Love by Deception (Age of Innocence) (13 page)

Every
head swiveled to Charlotte and the silence was deafening.

“Your
daughter? You have no daughter,” Albert argued.

“That’s
where you’re wrong. I do not have a daughter with Gilbert, that is true, but
Isabel is my daughter nonetheless.”

Mary
stood beside Charlotte and squeezed her hand. “She speaks the truth. The child
was born in Bath, and I witnessed the birth.”

“You
did what--?” Albert stopped in mid-sentence, and from the contortions his face
made, it was evident that he remembered something.

“Albert,
Miss Knott is not a poor orphan from the country looking to better herself. She
is the daughter of a fine gentleman and Lady Hunt. Surely, you cannot object to
the union now? Mary asked.

“Well,
how will it look if Colby marries her? No one will know her parentage.”

Charlotte
took a deep breath. “Is that what concerns you? You would stand in the way of
their happiness because of what others might think? I’m disappointed in you,
Albert.”

“You
know that what others think matters a great deal,” Albert said.

“Very
well, then. I shall go out to the ballroom and announce it to the
ton
this instant that Isabel is my
daughter. Will that satisfy you?” Charlotte spun on her heels and reached for
the door.

***

Isabel
could believe what she was hearing. Lady Hunt was her mother? A grand lady such
as she was truly her mother? The words from Mr. Condiff’s letter tumbled into
her mind. He had been right to keep her mother’s identity a secret. Society
would not have forgiven Lady Hunt her indiscretion, and Isabel couldn’t let her
ruin her life now, either.

“Lady
Hunt, wait,”
Isabel
said, stepping forward.

Charlotte
turned.

“Please
don’t go out there. I could never forgive myself if my happiness was wrought on
the back of your social ruin. It would not be right.”

Charlotte
pulled Isabel into her arms and hugged her fiercely. “Oh, my beautiful
daughter. You have no idea how it nearly killed me to give you up all those
years ago. I loved your father with all my heart and it gave me a small measure
of comfort to know that at least you would grow up with him.”

Tears
flowed down Isabel’s cheeks. “I have a mother, that’s what matters to me. I
thought I was alone in the world, but here you are. My mother. I will gladly
keep your secret. You must never worry about that.”

“You
can be assured the secret will not leave this room, isn’t that true?” Mary
said, looking between her husband and son.

“Well,
I don’t know…”

“Albert,
need I remind you that I will be more than unhappy if you ruin Colby’s chance
at a wonderful marriage.”

Albert
opened his mouth to argue, but nodded instead.

Colby
nodded his agreement as well. “Of course. It matters not to me who her parents
are. I love her dearly,” Colby said.

Charlotte
wiped away her daughter’s tears. “Isabel, I lost you once. I will not lose you
again.”

“And
you won’t. My cousin Georgette is marrying Dalton. There will be ample time for
us to visit and get to know one another.”

Mary
walked to her husband and whispered in his ear. “Albert, give them your
blessing. It is a good match and you know it.”

Albert
cleared his throat. “In light of these new disclosures, my previous objections
to the marriage have dissolved. You have my blessing.”

Colby
offered his hand to his father. “Thank you, Father. You’ve made me very happy
indeed.”

Isabel
smiled at the man she loved. “I feel like I’m in a fairytale marrying the
handsome prince while my beloved mother looks on. Truly, it is a most wonderful
day.”

Colby
reached for Isabel and she slid into his embrace. “I’m so happy, my darling
Isabel. Did I not tell you everything would work out?”

That
lightened the mood and everyone chuckled, including Albert. “Shall we rejoin
our guests? I have an important announcement to make.”

Mary
slipped her arm inside her husband’s. “Lead the way, my dear, but let’s give
Isabel and Charlotte a moment together before you announce the engagement.”

Albert
nodded. “Of course.”

Colby
untangled himself from Isabel. “My darling, I will wait for you in the
ballroom. Take all the time you need.”

Isabel
nodded and watched Colby leave closing the door behind him.

“Isabel,
when Dalton introduced me to Georgette, the breath nearly left my body. I never
thought to hear the name Condiff again. I wanted to ask her about you, but the
moment passed and I did not get a chance.”

“I
only learned that Georgette was my sister in a letter from Mr. Condiff after he
died. He said he had kept it secret for fear it might expose you.”

“Dearest
George. I loved him so very much, but it was not to be. I thought I’d die from
a broken heart when we had to part. It was his idea to retire to Essex County.”

“From
the way he wrote about you, he loved you very much, too.”

“I
must tell you that I panicked when I found myself with child.”

“Lady
Hunt, I know this may be too personal, but would Lord Hunt have known he was
not the father?”

“Sadly,
the answer to that question is yes. Lord Hunt and I were merely sharing a
residence by that time and nothing more.”

Isabel
nodded. “I understand.”

Charlotte
reached for Isabel’s hand and brought it to her lips for a sweet kiss. “Mary
saved me from ruin. We went to Bath and stayed for months, citing a nagging
illness, but we couldn’t stay forever. When you were three months old, I
relented and handed you over to your father. I have never cried so hard about
anything as I did on my way back to London.”

“I’m
sorry for your pain.”

Charlotte
chuckled. “My darling, you needn’t be sorry. You are the innocent in all of
this.”

“Lady
Hunt, I know I promised not to speak of your secret, but may I tell my sister?
I cannot in good conscience keep this from her.”

“Of
course, you can. I would not put such a heavy burden on you.”

“Thank
you, Lady Hunt.”

Charlotte
linked her arm with Isabel. “What do you say we join everyone in the ballroom?
I do believe there’s an important announcement to be made.”

Isabel
smiled at her mother. A sense of calm settled over her as they left the
library. She had the feeling that everything would be wonderful from here on
out. She had her beloved sister, she had found her mother, and she would soon
be marrying the man of her dreams.

It
was a very good day.

Kathryn Larkinson wandered around
the ballroom, looking for the perfect candidate. She hoped to make Colby
jealous, especially if he saw her flirting with another young man this evening.
It would be a blow to his ego that she wasn’t just waiting around for him, and
hopefully be the tipping point for Colby to admit his love for her. She would
not leave tonight until she had received a marriage proposal from Colby.

“Good evening, Miss Larkinson.”

Kathryn turned to see who had
addressed her. “Oh, good evening, Mr. Hunt. I did not see you there.”

“And you know Miss Condiff.”

“Yes, we met at my parents’ ball.
Good evening, Miss Condiff.”

“Miss Larkinson, the pleasure is
mine,” Georgette said.

“Did you hear our news? Miss
Condiff and I are engaged,” Dalton said with a grin that split his face.

“Yes, I did hear. How lovely for
you,” Kathryn said, holding her resentment in check. With Dalton’s engagement,
her plan to use him to make Colby jealous had gone awry. She had not been happy
to hear the news.

“Thank you. Have a good evening,”
Dalton said with a bow.

Kathryn curtsied. “Have a good
evening.”

When Dalton and Georgette were out
of sight, Kathryn blew out her breath. Nothing was going her way this Season.
She was nearly twenty and tired of waiting for Colby to propose. She wanted to
move forward with their life together. She had already turned down a marriage
proposal from a perfectly suitable gentleman and her mother had been furious
about it. She didn’t understand that Kathryn loved Colby and would be happy
with no one except him. How could anything else compare to being Lady Tisbury?

And what was with Isabel Knott? Why
hadn’t she denounced Colby when she saw him kissing her? Nothing was going as
planned.

Where was Colby? She hadn’t seen
him in quite some time. It would do no good for her to flirt with someone else
if he was not there to witness it. Her eyes took in the ballroom floor once
again. From the corner of her eye, she saw Colby and his parents appear.

“Finally. Now who can I flirt with
to make Colby jealous?”

Before Kathryn had time to find a
gentleman to carry out her scheme with, Lord Tisbury signaled the musicians to
stop playing. The music wound down and the
ton
turned expectant eyes to their host.

“Good evening, ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for coming this evening. I do hope everyone is enjoying
themselves.”

A series of nods could be seen
throughout the room and murmurs of delight filled the air.

Kathryn threaded her way through
the guests to stand near the front. She saw Lady Tisbury move to stand next to
her husband. “This is indeed a special evening and I’m ever so glad that you’re
all here to witness it,” she said.

What’s
going on? What’s so special about tonight? Oh, maybe Isabel did denounce Colby
after all?

Lady Tisbury motioned for Colby and
Isabel to join them.

Kathryn narrowed her eyes when she
saw Isabel Knott standing by Colby’s side. What was she doing there? Hadn’t
she’d been scared off witnessing her kiss with Colby? She had heard Isabel’s
pitiful cry when she came upon them, so what had changed?

Lord Tisbury cleared his throat.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce that my son Colby, the future Lord
Tisbury, is engaged to marry Miss Isabel Knott.”

“
Nooooooo
--”

Every head in the ballroom turned
to stare at Kathryn. Her protest had escaped her lips before she realized she
had opened her mouth. She felt the heat rise up her neck and face and her hand
flew to her mouth.

“Kathryn, are you all right?” Lady
Tisbury asked.

Kathryn shook her head. “No, Lady
Tisbury. I’m terribly sorry, but I’m feeling quite ill at the moment.” Before
her embarrassment could get any worse, she fled the ballroom, her silk skirts
rustling as she ran out of the room.

***

Isabel was as shocked as everyone
else when Kathryn had cried out in protest. She could hear the anguish in her
voice and felt sorry for her. She knew the pain she had felt when she thought
she and Colby were finished. The heartbreak and grief of never seeing him again
was not something she would wish on anyone, not even Kathryn.

Colby leaned toward her and
whispered. “I don’t think Kathryn was very happy with our announcement.”

“It’s sad though, don’t you think?
I feel for her pain.”

“Isabel, she deliberately sought to
hurt you when she kissed me. She does not deserve your sympathy.”

“I know, but we have a happy ending
and Kathryn does not. I suspect that no one will let her forgot her humiliation
anytime soon. I will invite her for tea. Perhaps, we can be friends.”

“You are amazing, do you know
that?”

The music began to play and Colby
led Isabel to the dance floor where he swept her in his arms. “Whatever makes
you happy, my dear, but don’t be put out if Kathryn does not warm to you.”

“I won’t, but I must try.”

“I know, and that’s why I love you
so.”

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course, you can ask me
anything.”

“What did you think of Lady Hunt’s
declaration earlier? Has your opinion of me changed?”

“What do you mean? Why would that
matter who your mother is?”

“Well, I thought maybe now that you
know my mother holds a title, you would be happy that I’m not an orphan with no
connections.”

“How can you think that matters?
Isabel, I love you no matter who your parents are. Nothing has changed for me.”

Isabel gazed into his intense blue
eyes. “I love you so much, Mr. Tisbury.”

Emily was one of the first to offer
her congratulations when the dance ended. “How wonderful we will be cousins
now.”

“I am looking forward to it,”
Isabel said.

Ethan slapped Colby on the back.
“Someone finally tamed the elusive Colby Tisbury.”

Colby laughed at his cousin’s
remarks. “I can tell you that I’m very happy to be tamed.”

“You and Isabel must come and visit
soon. Emily and I would both enjoy it, not to mention Hannah. She’ll love
having another lady cousin.”

“How is your sister? I have not
seen her this evening.”

“No, the poor dear caught a cold
and had to take to her bed. She was sorely disappointed that she had to miss
this ball.”

“I can imagine, especially since we
know how much Hannah loves to dance.”

“Did I tell you that my parents
will
allow her to come out next Season? She had badgered
them relentlessly until they agreed.”

Colby chuckled. “That sounds like
Hannah, but I’m afraid I will always think of her as my little cousin.”

“She is blossoming into a fine
young woman. I don’t envy my parents next year,” Ethan said.

***

Charlotte stood with her dearest
friend Mary as they watched Colby and Isabel dance together. “Oh, Mary, can you
believe this turn of events?”

“No, I was as shocked as you with
how it all worked out, although the minute I saw Isabel, I knew she was your
daughter.”

“Do you think Albert will keep my
secret?”

Mary let out a hearty laugh. “No
worries there. Albert will not dare breathe a word of it. I will see to that.”

“I told Isabel she could tell
Georgette, though. It would be too much for her not to share such news with her
sister.”

Mary nodded. “Speaking of Miss
Condiff, it would seem that both our sons are engaged. Shall we plan for a
double wedding?”

“That would be wonderful. I would
very much like to see both my children wed with no one the wiser, don’t you
think?”

“Exactly my plan.”

Tears welled in Charlotte’s eyes
and she squeezed Mary’s hand. “My dearest Mary, what would I ever do without you?
Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I would enjoy
seeing a double wedding myself.”