Free The Last Princess by Cynthia Freeman

by marrying him when you love me?”
    “But I feel so guilty….”
    “It’s your parents who should feel guilty, forcing you into a marriage to satisfy their own wishes. Besides, what are they going to do to you if you defy them? Beat you? This isn’t the Victorian age.”
    Lily found it too painful to explain the relationship between herself and her parents. Instead she said, “I’m an only child. They’re very protective of me.”
    “I’m not exactly penniless, Lily. My family owns the Kohle Mercantile Bank, and they will be happy to give me a well-paying job. Won’t your father accept that? Why does it have to be Roger Humphreys?”
    Lily felt a sudden hope. If it was a good match her father was after, wouldn’t the Kohles’ wealth and prominence satisfy him as much as Roger’s family’s? And wouldn’t her love for Harry, her passion for him, soften her father’s judgment? Lily sighed. “Oh Harry, do you really think so?”
    “Of course!”
    “But what about Roger?”
    “Is he really going to be heartbroken? Or is it just possible that he has been pushed into this engagement as much as you have? I’ll tell you something, if I were in love with a woman like you, I’d never leave you alone the way Roger has. Good God, he’s off in Hyannis Port every weekend.”
    “Oh Harry, you make it sound so simple.”
    “It is, Lily—if you have the courage.”
    She was silent for a long moment. “Do you really think it could work?”
    “I know it can,” he said. Taking her into his arms again, he made her believe that it could, and also made her stop thinking about the ordeal that lay ahead. Soon she had no thought for anything but the unbelievable joy she felt.
    The next morning Harry begged to go with her to face her parents, but she refused, terrified to let him witness the scene she expected.
    Lily had had a sample of her father’s cruelty the morning she told them of Roger’s offer of marriage. She had been as frightened of him then as she had been as a child. The thought of Harry seeing how little her parents loved her was too humiliating to bear. Remembering the terrible stigma of being unwanted, she could never reveal the dreadful events of her childhood, even to Harry.
    “Please let me go alone,” she said.
    “All right. But if you need me, I’ll come immediately.”

Chapter 10
    I T WAS EARLY EVENING when Lily arrived home, grateful that her parents would not return until the next day. She would at least be alone with Roger when she told him. She picked up the phone, half terrified and half relieved when he answered.
    “Roger, I’m so glad you’re back. Do you think you could come over for tonight? I know it’s last minute, but …” Her voice trailed off.
    It was odd to be wondering if her fiancé wanted to see her, but from the beginning their courtship had been odd….
    “I’d like that, Lily, I really would. In fact, I’ve got to say that I’ve missed you a whole lot. I want to tell you about the race.”
    “At seven, then.”
    Looking at herself in the mirror, Lily was shocked at her pallor. Even the extra rouge didn’t help. Her face was paler still when Roger took her father’s place in the dining room an hour later, and she hardly understood a word he was saying as he rambled on about reefing and heeling and jibbing. All she heard was the echo of Harry’s voice saying, “I love you, darling, more than words can say.”
    Suddenly Roger touched her arm and asked, “How do you feel about that?”
    “Pardon me?” she mumbled. “I’m sorry, I—”
    “I know you’re not keen on boating, but Sunday is the last day of the season. I haven’t pressed you before, but you ought to give it a chance. Married to me, you’re going to have to learn to crew.”
    Lily’s courage almost faltered. How could she do this? Roger really sounded as though he’d missed her. Fidelity, honor, loyalty , those words were difficult to ignore. For the first time in forty-eight hours, she was