Page 6 of Marry in Scandal

They all laughed. “But why would they marry her in the first place?” Lily wondered.

“Probably too terrified to refuse.”

There was a knock at the door, and George went to answer it. A maid brought in a tray with a pot of tea, three cups and a plate containing six iced fruit buns and two thin, dry wafers. George poured the tea, handed the cups around and placed the plate of buns on the bed between the two sisters. She took a bun and bit into it with a blissful expression.

Lily tried not to notice. She pushed the plate away and sipped her tea, no milk, no sugar. There were wafers if she wanted anything. She was ravenous, but the memory of Aunt Agatha’s lorgnette stiffened her resolve.

Rose made an exasperated sound. “Oh, will you stop worrying about your shape, Lily. You’re gorgeous the way you are. It won’t make any difference to finding a husband, and starving yourself will only make you miserable!” She shoved the plate back. “Besides, as heiresses, none of us will have any difficulty finding a husband. We could be cross-eyed, snaggletoothed and hunchbacked and we’dstillfind men who’d marry us.”

“Yes, for our money,” Lily responded. “I don’t want that sort of husband.”

“I know, but we’re not exactly hags,” Rose continued. “Each one of us is perfectly adorable”—George snorted and Rose poked her tongue out at her—“so there’s no hurry. We can take our time and choose from a delightful array of men.”

“Not me,” George said. “I never had a penny to spare before this year, and now I’m rich, why would I want to hand over my money to some man who can do what he likes with it—and me? Go back to being dependent on a man’s sense of honor? No, thank you.”

“Not all men are like your father,” Lily said softly.

George shook her head. “Dogs and horses are much nicer and more trustworthy. I’d rather find a nice place in the country and live happily ever after with my money and my dogs. Like the Duchess of York, only with horses as well.”

“Poor thing, such a shame she never had any children. I’m sure that’s why she has all those dogs. Don’t you want children, George?” Lily asked.

Lily herself wanted very much to marry. She wasn’t ambitious, she didn’t care about titles and she wasn’t interested in the kind of sophisticated and intimidating gentlemen Aunt Agatha kept pushing at them. Lily just wanted to fall in love with a nice, comfortable gentleman, and be loved in return. And to have children.

George considered it. “I don’t know. I’ve never had anything much to do with children. I’m probably better with puppies and foals.” She picked up another bun and bit into it. Lily’s stomach rumbled. She sipped her black, sugarless tea.

“So who is this school friend you’re meeting at the Mainwaring party?” Rose asked.

Lily’s stomach suddenly felt even more hollow. “Sylvia Gorrie.”

Rose frowned. “Who’s Sylvia Gorrie? I don’t remember any Sylvia Gorrie from school.”

“Gorrie is her married name. She used to be Sylvia Banty.” Lily waited for the explosion. She wasn’t disappointed.

“Sylvia Banty?”Rose stared. “That bitch?” She turned to George. “She was caught stealing—and from girls she had the gall to call her friends. She even stole Mama’s locket from Lily—all Lily had of her!” She snorted. “I never liked Sylvia. Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, the sneaky little cow!”

“That’s a bit unfair, isn’t it?” George said.

Rose blinked in surprise. “Do you know Sylvia too?”

George shook her head. “Never met her in my life. But I like cows. Lovely, gentle creatures. Beautiful eyes. Calling this Sylvia person a cow—or even a bitch, for that matter—isn’t fair on cows. Or bitches. Dogs are some of my favorite people.”

“Very well, call her a miserable little cockroach, then.” Rose turned back to her sister. “Why on earth would you want to associate with Sylvia Ba—what’s her name now? Gorrie?”

Lily nodded. “I ran into her at the park the other day and she apologized for the way she’d behaved. She told me she’d been very unhappy at school. So were we, at first, remember, Rose?”

“Yes, but we didn’t steal from our friends.”

Lily shrugged. “We’ve all done things when we were young that we later regret. And it was four years ago—a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. We’re older and wiser now—or we should be. She told me that after she left school—”

“She didn’tleave, she wasexpelled.”

“Yes, she left in disgrace, and because of it she never had a season. Her parents forced a hasty marriage on her, to a much older man when she was only sixteen. From what she’s let slip, he’s rather a cold and unkind person and she’s very unhappy. She seemed very sincere, Rose, and very apologetic about the past. She’s lonely and she doesn’t know very many people in London. So I said I’d introduce her around a bit. Where’s the harm in that?”

Rose shook her head. “You’re too soft for your own good. She’s a nasty little thief!”

Lily didn’t agree. “People can change. Everyone shouldhave a chance to live down the mistakes of their past. Besides, the things she took were small and unimportant—she didn’t know how precious Mama’s locket was to me. She shouldn’t be punished for it for the rest of her life.”

Rose regarded her sister a moment, then sighed and turned to George. “Very well. Give my apologies to Aunt Agatha, George, and tell her—”