Chapter 14 - GEORGINA—SISTER IN THE HOUSE

Chapter 14

GEORGINA—SISTER IN THE HOUSE

When we walked back to the house, the horse and gig had been put away. The street was vacant.

Katherine stopped in front of our steps. Her gaze, like mine, went to the lit parlor window. I could imagine the Christmas celebrations when we all were here, healthy and thriving. That little room around the pianoforte would be where we gathered.

“Such good memories.”

“We’ll have them again, Georgina. I’m going to get us out of this problem. It’s my fault. I see that now. Maybe it took the Duke of Torrance’s interference to show me.”

“Katherine, we’re a family,” I said, but then she interrupted.

“Yes. We’ll do it together. I will save this house. And if we’re going to try and save Wilcox Coal, to keep it, we need to try now. Can you help? Are you willing to help?”

Brow raised, I nodded. “Of course, I am. But what are we going to do differently?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I can get a loan. Something that would be easier to pay back than every club and gaming hell in town.”

The vulnerable woman by the water had disappeared. The warrior, ready for battle, stood at my side.

I felt lost. I wanted the human Katherine, the one I could talk to. The one who could be weak and comfortable in her shoes and made me feel fine that I wasn’t perfect.

“Are we going to be completely honest, Katherine? Wilcox women typically don’t lie, but we sure don’t say all the truth.”

Katherine shook her head. “They need to believe the engagement is true. One wrong word, or look, could reignite gossip.”

“What about telling Scarlett and Lydia that we’re still facing the possibility of losing the business or even the house?”

“No, Georgina.”

Shrugging, I started for the door.

“Georgie, please. What’s done is done. I can’t shame Tavis. He’s gone and I want him to rest in peace. But from this day forward, I will be more open. Let’s start tonight.”

“But you said—”

“I changed my mind. Tell them you are engaged to Lord Mark Sebastian, but the engagement won’t last. The not lasting is the truth.”

My sister was right. We surely needed a new Wilcox tradition. “Fine.”

Deciding that some progress was better than none, we pressed inside and yanked off our coats and went to our sisters in the parlor.

Scarlett pointed to seats. “It’s come to my attention that you two have some explaining to do. What has happened? The silence is weird even for us.”

Standing up tall, I took a deep breath. The air was scented with roses. The parlor always smelled like this, like Mama’s cologne water spilled on the rug. Perhaps Lydia found a vial and dipped in it to avoid a bath.

“I’m engaged,” I said.

“To who?” Scarlett sank into a chair and started clapping. “The Duke of Torrance?”

I wrung my hands, and then just said the words. “No. Lord Mark Sebastian, a friend of the duke’s, proposed today.”

“On a first meeting?” Scarlett slipped all the way to the floor. “Wait a minute. The last time someone married someone we didn’t know, we got Tavis. Nope. Turn him down.”

Well, that went a little better than expected.

Lydia jumped up and down. “My sister is engaged and not to the duke. He’s still free. I can still marry him.”

Scarlett propped her hand under her chin. “Um, Georgina and the duke would be more expected.”

“Tell our sister why that would be more expected.” Katherine clapped, rallying this foolish notion. “See, Georgie. I wasn’t alone in thinking you loved him.”

Scarlett wriggled her nose. “No. She doesn’t. But at least we know the duke. And he’d make a good brother. He’s been a good brother.”

Lydia danced, but then became winded. “If I can’t marry him, he’d make an excellent brother. He’s so good to us. And nothing but good things have happened since the duke has come into our lives.”

No lying to my sisters.

No hiding.

Just the truth. That was a motto I needed to put into action. “The engagement was a mistake. I did something pretty stupid. As soon as it looks like the chances of a scandal are gone, the engagement will be over.”

“Stupid’s not love.” Lydia’s eyes sparkled. “Perhaps you got a prince. Then you can be a princess too.”

“No, Lydia. He’s not a prince. He’s a nice man, but he and I will break off this engagement. I believe we’ll find that we are not compatible.”

Our littlest girl’s hands froze. “Then why agree? That seems wasteful and can hurt people.”

The child was very smart. There were so many ways to hurt a decent fellow as well as our family.

Nodding, I almost wished I could tell her something that didn’t sound so foolish, but the truth was just that. “Then let’s be careful when we spend time with him. I’ll need you to tell me what you truly think of him.”

“Careful?” Scarlett glared at me. “This is horrid. Women shouldn’t have to act like this. We should be able to be ourselves, not fretting to have a husband or keep a pristine reputation. Men don’t do that. They carry on and sin all the time.”

“But men made the world. Or, they run it.” Katherine laid her head back. “I hate this too. But we have to go through with this for our sister’s sake, for all of us. Mama made us promise not to court scandal. She made me promise to keep you all safe.”

“But she was wrong too,” said Scarlett. “With Papa’s health failing, she thought Tavis was our answer. He wasn’t.” Scarlett’s voice was harsh but her words were true.

Katherine sat up straight and leveled her shoulders. “You are right. And now we have to know that we, Wilcoxes, are the answer. The four of us working together can do anything. Georgina will get to know this man who proposed. If she changes her mind, I know the way in which she conducts this public courtship will be respectful. Her reputation will remain pristine.”

Lydia, smelling like a sweet spring rose, tugged on my sleeve. “Are you happy with this? I mean, I am. He’s not the duke, but is this good?”

“Lord Mark Sebastian is very nice. He loves music. I’ll get lessons.”

“Why?” Lydia asked. “You play very well. Mama made you have lessons. All three of you had ’em.”

“Well, I’m sure if she learns anything new, she’ll show us.” Katherine ushered Lydia to her side. “We will teach you.”

“But his instruction is not for pianoforte lessons. He’s supposed to teach me to sing in public. I have to sing at the duke’s ball. He’s holding one after Easter.”

“Oh, no.” Lydia wrinkled her nose. “You don’t ever do that. Lots of luck to you.”

“This is wrong.” Scarlett bounced to her feet. “So we are just supposed to get to know a potential new brother, but you don’t think the engagement will work. Well, I don’t mind not getting one if the last is any indication of the quality of men of the world.”

She covered her mouth, but her sentiment was shared.

Katherine shrank again, sinking into the blush-pink floral tapestry of the couch. “We’ll have to spend more time with the duke at James Street. I suppose that will make things better.”

Lydia looked at Scarlett. She ran to her and the two danced.

“I may have been hasty. Take as long as you like in this engagement. It might not be such a bad idea,” Scarlett said. “The books in Anya House are stupendous. And downstairs there are meetings. I love science meetings.”

With Katherine glancing at her, Scarlett turned away to the pianoforte. “I mean I heard they are great.”

My newfound pact for honesty wouldn’t include telling on Scarlett. Instead of going to the market, she sometimes dressed in disguises to attend medical seminars or lectures at the Royal Society.

I’d keep her secret. There’d been enough intrigue tonight. “At the duke’s house, we have to behave. That includes me.”

“If you say so.” Scarlett cast the comment over her shoulder as she walked to the little girl, and then dragged the excited Lydia from the room. “Bath time for you. You need to be fresh as a daisy. We’ll be visiting the Duke of Torrance at Mayfair soon.”

“Can’t I have a bath then? Not now. I smell good.”

“Now.”

“Wait,” Katherine said. “Let me do it. Let me spend time with my Lydia. I want to make you look like a princess tonight. You’re so special. And so loved by us all as you are.”

The little girl came and leapt into Katherine’s arms.

“Hey, you feel a little warm, Lydia.”

“I don’t want to be achy. And I don’t want a bath.”

Hugging her like she’d disappear, Katherine carried her out of the parlor.

When their footsteps could no longer be heard, Scarlett sat beside me. “So you’re going to sing in public.”

“Yep.”

“And you will have a public courtship because this man is titled?”

“Yes. I mean no. The duke believes that it’s best to court in the open, ’cause . . . I have to tell you the truth. I kissed a man to spite Katherine and was caught. A reporter might even have seen us.”

“You kissed a stranger? Wow. Oh, my. So bold.”

“But now Lord Mark Sebastian and I have to act as if we’ve secretly courted and are now being open. It will go better when I beg off.”

Scarlett paced a little, then stopped. “Because you may have been caught by a reporter you have to pretend to have been in a longer courtship?”

“A woman who kisses a man she hasn’t met before is a fool. The man who deals with her only wants a harlot. Who would believe I kissed an unknown man and that was all it was? I’ll be ruined. My ruining will ruin you and Lydia.”

“The duke thinks this will work?”

“He suggests we court publicly. He also thinks if I do well, exhibit very well, the attention will bring new suitors. Then, it will be more understandable that I begged off.”

“Are you going to consider someone else? Do you want to marry?”

It was a possibility. Begging off to nothing might be difficult, but I wasn’t Katherine. I’d not settle in marriage. I needed to be inspired. “Scarlett, let me survive performing without looking foolish. I’ll see what happens.”

“Georgina, you made a mistake. It takes a strong woman to say she changed her mind.”

“I wish it was that simple. I’ve given my word. I must follow this path. You are fearless, Scarlett. But I’m not you. And his lordship wants this faux engagement to help his music.”

“That seems odd. You sure he doesn’t have other plans?”

I shook my head. “The duke pretty much insisted that Lord Mark Sebastian comply. Scarlett, I need your support. Our sister hates being around the duke. We need him if this is to work.”

“Tavis must have told Katherine awful things about the duke, and she believed it. I don’t want to talk ill of the dead, but he had to have lied. He lied a lot. He probably lied a lot about the duke.”

Something broke up that friendship. The Duke of Torrance’s commitment to us, the women our brother-in-law left behind, seemed strong. “How could the two men have been close friends? We knew nothing of the duke until Tavis was dying.”

“I can’t believe the duke ruined their association. He seems too serious and the man has science meetings. He can’t be bad.” Scarlett put her hands to my face. “Maybe as we help with this public courtship, we can discover something to help Katherine see the Duke of Torrance is not a horrid man.”

It would take a great deal of work to change our eldest sister’s mind.

As Scarlett walked in circles, then a figure eight about the chairs, I listened to Katherine’s voice telling Lydia she’d have a bath in the morning. “She’ll probably gentle her to sleep.”

“Katherine does that in Mama’s old rocking chair.” Scarlett stopped pacing and went to the pianoforte that sat in the corner. “She’ll hold her forever.”

Scarlett began to play. We kept the simple instrument tuned. I was glad Katherine never sold it.

The notes meshed together and offered a very slow rendition of “Robin Adair.” “The engagement, was it the duke’s suggestion?”

I lifted from the sturdy Chippendale chair. “Yes. How did you know?”

My sister started to chuckle. “Anything that would draw attention to you would never be a suggestion from Katherine.”

“Wait. No. What are you saying? Katherine doesn’t want me to have attention? You make her sound narcissistic.”

“No. No. No, Katherine is the most humble woman in our acquaintance. But something’s happened to her, probably more than we know. She doesn’t want any of us to have attention. It’s as if the shame she felt long ago stays with her, with all of us.”

“How do we hide in London when we’re so different from most? We cross over the river, we stand out.”

“We stand out everywhere. We were once well-to-do. A cultured, loving family with two parents who built a fine house. We inherited our father’s successful businesses. Women were running them just fine. Now it’s all a memory.”

The music changed. The tune was slower. It made the keys mourn.

“Katherine’s unrecognizable now from the sister we had growing up,” I said. “We have to help her. She’s become a bitter widow. She’s bitter and hurt, but she talked to me, just a little bit, before we came in.”

“Perhaps we should say something to the duke. He might be able to do something.”

“Katherine will hate us if we involve him. We’ll have to figure things out.” I leaned over and kissed Scarlett’s brow. “I trust you and we’re smart. Like Papa said, we can build anything.”

“In science, the seed is destroyed to germinate a plant. Things have to be broken down to make something new. Can we truly survive Katherine, or any of us, being destroyed?”

I stood near the pianoforte. “Let’s try. Scarlett, I didn’t like the way the duke looked today. He’s young, in his thirties. As long as nothing is seriously wrong, Lydia’s nonsensical plan of marrying him in twenty years might work.”

This was London. Old, wealthy men married young women all the time. I just hoped someone would get really smart and make the duke fall in love, truly in love.

“He’s a good-hearted man,” Scarlett said and made a run along the keys. “He’s very kind to Lydia. Men typically don’t have time for children.”

Bumping her with my hip, I sat beside her. “Duet time. Come, let’s speed up this tune.”

We played “Robin Adair” faster and faster, until we were both laughing hard. Smoke should have been coming out of the pianoforte for all the pounding of the keys.

With a dramatic flourish, Scarlett finished our piece. “Well, if your fiancé ever heard you play, he’d truly love you.”

“Why?”

“Georgie, he’s a musician. They adore music and you might’ve missed how he paid attention to you from the moment you walked into the garden.”

“You saw?”

“Yes, I might’ve come down and gone exploring. And then there are a few academic papers I borrowed. Men are so untidy. They left them after the meeting let out.”

Oh, no. We were liars and thieves. “Just be careful with whatever you have. We’ll put it back with my first lesson. Monday.”

“Good, I have two days to read them all.”

Leaving her to study . . . and plot, I headed to the kitchen to bake. I wished I was as smart as Scarlett. Today had proved me to be an impulsive version of Katherine.

I needed to do better and figure how to survive singing in public as the new fiancée of Lord Mark Sebastian. For everyone’s sake, I needed to be bolder and brave and inspired by music and truth.