Always the Rival (Never the Bride #7) - Emily E K Murdoch Page 0,57
guest laughed. “Well, now I know it for sure. You must remember not to give yourself away so easily, Miss Seton.”
There was nothing for it. Priscilla leaned forward and helped herself to another slice of cake. “I respectfully remind you, Miss Ashbrooke, that I have not sought your advice nor services and do not need them. Although…although it is none of your business,” and she felt a little shiver of rebellion for being so direct, “yes, I am in love, and it is unrequited. Please, let us leave it at that.”
There was a moment of silence, and Priscilla thought in that instant that the matchmaker would leave it alone.
“Unrequited love, you say,” she mused aloud. “Well, there is a simple remedy for it.”
She sounded so certain, so sure of herself that Priscilla’s heart twisted in her chest. “Yes?”
The idea that Miss Ashbrooke could help her had never occurred to her. A professional in the ways of love surely had more ideas than she did.
“Find another gentleman!” Miss Ashbrooke beamed. “And you are in luck, for I have plenty on my books at the moment, too many gentlemen. I need ladies, Miss Seton, ladies of good breeding, name, and beauty, like yourself.”
Priscilla leaned back in the settee. She should have known. “It is simply not possible for me to consider any other gentleman.”
She had not intended to speak aloud, but it had not mattered. Miss Ashbrooke was not listening.
“It is your Charles’s wedding in just over a week, isn’t it?”
“My Charles?” Priscilla could feel heat searing across her cheeks, her shoulders, her palms, her stomach. Her entire body was on fire. Her Charles?
Miss Ashbrooke was nodding. “Yes, your friend Charles – does he not live just down the road here, on the other side of the village? And to Miss Frances Lloyd, what a wonderful match.”
Priscilla nodded, unable to trust her tongue.
“Yes, I was very pleased with that one,” mused Miss Ashbrooke. “And of course, so critical for the Orrinshires that he marry quickly. What a scoop.”
For the first time since she had entered the room, Miss Ashbrooke had actually said something interesting. Intrigue filled every inch of Priscilla’s heart.
Need to marry, and quickly? She had not heard anything of the sort from Charles, Lady Audley, or the gossip that always surrounded people of that stature in society.
“Critical, you say?” Every syllable was as nonchalant as she could make it.
“Oh, yes, absolutely desperate,” Miss Ashbrooke said. “’Tis an open secret, of course – house mortgaged up to the hilt, and for years. If he does not marry money soon, the Orrinshire name will be hung over a cottage, not a mansion. It is no wonder really that Lady Audley chose Miss Lloyd. Her twenty thousand pounds will be a welcome relief to them, I warrant. Now, Miss Lymington, for example…”
Priscilla allowed the matchmaker’s words to wash over her, as pain and discomfort filled her mind.
Not for a single moment had it occurred to her to ask Charles why the engagement with Miss Lloyd had been made in the first place, and now she knew. The Orrinshire estate needed funds quickly, and as the only child and the heir to boot, it came down to Charles to find a wealthy bride.
Her own two thousand, always a little on the smaller side, now felt insignificant compared to Miss Lloyd’s fortune. There was no contest. If Charles were to save his family fortunes, he could not consider her as a bride.
Why hadn’t he said anything? Why hadn’t she asked?
It had all happened so quickly, this foolish engagement, but she had never thought to question it, not for an instant.
“I cannot tell you the reason, Priscilla, but this is how it has to be. You must trust me. I know what I am doing.”
Priscilla bit her lip. In one laughing jest with Miss Lloyd, she had almost ruined everything for Charles and his family. Had her own selfishness really brought her to this? After all their years of friendship, she had not even thought to ask why the wedding had to go ahead?
“ – but I really must go.”
Priscilla started. “Go?”
Miss Ashbrooke nodded. “Yes, I have an appointment in town at three o’clock, and if I do not leave now, I will sadly miss it. I have greatly enjoyed our conversation, Miss Seton.”
She rose, and Priscilla did, too, stepping to the fireplace and ringing the bell.
“I shall see you in town, I suppose,” said Miss Ashbrooke as she placed her bonnet back on.