Page 10 of In Want of a Wife
Lily glanced around at the chaotic mess of papers in his office, the ridiculous mallard collection, and a life he had built without saving any space for her in it. When her mother died, his love for Lily had died as well, as if too painful of a burden to withstand. That would never change, and Lily had been too much of a fool to wish and hope otherwise.
If she remained, nothing would change except that, with enough time, she would wither and become so small that Milton House would be the only refuge she would have from the contemptuous glare of the Londonton. Spinsters were shunned at worst and tolerated at best, and she longed for more from this life than to be ignored.
“Then good evening, Father.”
He grumbled, barking at her gruffly to shut the door behind her. She turned to leave, then paused, finding herself staring at the same marriage advertisement she had shown Kate and Charlotte. Lily wiped at her eyes and quickly grabbed the newspaper, shutting the door behind her and hurrying off to her room.
She refused to allow her father to dictate her life when he barely saw her worthy of one. As she penned a response to the advertisement that evening, she knew leaving would mean forfeiting her dowry, but at least she would decide what her future would look like.
And it would be far from Milton House.
CHAPTER 3
Rafe believedthe day must begin with a fit meal. Herring was not what he considered a good start. In fact, herring rather dampened the outlook on a good morning altogether.And runny gooseberry pie did not account for much either.
The nasty fish permeated the air before he made his way to the breakfast room. The early day’s sun already bled through the bank of stained windows and illuminated the musty hall last decorated around the reign of Henry VI.
Christ, this house was a mausoleum.
His stomach rumbled as he took the last corner with a long gait, whistling as he entered the cavernous morning room. He swiped a biscuit from the table and tore off a corner in his mouth before he proceeded to the sideboard for anything other than herring.
“I see you are here after all,” Henry said. Rafe’s brother, not the late departed king. Though most times, his brother shared the same tyrannical tendencies.
“Of course,” Rafe said with a wide smile, crumbs spilling out of his mouth as he heaped eggs onto his plate.
“I wasn’t certain since I haven’t seen you much the past few days. I can often count on you to make meals.”
Rafe spun around and saluted his older brother. “My duty, of course.”
Henry nodded, sighing as Rafe speared a ham steak and laid it over the heaping pile of eggs. “Why must we endure herring at every meal?”
“It is what we have. I surrendered the ham, so I would not have to suffer your complaints about the herring.”
“Very brotherly of you. Well in that case, there is plenty more of that ghastly fish for your meal. Would you like some?”
“No.”
It was a simple answer, but Henry’s disappointment all but hit Rafe over the head. A set down was always hidden under simple words. It was in Henry’s nature to be exceedingly efficient, even without speaking the direct truth. Rafe was half-convinced their parents had traded in a boyish Henry for an automaton.
He wished Henry would just be forthright with shaming Rafe over the life he led. It would make small conversations involving the sharing of ham over herring easier to stomach.
Rafe gazed down at the ham heaped over his plate and grimaced. Perhaps he should share. He set the plate down on the scantily dressed table with a wobbly leg and folded his long body into the too small chair. He flashed a coy glance at Henry, then dove into the food on his plate. He could share tomorrow when he wasn’t ready to eat an army of elephants.
“I have some interesting correspondence here.” Henry tapped his hand over a stack of opened envelopes.
The delicious forkful of eggs lodged themselves in Rafe’s throat as he jerked back in surprise. He grabbed his coffee and took a giant gulp, sputtering as it scalded his tongue. He thought he would have a few more weeks at least before the replies came. Though he had been fairly certain no such woman existed when he had placed the advertisement seeking a wife.
“Ah, so you know the matter I am referring to then. I never knew you to waste a bite of breakfast.”
He couldn’t help what happened next. The cheeky smile was spreading across Rafe’s face before he could censor its appearance.
“Would you care to explain why this advertisement,” Henry asked, his voice growing colder as he thumped the newspaper on the table, “appeared in the paper?”
The grin was bad enough, but when Rafe began laughing, Henry appeared as though he would leap across the rickety table and strangle his younger brother. His brother had been instigating his promotion to captain in London, seeking out their father’s friends now in the admiralty. Rafe didn’t appreciate Henry prying. This was only payback, and perhaps enough of a distraction that Henry would leave well enough alone.
“I was simply doing my part in finding you a wife now that you have inherited Cliffstone Manor and a title.”
“There was no need.”
