Wed in Disgrace (Convenient Arrangements #3) - Rose Pearson
Prologue
“I suppose now that I have no other choice but to take you into my home. However, it shall not be of long duration, for I intend to find a suitable match for you for soon.”
Miss Delilah Johnston sat down heavily on her bed, the letter falling from her hands to the floor. Tears flooded her vision as she tried her best to keep her composure.
It had been some years since she had last heard from her uncle. Her uncle who had inherited her father’s title when he had died, leaving Delilah without father or mother. Even though she had been entitled to her time of mourning, her uncle had refused to allow her that and had shipped her to a school where she had been meant to receive all the education that would then make her a very suitable and elegant young lady. Whilst that had happened, Delilah had found no happiness. There had been rules to follow; stark, strict rules that allowed for not even the smallest infringement. Punishments had been severe for even the slightest misdemeanor and Delilah had often had to go without luncheon and dinner in the hope that this would teach her what was expected. The established ladies, as they were known, ruled with an iron rod and Delilah had become weary under their cruel ways.
“Miss Delilah?”
She turned her head swiftly to see the only friend she had ever made at the decrepit place. “Betty,” she said, as the maid came a little further into the room. “Are you quite all right?”
Betty glanced around as though making quite certain that there was no one else around—no one who might inform those in charge that she had been speaking to Delilah.
“Your letter,” she said, gesturing to the one on the floor. “It does not make you happy?”
Delilah shook her head. “No,” she said dully. “It does not.”
“Then, you are to stay here?”
Slowly, Delilah shook her head, her heart aching in her chest. “I am to return to my uncle. He does not intend to keep me in his household for long, however. It seems I am to be wed.”
Betty caught her breath, and Delilah looked up at her miserably.
“Indeed,” she said heavily. “It will not be a match of my choosing, of course. It will be someone that I do not know and certainly do not care for. In fact, I am certain that my uncle will choose the very worst sort of gentleman and push me towards him, given how little he seems to care for me.” Her heart continued to ache as she turned her head to look down at her letter, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “I do not know what I shall do.”
Biting her lip, Betty came a little closer to Delilah, her expression one of concern. Looking steadily down at Delilah, she put one hand on her shoulder. Their friendship had formed over the years Delilah had been there, and whilst there was a great difference in their status, Delilah had found Betty to be a very loyal friend indeed.
A sudden idea came into Delilah’s mind and she caught her breath, looking up at Betty.
“You should come with me, Betty,” she breathed, reaching up to catch Betty’s hand. “You could be my lady’s maid.”
Betty’s eyes flared, staring down at Delilah with astonishment.
“My uncle would not be able to refuse you,” Delilah continued, her heart thundering with sudden hope. “If I am a proper young lady, I require a lady’s maid, do I not?”
Betty, it seemed, did not know what to say, for she continued to hold Delilah’s gaze for a long time, nothing being said.
“I know you do not like it here,” Delilah continued, pressing Betty’s hand with great fervor. “You could come with me, could be my lady’s maid and continue with me into my married life.” She gestured to the large, sparse room which held nothing more than a few beds and bedside tables and drawers. “I am sure that my uncle’s house—and my husband’s house, whoever he might turn out to be—will have a better establishment than this.”
Pressing her lips together, Betty considered for a few more minutes as Delilah waited desperately to hear her friend’s answer. It was a very foolish idea in some respects, for to steal Betty away from what was her current employment without the assurance that she would then be given a suitable position with suitable pay was quite ridiculous, but Delilah could barely think of leaving her friend behind here.