Page 30 of Fortune Favors the Frivolous (Matchmaking Mischief Makers #2)

V enetia sat quietly at her dressing table as her maid arranged her hair for the ball.

In the mirror, she watched her aunt inspecting the gown laid out for the masquerade.

Good lord, Venetia had no idea what her aunt had been thinking when she’d directed the dressmaker.

For the gown was a confection of bold red silk with black embroidery.

“Lord Windermere is looking forward to seeing you at Lord and Lady Ridgeway’s Masquerade tonight,” Mrs. Pike said, fingering the fabric.

Venetia’s stomach clenched as she glanced up at her aunt, meeting her sharp gaze in the mirror’s reflection. “I thought Mr. Ashworth would be escorting me.”

“Oh, he will be, of course.” Mrs. Pike’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “But Lord Windermere has been so kind, offering his support during this… difficult time. Such a gentleman.”

“A gentleman wouldn’t pursue another man’s betrothed,” Venetia said quietly.

Mrs. Pike’s expression hardened, the lines around her mouth deepening into crevices.

“Watch your tone, girl. Lord Windermere has shown remarkable patience with your ingratitude. Mr. Ashworth’s reputation is somewhat tarnished and, unless he can redeem himself, you may find yourself thanking Providence that such a distinguished gentleman as Lord Windermere still shows an interest in you. ”

“I would rather remain unmarried.” Venetia lifted her chin slightly.

“That is not an option.” Mrs. Pike’s voice was cold.

Venetia turned to her aunt. “Aunt Pike,” she said, steeling herself to betray no emotion but to sound, rather, businesslike.

“I have no dowry. Mr. Ashworth’s offer is a generous one that benefits him nothing other than ensuring honor is maintained after—” she hesitated, “—after you know what happened when the Gascoynes misconstrued matters.” She drew in a shaking breath, afraid that she was going to fail in her bid to show Aunt Pike that she was not a feeble girl whom she could crush so easily.

“You know this was after Lord Windermere took me away in his carriage. I tried to tell you what happened. But you have dismissed it. You, who are my guardian? My own mother’s sister? ”

Now her voice really was trembling, as was she—from head to toe, like a jelly. Would her aunt really show no shame, no remorse?

It seemed not, for Aunt Pike merely shrugged one shoulder as she continued to finger the silk gown.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Venetia,” she said crisply.

“You disappeared the other evening and my considerable alarm was hardly reassured by your return in ignominious circumstances by the Gascoynes before the opportunistic Mr. Ashworth stepped forward, pressured by them to propose. How do you suppose your ingratitude was felt by Lord Windermere who had showered his esteem upon you? Who feels such affection for you that he is prepared to take you without a penny.”

Venetia’s mouth dropped open, her lips parting in shock. “You truly intend to force me—?” She broke off as she sent her aunt a challenging look, daring her to go on. The maid, sensing the tension, quietly stepped back, becoming nearly invisible against the bedroom wall.

“You made your bed, Venetia, now you must lie in it… just like your mother.” Aunt Pike’s voice carried a chill that seemed to freeze the very air between them. A portrait of Venetia’s mother hung on the opposite wall, her painted eyes seeming to watch the scene with silent sorrow.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Venetia flung back with the most defiance she had shown to date, her hands gripping the edge of her dressing table until her knuckles whitened.

“Your mother was a wanton creature who didn’t know how to resist the lures of a man.

And you are just like her!” Her aunt’s face contorted with a bitterness long harbored, like poison finally released after years of festering.

The shadows deepened the lines around her mouth, making her appear almost grotesque in her anger.

“What?” exclaimed Venetia. “My mother and my father made a perfectly respectable match. Why, if you want to split hairs, my mother made an excellent match—you have said it before! She married above her, and isn’t that what you aspire to for me? Money and status are everything in your eyes.”

Venetia tried to quiet her outraged breathing, so loud in the silent room.

“I would not normally encourage, much less countenance, such impertinence from you, but since you brought up the subject, you might as well hear the truth.” Aunt Pike took a step forward, her eyes narrowed, her mouth a thin line.

“Your mother set her sights on a man far superior, and she made sure he was forced to marry her. Do you not wonder why you have no contact with your father’s family?

Why they have shown no interest in you? No?

Well, it’s because they were scandalized when their dear son was forced to give up the woman he truly loved in order to marry the one who had trapped him. The one who was carrying his child.”

Heat burned Venetia’s skin, and she put her hands to her ears.

“Stop! I don’t believe any of it! You are just jealous of my mama because she was younger and more beautiful than you.

” Venetia did not care that she was treading a dangerous line.

How dare her aunt speak of her beloved parents like this?

“More beautiful, yes, but not like-minded as your Papa and I were.” Aunt Pike’s voice softened to a dangerous purr.

“Yes, you may well look at me like that, but what I speak is the truth. Your father wished to marry me. He was going to marry me before your conniving mama insinuated herself—” Each word was delivered with precision, designed to wound and shatter.

“Into his affections? I can well imagine he would prefer my kind, sweet mama over a woman as cold and calculating as you.” Venetia rose to her feet, trembling with emotion.

“If you would let me finish, it was actually his bed, not his affections, into which she insinuated herself. The scandal was something neither could live down when they were discovered.” Aunt Pike’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

“Do you think he wished to marry your mama? No, he did not, and I can show you proof in the letters—such tender letters he wrote me.” Her hand moved to her throat, where a cameo hung on a velvet ribbon, as if she were touching a talisman.

Venetia stared, transfixed by this revelation. Now she truly was lost for words. Could her aunt really have been a contender for her father’s affections?

“Then show me the letters,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackling of the fire. “Show me the letters if you want me to believe you.”

Aunt Pike laughed softly. “You will not want to see them, but I will show them to you. Later. For now, you must ready yourself for tonight’s masquerade ball.

” She held up the masquerade gown Venetia was to wear.

“Lord Windermere knows you will be dressed as a scarlet cardinal bird. Yes, how we did laugh to think you would venture forth so altered from what you parade to the world, yet so true to the wicked heart that beats within you.” Her aunt took a few steps towards the door.

“He is very much looking forward to explaining what a terrible mistake you are making if you persist in rejecting his interest.” With a short laugh, she added over her shoulder, “Almost as terrible a mistake as your mama made all those years ago. And you certainly don’t want to follow in her footsteps. ”

The door closed behind her with a decisive click, leaving Venetia alone and digesting these ominous words, and the cardinal costume laid out on the bed like a splash of blood.

Its symbolism was not lost on Venetia. The costume would mark her as both a temptress and potentially a woman with secrets to hide.

It would draw all eyes to her and make her a target for the gossips.

Venetia sat down on the bed and stared up at the portrait of her mother.

Did her mother really have secrets that had the potential to damn her child if they were unearthed?

Is that what her aunt was threatening? Defy her, and Venetia would rue the day she unleashed the scandals of the past?