Page 21 of The Lady and the Footballer
“Actually,” he said, “I think it would be better for both of us if you did.”
Dinner that evening was silent.
Tension covered the table as Lily lifted her gaze to her mother’s raised chin and her father’s furrowed brow as she slowly swirled her potatoes around on her plate, her appetite still lacking after her near-miss that afternoon at the mill.
When she had returned home, she had taken Mrs. O’Connor into her confidence. The cook had been shocked to see the bruises covering her body, but had helped her tend to them, although there was not much she could do besides place ice upon them again.
She had remarked that this was not a habit she wanted to become accustomed to. Lily had also asked her maid not to lace her tightly, grateful that they had nowhere to be this evening.
“How was your day, Father?” she asked, wishing she hadn’t done so after his eyes met hers.
“It was not well, Lily,” he said, his tone icy. “Tell me, how was yours?”
Did he know what had happened? She had hoped that Mr. Thornton would omit mentioning her involvement in the machine’s malfunction, for she knew her father would not be pleased that she had ventured onto the factory floor.
“It was… enlightening,” she said carefully.
“How so?”
“I, um, discovered some things in the account books that I would like to review with you – after dinner, of course. I did see some… accidents in the mill as well.”
“Yes, Lily, there were accidents,” he said, his nostrils flaring as he placed his fork and knife down with a clatter. “There I was, in a meeting with Lord Montgomery, refusing his offer of amerger and defending the success of my mill, when meanwhile, not one, not two, butthreeof my machines are malfunctioning. I hope he didn’t hear about it as he left.”
“Lord Montgomery came to see you?” her mother asked, her brows raising.
“Yes. And once again, I declined an allegiance between our families to protect my daughter.”
The way he directed the last bit at Lily made her feel like he was angry with her, but she hadn’t done anything to deserve it – of that, she was certain.
“Thank you, Father,” she said, biting her lip. “But I do not understand why he is so determined that I should marry Lord Nathaniel. We hardly know each other.”
“He hasn’t said as much, but I believe he is concerned that Lord Nathaniel will never marry based on how he treats women,” her father said. “I, for one, refuse to put my daughter at risk.”
“I daresay he would not be quite so dreadful as all that,” her mother interjected. “His mother is the loveliest woman.”
Lord Harcourt fixed his glare on his wife.
“I know many men who have lovely mothers,” he said. “That does not make them ideal husbands for my daughter. Now, that being said, Lily, we must discuss something.”
“Yes?”
“I have declined the offer from Lord Montgomery and his son, but you are four-and-twenty. You asked for time to find a love match, and we have given you that time while still encouraging you to find an ideal husband. We have suggested many young men, and you have repeatedly turned them down. At some point, you will have to find one of them acceptable.”
“It is not that they are notacceptable,” she said, biting her lip. “But when I say I want a love match, Father, I truly want to fall in love. I have not yet found that.”
“Well, you’d best find it soon, or we will find it for you. Life is not like your silly books.” Her mother sniffed.
Lily’s shoulders drooped as she sank back into her chair, deciding that all she could do at this point was change the subject.
“Can the machines be fixed?” Lily asked.
“One can only hope,” her father said with a sigh, running his hand through his hair.
“When is the next football match?” Lily asked, trying another topic as she forced herself to eat a bite of peas. At least her mother would be happy if she couldn’t eat much.
“That’s the other thing!” her father exclaimed, tipping back on the chair’s two rear legs and raising his hands in the air.
Lily suddenly wished she hadn’t asked the question.
