Page 57 of Lady of Charade
He was halfway into his carriage, one foot within and the other still on the step, when he heard his name being called and he turned to find Lady Georgina running down the walkway.
“Mr. Redmond,” she gasped as she neared, as though she had sprinted the entire way — which he imagined she had, either to get ahead of her mother or because she had needed to make up time after making her excuses to Lady Buckworth. Regardless, he urged her to continue. “I apologize for my mother. You were nothing but honest with us, which I very much appreciate. And I— I understand.”
“You do?” he asked, raising his eyebrows, then, sensing the awkwardness of their positions, him so far above her on the steps, he gestured toward the interior of his carriage. “Would you like to sit within for a moment? I will leave the door open.”
She hesitated before nodding. “Very well,” she said, following him up, taking his proffered hand.
Once they were seated, he urged her to continue.
“I am happy for you and the fact that you have found a woman you truly love,” she said, surprising him. He had only had the opportunity to gauge her expressions earlier and he had hardly heard her speak more than three words at once the night they had dinner together, so it was nearly amazing to hear so many at one time now. “I…” she looked down at her hands shyly. “I have found love myself.”
“Have you now?” he asked, sitting back into the squabs, crossing his arms over his chest. This was certainly an interesting turn of events. “I am very pleased to hear that, Lady Georgina. Which leads me to ask — why would your parents arrange for you to marry me when there is another who has captured your heart?”
She paused for a moment, as though she didn’t know what to say until finally, her words caught his attention once more.
“You truly are not aware of the arrangement,” she said, her words not a question but rather a revelation, and he narrowed his eyes at her in puzzlement.
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Oh dear,” she whispered, and he leaned in closer.
“Please tell me.”
“As you may or may not be aware, my family is in some difficult financial circumstances,” she said, somewhat hesitantly. “My father squandered away his fortune on ill-advised investments, leaving my family to sell nearly everything we owned of any worth in an attempt to make it back. I have an older brother to whom all of the estates will be left, but he is already married, so there was no opportunity for him to wed a woman who would provide a substantial dowry.”
She stopped talking once more, looking down at her hands. David wanted to shake her, to tell her to continue, but he had enough sense to realize that was likely the last method one should use with a woman such as Lady Georgina — he was liable to scare her away. Instead, he waited, which did not come entirely naturally to him, but he was rewarded for his patience.
“I, of course, have no dowry, which is naturally a problem as I am a couple of years past what would be considered optimal marriageable age,” she said. “When my father was last in London, he was sharing his dilemma with your father, who in turn shared his own, as he thought they could come to a mutual understanding.”
“Of…”
“Of marriage,” she said with a sigh. “Unlike most arrangements, your father agreed to pay mine upon us wedding.”
David could only stare at her for a moment before he responded, though the words nearly choked him.
“Are you telling me that my father is so desperate to be rid of me, to see me married off, that he agreed to pay a dowry… for me?”
How embarrassing. How utterly debasing. If anyone ever found out about this…
“I’m not sure I would call it adowry,” said Lady Georgina kindly. “Perhaps more of an agreement?”
David ran his hand over his face. Had he really been such an embarrassment to his father? And how did the man think that marriage would change him? Why did it matter?
“But what of your suitor, the man you say you love? Surely if he loved you an equal amount in return, he would pay the dowry for you?”
Lady Georgina looked out the window, her eyes far away.
“He absolutely would — if he could. Unfortunately, he has no access to any money that could even come close to paying a thing for me. He is… not from the nobility.”
“Who is he?” David asked, intrigued, and Lady Georgina’s cheeks turned bright pink.
“He is a footman within our homes,” she said softly. “We fell in love during the summer, when he was at our country estate. It continued throughout the winter. I cannot imagine my life without him, but I also cannot imagine a life with him. My parents, of course, forbid it.”
David sympathized with her. He was facing a somewhat similar dilemma, although he was in a better position to do something about it if he so chose. Lady Georgina would likely be held to whatever her parents decided for her.
“I’m sorry,” he said, reaching out and placing a hand on her arm. “Truly, I am. If there is ever anything I can do to help you, please come find me.”
He gave her the address of his boardinghouse, and then she began to depart the carriage.
