Many couples begin their marriages with disparate backgrounds.”

“But—”

Father held up his hand and cut off the objection. “Your mother and I began our lives together with these same differences. As you can see, it was not a hindrance to our happiness.”

That argument wasn’t going to carry much weight, then. It ought to, but it wouldn’t.

“When did your parents decide that Mother was to be your bride?”

“When I was about your age,” Father said. “Your mother had completed her first Season in London—she’d made her bows in Society later than many young ladies, a result of her preference for home. During that Season, she and I were thrown together a few times and our parents found the idea of a match between us to be ideal. We hadn’t an established connection between our families yet, but one was desirable. I had, of course, paid court to a handful of young ladies over the preceding years, but your mother proved the best choice in many ways.”

“And I cannot imagine you were the only gentleman paying court to Mother. Though I am her son, I am not unaware of the fact that she is a handsome and charming lady.”

A fond smile tugged at Father’s lips. “She had many suitors, yes.”

“Both of you had options,” Lucas pointed out. “Yourmatch was arranged based on the two of you being one another’sbestoption.”

Father’s mouth tipped downward once more. “Lucas.”

“Hear me out, please.” Lucas stood and crossed to him. “I am not objecting to a marriage arranged by my parents. I truly am not. But, Father, I have options. I have many connections in Society. When the Season begins again, I will have ample invitations to balls and soirees. Why not afford me the same courtesy your parents afforded you? Let us go up to London and do as your parents did: choose a match based on what is best for me and for the lady who would be my wife.”

“Your opportunities are not the only ones that must be taken into consideration.” Father began pacing again.

“Meaning that because Julia does not have connections or suitors to choose from, I am required to fill that role.” Could Father not see how ludicrous this was? “She will inherit a title and an estate. Surely that could be leveraged into obtaining the attention she is currently not receiving.”

“Farland does not wish for anyone to marry her simply to gain access to her title and lands.”

That, at least, was a mark in Lord Farland’s favor. He’d not given Julia much consideration outside of that small crumb.

“So he chose someone who didn’t need either.”

Father nodded. “Precisely.”

“But is that not another reason for hesitancy? The Farland barony will be obliterated by this marriage. That title will simply be absorbed by the Lampton title and will disappear. Surely, Lord Farland wishes to contract a marriage that will guarantee the continuance of his family’s long-held title.”

Father hesitated only the length of a breath. “His family will gain prestige by being connected with ours. Julia will gain standing by being married to you.”

“But I do not gain standing by being married to her. Neither do we gain anything we desperately need. We have land aplenty, deep coffers, standing in Society, more titles than you and I are able to use between us.” Lucas would push until he was heard. “Julia will have a title in her own right. She will have an estate she could call her own, something of hers to pass on to a child someday. Marrying me will take that away from her.”

Rather than growing more contemplative, Father’s demeanor was turning decidedly frustrated. “She is marrying well and will have everything she could hope for. You are contracting a match that will benefit your family, both current and future. This incessant arguing does not change how I feel, and I promise you it will not sway your mother or Lord Farland. I am sorry that it was foisted upon you without warning. If we’d realized you required being treated with kid gloves on this matter—”

“It is not a matter of me being overly sensitive.” How could Father think as much? “It is a bad match, no matter your insistence otherwise. I am objecting not out of an abundance of sensibility but as a plea for my future and hers. You had options, Father. Please allow me to have some as well.”

At last a glimmer of empathy entered his father’s face. Perhaps Lucas had finally secured the consideration he needed.

“This is the match we have chosen for you, son. I know you don’t see it now, but it will be a good one. You will sort out your difficulties so long as you are willing to try.”

His words held a note of finality that could not be mistaken. Lucas released a lung-emptying breath. “You will not be moved?”

“Reconcile yourself, Lucas. And reassure yourself with the knowledge that your mother and I would not have contracted this match, no matter the benefit to our family, if we did not fully believe that you could be happy in it.”

An easy declaration to make when one was not charged with making it true.

“She will despise me, Father, and I very much fear I will come to resent her as well. I will lose both my chance for a happy marriage and the only childhood friend I have left.”

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