Page 29 of For The Love Of A Widow

This was all her mother’s doing.

“I can see the change in you, my daughter, but we—your mother and I…and Lord Linwood—are at a loss for how to help you. We are doing our best, though we may miss the mark often.” He stood and came to sit next to her, setting his arm around her shoulders. Immediately, Lettie was a child again, wrapped in her father’s protective embrace.

He would help her. He would understand. He had to.

“Now, hurry to your room and change into a new, pretty gown…you will feel much better in a fancy dress. We will dine shortly.” He pulled away from her and patted her hand, at the same time a pit grew in her stomach.

Her father didn’t understand at all. He was pacifying her, telling her what she longed to hear, and all the while hoping she fell back into her old, youthful ways.

Lettie stood. “You are correct; I think it best I retire before our meal.”

“Yes, and do don one of the gowns that arrived today.” Her mother took hold of her needlework that had lain unnoticed at her side. “I grow tired of seeing you garbed in rags.”

“Of course, Mother.” Lettie nodded and quickly fled the room. At some point, the men had stopped working above, but Lettie’s head still ached.

“Barclay, I think our decision to bring the ton to her was very wise.” Her mother’s final words chased her down the hall.

CHAPTER 13

Daniel regained his seat behind his massive mahogany desk as his solicitor closed the door after his departure. He threw a quick glance at the sideboard littered with bottles, and then back to the tumbler of port sitting on the far edge of his desk—untouched by his man of business. Maybe just a sip. To take the edge off.

His body had been tight with apprehension since he’d gone back into the modiste’s shop to confront Gable.

Daniel had demanded Phineas draft a note grand enough to settle on Charlie’s family so that the boy’s mother and sisters would never go hungry again. To his surprise, the funds with a letter attached, had arrived at Daniel’s solicitor’s office that very morning.

It was something Daniel should have taken care of immediately, instead of acting as if it had never happened.

But now that business had been handled, he was again without something to occupy his mind.

It had been two days since he’d stumbled upon Lettie outside her father’s study door after her parents had made it clear he was to pursue their daughter with renewed vigor. Blast it all, he damn well wanted to pursue her, though not at Lord and Lady Percival’s insistence.

If—when—he decided to make his intentions known to Lettie, it would be because it was his decision, not due to pressure from others.

From the dire expression she’d held the other day, he knew for certain she was not ready. Was not ready to forget the past, was not ready to mingle in society, and was not ready to believe there was hope for her future.

Daniel was determined to give her exactly that…hope.

He pulled the invitation from the drawer at his left. He didn’t need to open it to know what it said. The time he’d spent studying the note, reading Lady Percival’s neat, controlled writing, told Daniel all he needed to know: if Lettie were determined to deny her parents what they sought, they would invite whom they desired to Carrolton House to drag her out into society, no matter the fuss she gave.

You are cordially invited to attend a dinner party at

Carrolton House to welcome Lady Colette home.

Shoving the letter back in the drawer, Daniel scrubbed his hands down his face as he leaned back in his chair.

Who else had been invited?

In all likelihood, they’d invited other eligible lords, others to contend for her hand, if Daniel did not fall in line and capture Lettie’s notice before long. The simple fact was, Lettie deserved a man far more noble than he, and Daniel understood why she pushed him away. He’d let her go all those years ago for that exact reason: she deserved a man who loved her above all else.

At the time, Daniel had only cared about himself and what pleased him. What had lifted him from the black haze of despair he’d fallen into after his father’s passing. Lettie and their courtship hadn’t been enough to pull him from the murky depths of sorrow—or maybe she had, and it was he who hadn’t given her ample opportunity to try. Regardless, she’d deserved a devoted man—a gentleman who woke every morning to please her, to cherish her, and to protect her.

Damn it all, but he was that man.

Had they forewarned Lettie? Daniel highly doubted it, or she would have put an end to the farce long before the invitations had been sent.

If he couldn’t convince Lord and Lady Percival to stop the meal, then he’d be there to protect Lettie. No matter what she said or how angry she was with him, he owed her that much. She needed him, and Daniel would not disappoint her again.

So, she may be avoiding him, telling him he wasn’t wanted, but he knew differently.