Page 11 of Ruined by the Wrong Earl

Candace watched her closely. ‘And where would the Earl fall in all of this?’

‘He will be my partner. A businesslike partner. That’s what he seeks himself.’

‘A union without any affection sounds like a cold marriage.’

Nora sat beside her sister on the bed. ‘No! It sounds like a perfect one.’ Her mind was at ease for the first time in a long time. ‘Mother can’t still be mad about Baron Umbridge when she will be the mother-in-law to an earl. A very wealthy one, to boot!’

‘You’re right. But I’m still not sure you are making the right decision for the right reasons.’

‘I’m certain, and I’m ready to face Mother,’ Nora said. No doubt her mother wanted to discuss how best to announce the betrothal at the house party.

As if on cue, there was a single knock on Nora’s bedroom door, and Madeline Magarian swept inside with the force of a summer storm. ‘I still cannot believe your behavior, Nora. I almost fainted from the scandal!’

Her mother had never succumbed to vapors. Nora couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her cry. Not even when their father had died. She must have grieved in private.

‘Mother, I—’

Her mother planted her hands on her hips. ‘Heavens, I disapprove of how you did it, but you managed to snag an earl. An earl!’

Nora wanted to argue she hadn’t intentionally managed anything. In fact, she had plotted and planned to get out of marriage to Umbridge, a mere baron, only to find herself soon to be engaged to an earl.

‘The engagement must be announced before any more gossip travels,’ her mother said.

‘So soon? It hasn’t even been a full day.’ Even though she’d agreed to marry Ralston, she needed some time to adjust to the news herself.

‘A day is as long as a year when it comes to the scandal you caused.’

‘I hardly think—’

Her mother pursed her lips. ‘Do not think, Nora. Thinking is what always gets you into trouble.’

Nora bristled. ‘That’s not—’

‘Yes, it is. Your notion of being a scientist is absurd.’ The disapproval in her mother’s voice was ill-concealed.

Her mother kept cutting her off and Nora had to answer in a rush of words. ‘An interest in science is not absurd.’

‘It is for a lady.’

‘We are not titled and I’m not a lady.’

Her mother’s cheeks flamed red. ‘Precisely! You will be a countess!’

There was no sense arguing with her mother whose sole ambition was to obtain titles for her daughters. Nora wished her father were still alive. A Lebanese and Armenian man, he’d imported rare vases, carpets, jewelry, mother of pearl snuffboxes and other collectables from the Middle East that were in demand by the ton and the upper classes. He had surprisingly modern notions and would often indulge his daughter’s whims. Not that science was a whim, but he’d listened to Nora read a book on invertebrates she’d borrowed from Hookham’s Circulating Library, and he’d gifted her beautiful shells from the Mediterranean Sea. He would have disagreed with her mother’s matchmaking with Lord Umbridge. He’d never consent to such a marriage contract.

‘Perhaps you can wait another day before announcing the betrothal, Mother, so that Nora can come to accept the Earl,’ Candace said.

‘Impossible,’ her mother snapped. ‘You of all people know the harm from wagging tongues.’

Candace paled a shade at the reminder of her jilting fiancé.

Nora hurried to place a reassuring hand on her sister’s shoulder. ‘Tonight is acceptable if the Earl is in agreement.’

Her mother’s eyes narrowed to slits. ‘Oh, he will agree. I’ll be sure of it.’

Nora stifled a groan. She knew her mother would have her way. She always did.

Later that evening, Nora’s stomach was in knots as she paced her bedchamber before dinner. ‘I’m nervous,’ she told Candace. She knew that at that precise moment, their mother sought a private audience with their hostess, the Duchess of Everly, requesting permission to announce Nora’s engagement to the Earl at the evening meal. Preferably with champagne from the Duke’s vast cellars to toast the ‘happy couple’.