Before their mother ran off with one, that was.
This heir to their father’s baronetcy also made it clear he wished to take possession of the entailed property as soon as possible and that meant the sisters must vacate the house, their home for all their lives.
What more could happen to them?
‘Please sit,’ Lorene said, her lovely face lined with stress.
Tess exchanged a glance with Genna and sat as instructed.
Lorene paced in front of them. ‘I know we all have been worried over what would become of us—’
Worry was too mild a term. Tess expected they would be split apart, forced to take positions as governesses or lady’s companions, if they should be so lucky as to find such positions, given the family’s reputation.
‘I—I have come upon a solution.’ Lorene sent them each a worried look.
If it was a solution, why did she appear so worried? ‘What is it, Lorene?’
Lorene wrung her hands. ‘I—I discovered a way to restore your dowries. A way to make you eligible again.’
It would take a sizeable dowry to erase the scandal that had dogged them their whole lives. If their mother’s abandonment were not enough, there was also their father’s scandal. Even before their mother left, he’d brought his bastard son home to rear. Of course, Tess and her sisters loved Edmund; he was their brother, after all, even if his presence generated more talk.
‘What nonsense,’ Genna grumbled. ‘Nothing makes us eligible. Our mother had too many lovers. That is why we look nothing alike.’
That was not entirely true. They all had high foreheads and thin faces, even if Lorene was dark-haired with brown eyes, Genna was blue-eyed and blonde, and Tess was somewhere in between, with chestnut hair and hazel eyes.
Like their mother, Tess was told, although she did not remember precisely what her mother looked like.
A thought occurred to her. ‘Lorene, do not say that you found our mother. Is she restoring our dowries?’
Tess had been only nine when their mother left.
Lorene looked surprised. ‘Our mother? No. No. That is not it.’
‘What is it, then?’ Genna asked testily.
Lorene stopped pacing and faced them both. ‘I have married.’
‘Married!’ Tess rose from her chair. ‘Married!’
‘You cannot have married,’ Genna protested. ‘There were no bans.’
‘It was by special licence.’
No. Impossible! Lorene would never have kept such a big secret from Tess. They shared every confidence—almost.
‘Who?’ she asked, trying not to feel hurt.
Lorene’s voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Lord Tinmore.’
‘Lord Tinmore?’ Tess and Genna exclaimed in unison.
‘The recluse?’ Tess asked.
Since the deaths of his wife and son years before, Lord Tinmore had secluded himself on his nearby estate in Lincolnshire, not too distant from their village of Yardney. Tess could not think of a time Lorene could have met the man, let alone be courted by him. No one saw Lord Tinmore.
‘He must be eighty years old!’ cried Genna.
Lorene lifted her chin. ‘He is only seventy-six.’
‘Seventy-six. So much better.’ Genna spoke with sarcasm.
Her adored older sister married to an ancient recluse? This was too much to bear. ‘Why, Lorene? Why would you do such a thing?’
Lorene’s eyes flashed. ‘I did it for you, Tess. For both of you. Lord Tinmore promised to provide you with dowries and host you for a Season in London. He will even send Edmund the funds to purchase an advancement in the army and the means to support its expenses. He is a fine man.’
She married this man so they could have dowries? And Edmund, advancement?
‘I never asked you for a dowry,’ Genna said. ‘And Edmund can earn advancement on his own.’
‘You know he cannot, now that the war is over,’ Lorene shot back. ‘He does not have enough as it is. It costs him money to be an officer, you know.’
Genna shook her head. ‘Did our dowries not provide Edmund enough?’
Their father had used the last of their dowry money to purchase the lieutenancy for Edmund.
Lorene leaped to Edmund’s defence. ‘Edmund has no knowledge of that fact, Genna, and you are never to tell him. He would be sick about it if he knew. Besides, Papa intended to recoup the funds for our dowries. He assured me his latest investment would yield all we would need.’
Of course, it would most likely go the way all his too-good-to-be-true investments went. If it paid off now, which was unlikely, the money would go to the estate’s heir. Their father’s will provided only for their now non-existent dowries.
But Lorene would say nothing bad about their father. Or about anyone. She believed the best of everyone. Even their mother. Lorene would insist that abandoning her daughters had been the right thing for their mother, because she’d run off with a man she truly loved.
What of the love a mother should have for her children? Tess wondered.
Now Lorene was making the same mistake as their parents—engaging in a loveless marriage.
She glared at Lorene. ‘You cannot possibly love Lord Tinmore.’
‘No, I do not love him,’ Lorene admitted. ‘But that is beside the point.’
‘Beside what point?’ Tess shot back. ‘Did you learn nothing from our parents? You will be miserable. You will make him miserable.’
‘I will not.’ Lorene straightened her spine. ‘I promised I would devote my life to making him happy and I intend to keep my promise.’
‘But what of you?’ Tess asked.
Lorene averted her gaze. ‘I could not think of what else to do. What would become of you and Genna if I did nothing?’ Her question required no answer. They all knew what fate had been in store for them.
‘Well, you did not have to fall on your sword for us,’ Genna said.
‘I thought about it a great deal,’ Lorene went on, seemingly ignoring Genna’s comment. ‘It made sense. If I had done nothing, we all would have faced dismal lives. By marrying Lord Tinmore, you and Edmund have hope. With good dowries you can marry as you wish. You will not be desperate.’
What Lorene meant was that she, Genna and even Edmund could now marry for love. They could avoid the unhappiness of their parents and still have security. They had a chance for a happy life and all it had cost Lorene was her own chance for happiness.
A chance for love.
God help her, Tess felt a tiny spark of hope. If she had a dowry, Mr Welton could court her.
She turned her face away. How awful of her! To be glad for Lorene’s sacrifice.
She composed herself again. ‘How did you accomplish it, Lorene? How did you even meet him?’
‘I went to him. I