Never Fall for Your Fiancee

“I don’t want to meet her.” Her younger sister’s face was appalled. “We had a mother. She died. Calling anyone else ‘Mama’ would be disrespectful to her memory.”

Not that Vee had any true memories of the real woman. She had been two when their mother had died. Minerva had been barely nine, so even her memories had faded over time. She could just remember their mother’s face but not her voice, odd recollections recalled in stark relief, but so many were hazy because she had lived more years without her now than with. She remembered a fragile woman worn down by life. One who cried a great deal and bickered constantly with her husband. One who claimed to have been a gentleman’s daughter, too.

“It’s just pretend, Vee … not at all disrespectful. She is the fictional Miss Venus Landridge’s mother, not yours. You are playing a part. I’ve told you the story Lord Hugh made up. Our pretend father recently died…” She had made the mistake of omitting the word “pretend” yesterday, and her sister had immediately burst into tears. “Leaving just us and our pretend widowed mother. He could hardly convince his mother we would all be here unchaperoned, when she expects us to have a mother. You are a stickler for propriety, Vee.… You know that would be the case.”

“I won’t do it!”

“You never batted an eyelid when I told you our pretend father was dead.”

“That’s because I knew I would never have to mention him by name if I chose to. I could nod and look sad, which I am, but I would never have to call another man ‘Papa’!”

“Then perhaps we manage to navigate all this without you ever having to call this woman ‘Mama’?” Not ideal, but as it was unlikely Vee would be capable of much more than sitting in Hugh’s mother’s presence without looking like an overwhelmed child, it was a way forward.

“That’s an excellent idea!” Diana wrapped her arm around Vee’s shoulders. “Only speak when directly spoken to and never say the word ‘Mama’! Come on, Vee … you can do this. We’ve come this far and Minerva is right. Without Lord Fareham’s money, we could be destitute within the year.”

“I’d rather be destitute than call a stranger ‘Mother’!”

“Oh, for pity’s sake, Vee!” Diana’s newfound patience was short-lived. “Stop being a baby! Sometimes, a person just has to strap on their stiff upper lip and grin and bear things!” Exasperated, she settled her eyes on Minerva, the message in them clear.

Stop mollycoddling her!

“Vee, I promised Lord Fareham I would give him at least a week, during which he would have our full compliance. Please do this one thing, Vee—simply because I need you to.”

“I won’t!”

Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught Diana’s look of complete frustration at the pair of them, and her temper flared, both at Vee’s continued belligerence and her own inability to discipline her properly.

“Oh yes you will!” As much as Minerva had never wanted to be a parent to her sister, let alone a strict one, it was obvious Vee needed one today. For all their sakes. “Because as much as you might prefer destitution, I can assure you, your only two remaining family members do not! And until our feckless father returns—if he ever returns—I am burdened with being the head of this family and therefore, whether you like it or not, what I say goes!”

“He’s not feckless!”

“Then where is he, Vee?”

Minerva didn’t wait to see if her words hit the mark and flounced out of the dining room expecting her sisters to follow, pausing once she arrived at the door to the drawing room to turn around. During that short walk, remorse at her flash of temper had begun to replace the anger. Behind Diana stood Vee, clearly on the verge of tears, and her heart wept for her. But it couldn’t be helped. While she hated hurting Vee’s tender feelings, her sister needed to learn the world didn’t revolve entirely around her. Vee might have been a child when their father had left, but Minerva had barely been a woman and had no clue how to raise his other daughters. Necessity had meant she had had to learn fast. If she could do that and give up her own life in the process, surely it wouldn’t kill Vee to do this one thing?

Without saying another word, Minerva knocked on the door and sailed in. Hugh instantly sprung to his feet. He always sprung to his feet when she entered a room. She liked that tiny, thoughtful gesture.

“Ladies! I’d like you to meet Mrs. Agatha Landridge—your widowed mother fresh from Chipping Norton.”

An older woman with silver strands in her blond hair and a plump face beamed at them and rushed toward Minerva. “My dears! What a pleasure to meet you. And what beautiful daughters I have!” She turned to Hugh and nudged him. “You neglected to tell me they were quite so lovely, my lord. I presume their green eyes and stature come from their father.” For some reason, her bottom lip quivered the second she mentioned him. “I miss him dreadfully.”