The Reluctant Bride. Meg Alexander

      “Help me. Isham is sure to be on time….”

      India was right. They had not long to wait. As the clock struck four, Lord Isham was announced and shown into the parlor.

      As he bowed to her mother, India stole a critical look at him. His manner was correct, his bow perfection, but his presence shattered the genteel atmosphere in the room.

      India glanced down at her hands and found that they were trembling. She had summoned all her courage for the coming interview, but it was deserting her fast. Now she longed only to get it over with.

      It seemed an age before her mother rose.

      “Will you excuse me, sir?” she said. “India would like to speak to you.”

      Isham merely bowed and held the door. As it closed he turned and leaned against it. For a panic-stricken moment India felt trapped. She was forced to suffer his long, assessing stare.

      “So you are to be the sacrificial lamb?” his lordship drawled at last. “What a fate, my dear!”

      The Reluctant Bride

      Meg Alexander

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MEG ALEXANDER

      After living in southern Spain for many years, Meg Alexander now lives in Kent, although, having been born in Lancashire, she feels that her roots are in the north of England. Meg’s career has encompassed a wide variety of roles, from professional cook to assistant director of a conference center. She has always been a voracious reader, and loves to write. Other loves include history, cats, gardening, cooking and travel. She has a son and two grandchildren.

      Other books in THE STEEPWOOD SCANDAL series:

      Lord Ravensden’s Marriage, by Anne Herries

      An Innocent Miss, by Elizabeth Bailey

      The Reluctant Bride, by Meg Alexander

      A Companion of Quality, by Nicola Cornick

      A Most Improper Proposal, by Gail Whitiker

      A Noble Man, by Anne Ashley

      An Unreasonable Match, by Sylvia Andrew

      An Unconventional Duenna, by Paula Marshall

      Counterfeit Earl, by Anne Herries

      The Captain’s Return, by Elizabeth Bailey

      The Guardian’s Dilemma, by Gail Whitiker

      Lord Exmouth’s Intentions, by Anne Ashley

      Mr. Rushford’s Honour, by Meg Alexander

      An Unlikely Suitor, by Nicola Cornick

      An Inescapable Match, by Sylvia Andrew

      The Missing Marchioness, by Paula Marshall

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter One

      1811

      The elder of the two ladies seated by the fireside in the tiny cottage was visibly distressed. Tears fell unheeded down her cheeks as she looked up at her brother-in-law.

      “Tell me it isn’t true!” she pleaded. “Must Isham take everything? Oh, please, not my dowry too and the portions for the girls?”

      Sir James Perceval hesitated, hating the task ahead of him, yet knowing that it must be done.

      “There is no help for it,” he said at last. “Isabel, my dear, it is better that you face the worst. I tried to save what little I could, but the debt is too great. When I said that everything was gone I meant not only the house, your carriage, and the horses…”

      “I don’t care about those,” Mrs Rushford cried, waving aside the comforts which had sustained her for a lifetime. “But my girls! I had such hopes for them. Who will take them now, and how are we to live?”

      She reached out a hand to the silent figure of her daughter. “India, we are destitute…quite ruined!” Then, to the horror of her companions, she burst into hysterical laughter.

      India rose to her feet and rang the bell. Then she took her mother’s hands and began to speak in a low voice.

      “Mama, you are very tired. Let me take you to your room. Martha shall bathe your head with Hungary water, and make a hot brick for your feet. Uncle and I will see to matters here. There may be something we can do…”

      Slipping an arm about her mother’s waist, she supported her distraught parent from the room.

      It was some time before she returned, much to Sir James’s concern, but India was quick to reassure him.

      “Mama is resting,” she said quietly. “But I have sent Letty for the doctor. A sedative will give her some respite. It was the shock, you see, coming on top of all she has had to bear just recently.”

      “I would have spared her if I could, my dear, but it wasn’t possible. This is a bad business, and I am sorry that she has taken it so hard…”

      India nodded. “I’m afraid that the news about her dowry was the last straw. These last four months since Father’s death have been a nightmare. And then, you know, she had such plans for us.”

      “I know it, my dear child. God knows I tried at least to save your own portions, but the debt was too great. Your father’s vowels committed him to the hilt, and a debt of honour must be paid.”

      “Honour?” India cried harshly. “Forgive me, Uncle, but I see no honour in any of this. Isham must have known that Father could not pay such sums. He is a cur. If I were a man I’d call him out myself.”

      Sir James’s face grew stern. “You don’t understand, I fear. If a man sits at the tables his companions do not question his finances. It is taken for granted that he will be able to meet his obligations. To do otherwise would be fraud.”

      India was silent. In her heart she knew that Lord Isham was not solely to blame for the disaster that had overtaken them. For the first time in her life she was beginning to realise that her adored papa, for all his charm and gaiety, lacked any sense of responsibility