Free An Earl for the desperate bride (Regency Romance) (Regency Tales Book 1) by Regina Darcy

CHAPTER 1
     
    “I could be a governess! I speak French, I paint watercolours, I play the pianoforte—you know that Lady Darden said I play beautifully—I could be a governess. I’d rather be a governess and earn my own living than marry His Lordship,” Miss Eliza Stanton exclaimed.
    “What silly chit of a girl would be a governess when she has the opportunity to become a viscountess? You have no idea what you are saying. No daughter of mine is going to become a mere governess,” Lady Stanton answered matter-of-factly, brooking no disobedience from her daughter who was entirely too impudent.
    Eliza stared at her mother, her blue eyes stormy with outrage and fear. Lord and Lady Stanton were well known among the Mayfair ton , but until this summer, Eliza had been left to stay with the servants at the Stanton country home during the Season. She was neither used to their presence or their attentions.
    Her brother Harry had been at Oxford until recently. He had been sent home over some scandal, the details of which no one would disclose to Eliza; he, too, had taken up residence in London. Eliza was not sure what he did in London, but she supposed that, the card game, baccarat chemin-de-fer featured prominently in his activities. All gentlemen gambled; this much Eliza knew. Whether Harry won or lost, she did not know.
    What she did know was that, less than a year ago, the portrait that Sir Joshua Reynolds had done of the renowned Marchioness Charlotte Stanton had been taken down from the drawing room wall and replaced with seascapes. She suspected that gambling losses were to blame for the loss of Lady Stanton’s oil paint, but as the earlier matriarch had a haughty, hot-tempered look to her, Eliza found the seascapes more soothing. Something was afoot in the household.
    Taking a deep breath she tried to reason with her mother again.
    “If being a viscountess means marrying that repulsive, odious man, it’s the far better option!” Eliza declared.
    “Nonsense. You will marry the Viscount of Savile and that’s the end of it. Your father and I agree, and besides Lord Savile has graciously agreed that you will move into Savile House this week in order to become accustomed to your new station in life.”
    “You’re sending me away? To live there? Before marriage?” Marriage was bad enough, but to reside under the same roof as a man who was not her husband was unthinkable. The gossip would be rampant. Her name would be a byword for scandal. She had never been to London before and now that she had finally arrived, she would become a subject of speculation.
    “Lord Sevile’s sister lives there and she is a more than respectable chaperone,” Lady Stanton replied. Her eyes did not meet her daughter’s indignant gaze. “It’s well known that you are a virtuous girl; no talk will attach itself to you. Lord Savile is most satisfied with your innocence, and he—”
    “He has had three wives who died!” Eliza cried out. “I should think they preferred death to marriage.”
    “Don’t be insolent, Eliza. His wives died in childbirth. It’s very natural for a man of Lord Sevile’s standing to want an heir, and as a young girl of unblemished reputation, you are naturally a very desirable choice of a wife for him.”
    “What if I die also? Will that matter a farthing or will his search simply continue for another girl to bear the heir?”
    “You’re a healthy girl, you’ve been brought up in the country. You will bear healthy children. Lord Savile is confident that you will make an excellent wife. Of course, he will be your guide, as you are young and unschooled in Society,” her mother replied. With a frown she continued, “You must learn to be docile, Eliza; gentlemen do not like their wives to scold them. You must remember that Lord Savile is the head of the household and you must heed his word. You will promise to obey him; that is a sacred vow and must not be broken. Now, you must write a note to His Lordship