Free Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas

to be rescued. “I don’t want to talk about myself,” she said abruptly. “I want to talk about you. Of all the swains in London, there must have been someone you preferred over Wolverton.” She arched her brows meaningfully. “Such as Zachary Stamford. Hmm?”
    Penelope was quiet for a long time, her thoughts seeming to drift to some faraway place. A wistful smile appeared on her face. “Dear Zachary,” she whispered. Then she shook her head. “My situation is settled. Lily, you know that I have never asked you for anything. But I am asking you now, from the depths of my heart, please do not take it into your head to ‘help’ me. I am going to abide by Papa and Mama’s decision and marry Lord Raiford. It is my obligation.” She snapped her fingers as if a new idea had occurred to her. “Why don’t we direct our attention toward finding a husband for you?”
    “Good God.” Lily wrinkled her nose. “I have no use for men. Of course, they can be great fun on the hunting field and in the gaming room. But other times…oh, men are too bloody inconvenient. Greedy, demanding creatures. I can’t abide the thought of being at someone’s beck and call, and being treated as a forward child instead of a woman with her own opinions.”
    “Men are useful if one desires a family.” Like all proper young girls of her station, Penelope had been taught that bearing children was a woman’s most laudable role.
    The words gave Lily an unpleasant sensation, stirring up painful emotions. “Yes,” she said bitterly. “They’re certainly helpful in producing children.”
    “You don’t wish to be alone forever, do you?”
    “Better that than to be some man’s pawn!” Lily didn’t realize she had spoken aloud until she saw the confusion on Penelope’s face. Giving her a quick smile, Lily fumbled for a shawl draped over a chair. “May I borrow this? I believe I’ll go exploring, perhaps take a stroll outside. It’s rather stuffy in here.”
    “But Lily-”
    “We’ll talk more later. I promise. I-I’ll see you at supper, dear.” Hurriedly Lily left and strode through the hall and down the ornate staircase, not caring where she was going. Ignoring her sumptuous surroundings, she kept her head down. “My God, I’ve got to be careful,” she whispered. Lately her self-control had been stretched to its limits, and she wasn’t guarding her words carefully enough. Wandering through the great hall, she found herself in a gallery at least one hundred feet long, illuminated with the light from a row of glass doors. Through the well-polished glass she could see a formal garden with smooth green lawns and bordered paths. A brisk walk was just what she needed. Flinging the shawl around her shoulders, Lily went outside, relishing the cool bite of the breeze.The garden was magnificent, dignified and lush, divided into many sections by precisely trimmed yew hedges. There was a chapel garden with a tiny stream and a small round pool filled with white lilies. It opened into the rose garden, a multitude of flowers surrounding a large and rare Ayrshire rose bush. Lily walked along a garden wall covered with vines and climbing roses. She ascended a series of weathered steps that led to a terrace overlooking an artificial lake. Nearby was a fountain surrounded by a pride of a dozen strutting peacocks. There was an aura of absolute serenity in the garden. It seemed like an enchanted place, where nothing bad could ever happen.
    Her attention was drawn by a planting of fruit trees on the east side of the estate. The sight of them reminded Lily of the lemon garden of the Italian villa where she had lived for two years. She and Nicole had spent most of their time in the garden or in the many-columned loggia at the back of the little house. Sometimes she had taken Nicole for walks in the shady wooded bosco nearby.
    “Don’t think of it,” she whispered fiercely. “Don’t.” But the memory was as clear as if it had happened