A Necessary Deception (30 page)
Read A Necessary Deception Online
Authors: Laurie Alice Eakes
“My permission?” Father’s jaw dropped. “Lydia, what do you say about that?”
“I said I’d marry him if you approved.”
“Oh, Lydia,” Honore and Cassandra squealed.
Mama started to speak.
A glance from Father quieted all of them. “Why would you suddenly want my permission for one of your starts? You’ve never wanted it before.”
“I made a mistake with Charles. Not,” she added with an upward tilt of her chin, “living in Tavistock, but marrying Charles. I should have listened to your objections.”
“Yes, you should have. He was a lying, cheating—ahem.” Father’s face reddened.
“I know.” Lydia sighed against a lingering pain in her chest. “In my heart I’ve always known. I thought I was just not a good enough wife. But really I wasn’t a good enough daughter, rejecting your counsel.”
Father cleared his throat and blinked. “I didn’t want you to get hurt, but for all my efforts, I’m no good at denying you girls anything.”
“Except me.” Honore jumped up and embraced him. “You never have to concern yourself about me falling in love with the wrong man again. I’m done with falling in love.”
Everyone laughed.
“It’s true,” Honore insisted. “I’ve learned my lesson.”
The laughter continued.
Pouting, she dropped back into her chair.
Dabbing at the corners of his eyes, Father strode forward and clasped Lydia’s and Christien’s hands in his. “I never thought I’d want a foreigner marrying one of my daughters, de Meuse, but you’ll do. You’ll do nicely, though if you are ever unfaithful, you’d better run back to the continent. Do you understand me?”
“Perfectly, sir.” Christien bowed. “Do be assured that I’ve waited for Lydia too long to not keep loving her forever, now that I know her in person and find her better in reality than in her letters.”
Mama began to cry, though she smiled. Honore and Cassandra sighed.
Lydia’s heart turned to melted wax. “I never realized that opening my door to a stranger would end up opening my heart to God, to my family even more, and to loving you.” She turned to Christien and kissed him. “Now, can we get married by special license so we can run off to—”
She stopped and laughed and joined Father and Christien in their resounding, “No.”
Without the ladies and gentleman of the Beau Monde, I doubt I would have made it through this novel with any accuracy at all. No matter how miniscule or silly my question, someone was there to give me the answer, from what was really wrong with Napoleon’s regime to how I would manage to get three people into a curricle. And thank you for the ideas on disasters that can befall a lady in a riding habit and mounting sidesaddle. Any errors are mine, not theirs. Their assistance was beyond measure.
And to my husband, who put up with a lot of prepackaged food while I worked on this until—oops!—it’s time for supper. Thank you for your understanding.
And speaking of understanding, I appreciate my editor’s patience with my propensity for forgetting to turn off italics, my homophone-challenged spelling, and my lapses in logical thinking.
No one has put up with more angst from me than my agent, except some really special writing friends, amidst all the special writing friends who, no matter how busy, always took the time to smooth my ruffled feathers when I was being a birdbrain. Especially Debbie Lynne, whose last-minute assistance is a true example of blessings overflowing, shaken down, and spilling over.
More than I can express in a few words do I appreciate the prayer support I received from the His Writers group, the Finish the Book group, and CAN Inc. members.
And last, but far from least, I mustn’t forget the special furry, purry support I received from my cats, who seemed to know when I was struggling and came to cuddle, and my golden retriever, who sacrificed playtime but remained at my side anyway—when he wasn’t getting into mischief.
Award-winni
ng author
Laurie Alice Eakes
wanted to be a writer since knowing what one was. Her first book won the National Readers Choice Award in 2007, and her third book was a Carol Award finalist in 2010. Between December 2008 and January 2010, she sold thirteen books to Barbour Publishing, Avalon Books, and Revell, making her total sales fifteen. Recently, she added two novella sales to that collection. Her first book with Revell,
Lady in the Mist
, was picked up by Crossings Book Club, and three of her books were chosen for large-print editions by Thorndike Press. She has been a public speaker for as long as she can remember; thus, she suffers just enough stage fright to keep her sharp.
In 2002, while in graduate school for writing fiction, Laurie Alice began to teach fiction in person and online. She lives in Texas with her husband, two dogs, and probably too many cats.
Books by Laurie Alice Eakes
The Midwives
Lady in the Mist
The Daughters of Bainbridge House
A Necessary Deception
