Page 2 of Marry in Scandal

“And what’s this?” He wrote something else, the letters bold and black and fierce-looking. “Read it, come on. It’s not difficult, for God’s sake! It’s three blasted letters!Three!” Tears slid down Lily’s cheeks.

“Stop it! Leave her alone!” Rose burst into the room.

“Stay out of this, Rose.” His voice was mild. Rose was Papa’s favorite.

“No, you’re upsetting her.”

“I’m upsetting her? She’s damned well upsetting me. My own daughter—a Rutherford—unable to read the simplest words!”

“Lily tries the best she can. She can read a little, but standing over her and yelling only upsets her and makes it worse.”

There was a long silence. “So it’s true, then. Your sister cannot read. At ten years of age.”

“She’s nearly twelve,” Rose said quietly. She put her arm around Lily. “You mustn’t blame her. She tries so hard to learn, she’s always tried.”

There was a long silence. “Your mother knew about this and kept it from me?”

Rose nodded. “Mama said it wasn’t Lily’s fault. That it was God’s plan for Lily.”

“To make heran imbecile?”

“She’s not an imbecile,” Rose flashed. “Lily’s not stupid, she just can’t read.”

“Is it her eyes?” He looked at Miss Glass. “Perhaps she needs spectacles.”

“I’ve tested her sight,” the governess said crisply. “She can see perfectly well. She just cannot read. Or do simple arithmetic, or tell her left from her right.”

Slowly, deliberately, Papa pushed Lily away. He wasn’t rough, but she felt a coldness coming from him. “A Rutherford, unable to read.” He looked at Lily as if he’d never seen her before, as if she were no part of him. “Unteachable.”

There was a long silence, then Papa said, “Take her upstairs, Rose.”

Rose and Lily left, but Rose left the door slightly ajar. “Shh,” she whispered. “I want to hear what they say.”

They pressed themselves as close to the door as they dared. There was some low-voiced conversation that Lily didn’t catch and then she heard Papa say, “I assumed she was normal. She can ride like a demon...”

They heard the clink of glass as he poured himself a drink. “What do I do with the girl now? No man will want a wife who can’t read.”

“Don’t worry, you can live with me when I’m married,” Rose whispered. Lily gave her a troubled look. She loved Rose, but...

“There are discreet institutions...” Miss Glass murmured.

Lily shivered. She didn’t know what adiscreet institutionwas, but it sounded horrid. She loved her home. She didn’t want to be sent anywhere. They waited breathlessly for Papa’s response.

“No,” Papa said heavily. “I couldn’t do that to her. She might be an embarrassment to the family but she’s a good enough little soul.”

An embarrassment to the family?Lily’s throat closed.

Papa spoke again. “Now that their mother’s gone, someone must take them on. I don’t have time for children, let alone girls.”

“No self-respecting governess would bother with a childlike that,” Miss Glass said. “A good school might take her—illiterate or not, an earl’s daughter would add luster to their reputation.”

“What would be the point of that?”

“She might not be teachable, but they can train her to be a lady, at least.”

There was another long silence as Papa considered that. “An excellent solution. I’ll put them both in a school—I believe there are several in Bath, where my younger sister lives. She’s a spinster and can keep an eye on them.”

Lily’s stomach cramped. They were both going to be sent away? Rose too? Because Lily couldn’t read?