Wed in Disgrace (Convenient Arrangements #3) - Rose Pearson Page 0,5

standing alongside you, making certain that this gentleman knows that I have no intention of disappearing from your life even when you are a married woman.”

“That is very kind of you, Lady Newfield,” Delilah said, one hand pressed lightly against her stomach as she rose to stand tall, knowing now that her uncle was expecting her. “I am very glad you are here.”

“I am only sorry I was not able to be present with you earlier,” Lady Newfield replied, getting to her feet. “Now, we are to go and sit with your uncle for a time, I believe.” One eyebrow lifted, and her lips quirked. “Let us hope that there will be tea, for I am in desperate need of sustenance already!”

Delilah managed to smile as Lady Newfield led her to the door. She threw a look back at Betty, who nodded and smiled, continuing to unpack Delilah’s things as though she had always done so. Her heart still pounding furiously in her chest, Delilah walked after Lady Newfield, looking all about the townhouse and trying to imagine her father living there. Pain sliced through her as she recalled the many happy times they had enjoyed together back at her father’s estate. To lose him so suddenly—for he had unexpectedly had great pains in his chest, which had led to him taking his last few breaths of life—had been torturous to witness and all the more painful thereafter when she had realized he would not be returning to her. When her uncle had come to take over the estate, his title now the same as her father’s had once been, Delilah had not known what to expect. She had prayed that her uncle would be kind, that he would understand the pain and grief that had racked her, but her prayers had not been answered. He had marched into the estate and had changed her life forever.

“You must not be afraid of your uncle, Delilah,” Lady Newfield murmured as they began to descend the stairs. “And even if you are afraid, then I must ask for you to do all you can to hide your fear.”

Delilah opened her mouth to ask why, only to close it again.

“You can understand why that is,” Lady Newfield said with a knowing look. “Your uncle will use your fear against you. It will give him an increased sense of control over you if you show him that you are fearful of him.”

“I understand,” Delilah answered honestly. “I shall do all I can to remain strong in the face of his callousness.”

“I know that he has been more than unkind to you,” Lady Newfield said. “But that was at a time when you were grieving, when you were in the depths of sorrow. I cannot imagine what you must have endured, being sent away and knowing that you did not have either your mother or your father any longer.”

A sob lodged in Delilah’s throat, and she did not answer, shaking her head instead.

“Lord Denholm clearly did not want the burden of you any longer,” Lady Newfield said with steel in her eyes. “But I certainly do, Delilah, and I promise you that no matter what you are faced with, you shall not have to do so alone any longer.”

It was this courage that brought Delilah a little hope as she walked into the drawing-room to find her uncle standing at the mantlepiece, his brows lowered over his eyes, his hands held firmly behind his back. His eyes were like flint, watching her as she came into the room and never once looking away. With fear still blossoming in her heart, she bobbed a quick curtsy and then sat down. Lady Newfield did not curtsy but rather marched to a chair next to Delilah and took a seat.

“Delilah.” Lord Denholm’s voice was low and rough. “You know why you have been returned to London.”

Delilah wanted to remain silent, not quite sure she could trust her voice. Breathing out slowly, she nodded, only to catch Lady Newfield’s eye. With a deep breath, she lifted her chin a little more and looked at her uncle.

“Yes, Uncle,” she said, aware that her voice trembled but doing all she could to speak with as much firmness as she could muster. “I am to be married.”

Her uncle flinched as though he had not expected her to speak so. “Yes, that is so,” he grated. “I will not tell you the name of the gentleman as yet, for I do not think