Free Realm 03 - A Touch of Cashemere by Regina Jeffers Page B

asserted.
    Ashton laced his fingers across his waistcoat. “I doubt that. Aldridge would make no move, which did not benefit him.”
    Cashé puffed up with indignation. “Uncle Samuel had Velvet’s best interest in mind.”
    “My Dear, I realize your allegiance to Samuel Aldridge, but your eyes cannot be so closed as to see the real truth.”
    “What truth?” Cashé demanded. “All I know is Uncle Samuel has given me a home and affections.”
    Satiné responded, “And you think that the Fowlers and Uncle Charles did less for Velvet and me?”
    Cashé blushed, but she continued. Such accusations against the only family she had known did not set well with her, but she could not deny that the baron and the Fowlers had done honorably by her sisters. “Uncle Samuel welcomed me into his family because he loves me!” she asserted.
    The baron reached across the coach and patted her hand. “Cashé, I have never believed otherwise, but you must also recognize Aldridge’s weaknesses.”
    “Such as?” Cashé demanded.
    “Such as requiring Uncle Charles and the Fowlers to pay him before he doled out children to their care.”
    Cashé bucked at the idea. “You speak an untruth!”
    “No, Satiné does not,” the baron said evenly. “Both William Fowler and I gave Samuel Aldridge five thousand pounds for Velvet and for Satiné. If you care to check my ledger for proof of the transaction, I will gladly share it with you. The implied threat was that if the Fowlers and I did not respond that you girls would be sent elsewhere.”
    “Then he must have loved me best!” Cashé’s eyes misted with tears. “He could not part with me!”
    Neither Ashton nor Satiné spoke their thoughts. “The point is,” said the baron evenly, “that Aldridge probably believed he could make a better settlement with someone other than Fowler. Has Aldridge presented suitors to Velvet while your sister resided in Scotland?”
    “Of course.” Cashé raised her chin defiantly. “Uncle Samuel has chosen husbands for both Velvet and me.”
    Ashton smiled grimly. “As I suspected. Cashé, Samuel has overstepped the boundaries set up for your sisters. He cannot question my guardianship of Satiné or that of the Fowlers for Velvet. He had no legal right to remove Velvet from Thornhill’s home. As Fowler has assumed his father’s title, he has also taken over Velvet’s guardianship. In fact, there will be more stigmas to young Fowler marrying his ward than any public show of intimacy. Thornhill must marry Velvet in a speedy manner for everyone to save face, even Samuel Aldridge. Once they marry, everything will be forgiven.”
    “Then you believe Uncle Samuel will agree?” Cashé challenged.
    “I believe Samuel Aldridge will attempt to stop Velvet’s joining for he sees a way to line his own pockets, but I will take up Thornhill’s cause. Velvet, obviously, loves young Fowler, and a marriage based in love holds great sway with me.”
    “Did you say that Uncle Samuel has chosen a husband for you?” Satiné questioned.
    “Yes, Lachlan Charters and I have an understanding.”
    The baron sat forward again. “Has not Viscount Lexford also expressed interest? The earl led me to believe it is so.”
    Cashé flushed. “Viscount Lexford spent much of his time in London in company with my family, but I counted his attentions to be only part of his friendship with His Grace.”
    “Yardley appeared to think there was more to Lexford’s regard,” the baron shared.
    “Uncle Samuel would never accept the viscount,” Cashé claimed.
    The baron spoke seriously. “Cashé, do you not see a pattern? Samuel would give Velvet to a man without a title rather than allow her to marry a duke, and he would give you to plain Mister Charters rather than see you as a viscountess. What gentleman would refuse a title and a place in British society for his nieces? That makes little sense.” He paused briefly. “Tell me. Does Mister Charters hold a place of