“Master Lowell. Your father requires your presence in his study.”
Lowell turned to study the old butler standing at the parlor’s door. He sighed softly, hoping this wasn’t the start of more trouble.
“Kindly remind Father that I have a guest and it would be poor manners if I left her here alone.”
Joeffry, the butler, bowed low. “As you wish, Master Lowell. Shall I also inform Lady Celia to come join you?”
“No. Mother has plenty weighing on her mind and does not need to be disturbed.”
Joeffry stood there, the equivalent to gaping at the lack of propriety Lowell was suggesting. However, instead of saying so, he bowed once more and left the room.
“My father will be down here in a matter of moments. I’m afraid your private audience is no longer an option, Miss Rowe.”
Miss Davinia Rowe stood from the small pale green settee where she had been situated. “I beg your pardon. Forgive me for trifling with your time. I should not wish to delay you from your responsibilities any longer.” With a stiff curtsey she tried to make her way to the door.
Lowell moved into her way before she could go more than a few steps.
“Please don’t go.”
She looked him straight in the eye. “I will not be ridiculed by your father again. The Duke has made it clear that I should not be permitted to socialize with a family of your high standing. I should not have trespassed upon your time as I have. It was wrong of me.”
“Miss Rowe.” He stopped short at her glare. “Davinia, please.”
“Goodbye, Lowell.” She paused. “Forgive me, Lord Waverly.” Again, she curtsied. “Kindly move aside, my Lord.”
“No, Davinia. I will not allow us to end like this.”
Shaking her head, Davinia refused to look at him. “Neither of us have a choice or say in the matter. My father has chosen someone else for me and your parents have never approved of me.”
“Davinia, I would marry you.” He declared as he reached for her hand.
“Would?” She shook her head slowly. “And what is keeping you from asking then? You have known my heart in this and yet here we still are; apart. Let me go, Lord Waverly.”
“No.” His voice hardened. “You will not shuck me off as easily as your father seems to think is possible.”
Eyes flashing, Davinia’s glare rose to meet his. “It is you who is keeping us apart, Lowell. My father has simply given up hope that you will ever offer for me and means to find me a husband so that I will be looked after. And after this conversation, I begin to see that he speaks the truth. You will not fight for me, for us.”
“How can you say such things? You are everything to me.”
“No.” She shook her head sadly. “I am not. You know that we will not see each other again after this and still you do not ask. You do not fight for me. Any second your father will come through that door and force me to leave.
Lowell pulled her close, his thumb tenderly caressing her cheek. “Miss Davinia Rowe, will you marry me?”
She gasped. “You cannot mean it.”
Lowell chuckled as his forehead touched hers. “Is my proposal that much of a surprise?”
The door swung open with a bang and Lowell’s father burst in, red in the face.
“What is this?” He bellowed.
Lowell cut him off before he could rage any further. “Father, you shall be the first to know. Miss Rowe has accepted my proposal of marriage.”
“Not if I have any say in the matter.” The man lowered his voice to a menacing growl as his glare landed squarely on Davinia. “You will not sink your claws into this family’s wealth.”
Again, Lowell stepped in between his father and his new fiance. “Father, calm yourself and see reason. You and mother no longer have to worry about finding me a suitable bride. I already have. And she has accepted. Do not impugn my honor by suggesting I retract my proposal.”
“Proposal?” Lady Cecily Shaw walked in beaming with her two friends, Lady Smithing and Lady Tonnly, in tow. “Has my son finally asked his sweetheart to marry him?” Lady Shaw did not wait for an answer, turning to her friends excitedly. “I have been hoping for years that he would finally come into some sense and ask her to marry him. Oh I do hope she said yes.” With a startled look she sought Davinia’s gaze. “By the looks of her flush I’d say she has!”
With a clap and a giggle, Lady Shaw enveloped Davinia in a hug.
“Lady Shaw.” Lord Shaw managed to keep his tone even. “There is not to be a wedding.”
All the ladies in the room turned to gape at him in shock.
“No wedding? My dear, whatever could you mean? Of course there will be a wedding. That is always what happens after a proposal.” Lady Shaw turned to Davinia. “Was it romantic, Miss Rowe?”
Davinia did not have a chance to respond.
Lord Shaw stomped his foot. “There will be no wedding and there was no proposal. Lowell will be proposing to Miss Amelie Wicksham in less than a fortnight.”
A hush settled over the inhabitants of the room and Davinia practically fell back onto the settee she had previously vacated.
Lord Lowell Waverly, heir to the Shaw Dukedom, rose to his full height. “Father, I am going to speak very clearly so you do not misunderstand. I will be marrying Miss Davinia Rowe. I regret that you have made other arrangements with another family without informing me. However, Miss Wicksham will need to look elsewhere for a big purse and pretty jewels. I am taken. If you choose to disinherit me because of this decision, I will accept it and find somewhere else to live.”
Lady Shaw collapsed into a heap of stifled sobs.
Lord Shaw’s shoulders dropped as he glanced toward his wife, taking in her friends at the same time.
Lord Waverly did not waver in the slightest, standing straight and proud, ready to take on whatever came at him next.
And Miss Davinia Rowe’s heart swelled, for she was engaged to the man she loved most in the world.
Come back next Monday for another romantic vignette!
