Page 16 of The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter
He glanced up at the sky and the gathering clouds. “If it is raining, I will send my carriage down to pick you up. No discussion on this, Viola. I can tell you for certain that walking around with one’s clothes soaking wet is not pleasant.”
She tried to stifle a grin, but failed.
Two pink stains now marked her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
“Do not apologize to me. I deserved the dousing. However, don’t ever do it again.”
She could not have missed the steel in his voice.
“I won’t. I give you my word of honor.”
They spoke no more as they reached the vicarage and he was led in to see her father. Viola ran into the kitchen to hide out with Mrs. Bligh, the woman who served as cook, maid, and general housekeeper in their small home.
Vicar Ruskin looked quite tired, but he greeted Alexander with a cheerful smile. “I hope my daughter has not plagued you too badly.”
“No, she is extremely helpful. I assume she confided my plans to you.”
Her father nodded. “She tells me everything. I hope these first meetings have proved productive.”
“They have. She will join me tomorrow at this same time, if that does not inconvenience you.”
“No inconvenience at all, my lord. I ought to be thanking you for getting her out of the house. Once her chores are done, she has nothing to do but worry about me. We’ve had to cut back quite a bit on our activities because of my health. It is not good for her. In truth, you are doing me a service.”
“Let me know if I can do anything for your comforts.” He glanced toward the door to make certain it was closed. “As for your daughter, I do not want you to worry about her future.”
The man’s face lost all cheerfulness and his eyes began to cloud with tears. “How can I not? She will be all alone in the world once I am gone. It is my greatest fear and my greatest worry. The little I have set aside for her to inherit will not go far, at best allowing for a few luxuries if she scrimps and saves on everything else. It is not nearly enough to provide security and independence throughout her life. Yet, she will not relent and agree to marry George Haworth.”
“You cannot force a girl like Viola to give her heart to someone she does not love.”
“But I fear so greatly for her if she remains on her own. The world out there can be cold and hard.”
“She will not be unprotected. I shall see her safely settled in a good house. She thinks to work as a cook. I’ve tasted her food and it is quite excellent. She has talent, but I believe she is more suited to be a companion to a dowager rather than to be toiling in a kitchen. Perhaps my grandmother or one of her friends will take her in. I will make the arrangements when that time comes. Upon my oath, I will not abandon her. Consider her under my family’s protection. I hope it will not be needed for a good long while yet.”
The old man cast him a shaky smile. “That would ease my mind greatly. Thank you, my lord.”
Alexander placed a hand on his arm. “Just work on getting yourself better. Do not worry about Viola. My family will look after her. We will never let her come to harm.”
He purposely included mention of his family because he understood very well the vicar’s concerns about him, an unmarried viscount, and Viola being lovely and vulnerable. To tell the vicar he alone intended to take personal interest in seeing Viola safely settled would cause the man to worry even more about his intentions.
Indeed, Viola was young and beautiful, but her family was not even of the landed gentry in rank. Not the sort of woman a man in Alexander’s position could ever marry without raising eyebrows. But she was just the sort a man in his position would take on as his mistress.
This had to be the vicar’s greatest fear, especially since his daughter was too independent for her own good. She would settle for nothing less than a love marriage, which meant she would have no husband to protect her.
The old man could not even marry her off to a good man like George Haworth before he passed.
Viola would not hear of it.
Alexander could see the vicar was tiring rapidly. “I’ll be on my way now. Your daughter has given me work to prepare for tomorrow. She is a hard taskmaster. I had better return to my studies or risk being ordered to sit in a corner and wear a dunce cap.”
That made her father chuckle. “I shall ask her to go easy on you, my lord.”
He nodded. “Much appreciated.”
He left the vicar’s study and stuck his head in the kitchen in search of Viola, but only Mrs. Bligh was around.
She noticed him in the doorway and immediately set aside her mixing bowl to bob a curtsey. “My lord.”
“Good day, Mrs. Bligh. Where is Miss Ruskin?”
