The Earl's American Heiress. Carol Arens

Mr. Fencroft—or Oliver! That might result in a great scandal.

      But if she became his wife? What did she call him then? Something a bit more personal than his title, she hoped. And if that familiarity was allowed, was she permitted to use it in public or only in private?

      And what would he call her? Madeline? She had urged Grandfather to send a telegram to the earl informing him that it would be Clementine who was coming and not Madeline. He’d only laughed and said it was not necessary because Lord Fencroft was a lucky man to get either of his girls.

      Pressure built in her head, pounding behind her eyes. She could see it all too clearly—after she made a fool of herself and disgraced Grandfather by incorrectly addressing the earl, she would need to address his siblings.

      “Lady Olivia” would be right and easy, or perhaps it was “the Lady Olivia”? She squinted at the note Grandfather had written in the margin. Olivia had married Victor Shaw—the younger son of an earl—which meant she retained her own precedence.

      What did that even mean?

      Does that change what I call her? Would not “Mrs. Shaw,” or Heaven help them all, “Olivia” suffice for most occasions?

      The one thing she did know for certain was that Grandfather was going to regret bringing her here. No doubt he was going to have to take her home a shamed woman without the title he considered so vital to the survival of the Macooish line—which at this moment in time did not exist beyond her and Madeline.

      Lost in puzzling out exactly why she had agreed to cross the ocean in the first place, other than perhaps being a martyr to Grandfather’s cause, Clementine found her mind drifting back to the stranger in the garden—again.

      She was prone to do that far too easily. Truly, she had no business considering marriage to anyone until she could put that dashing fellow out of her head.

      With a sigh she returned her attention to the notebook on her lap and reminded herself that one day she would have to live her life without her grandfather. And how could she possibly do that knowing she had let him down?

      She could not and so here she was.

      But even now all she had committed to do was to seriously consider the marriage. She would need to meet the earl before she would make such a monumental decision.

      While Grandfather had agreed to offer his granddaughter to Oliver Cavill and the earl had agreed to accept her—well, not her so much as Madeline—she, the granddaughter sitting on a balcony in Mayfair needed to know that the man she would spend her life with was someone she could respect.

      Love might or might not follow wedding vows and the marriage might still be adequate. But without respect? No, without that a union could only end in misery.

      Grandfather seemed convinced that she would be content with his choice for her groom.

      Indeed! He’d been confident enough to have invested a fortune in the venture, surely half of it in ball gowns. He would need to succeed in his Scotland venture in order to recoup the cost.

      Since Clementine was not convinced that fluff and satin ruffles would ensure happiness, or even basic contentment, she was withholding her final decision. Or so she told herself.

      Deep down she knew the Earl of Fencroft would have to be quite unworthy in order for her to break Grandfather’s heart.

      So, for now, she had to practice. “It is lovely to meet you, Lady Olivia, or whoever you are in whichever social situation is at hand.” Being alone on the balcony, she allowed a frustrated and unladylike snort to escape her lips. “I’ll need to marry quickly so I can call you good sister and be done with it.”

      “And in the meantime Lady Olivia should suffice nicely.”

      Clementine turned her cheek up for her grandfather’s kiss.

      “Is not your new home grand?” He grinned at the impressively stately building across the way.

      Oh, it was grand, but not so formal-looking as to be unwelcoming. A pretty vine twined up the west side of the house while flowering trees bordered a private patio on the east side.

      Still, to call the town house home was premature.

      “And tomorrow, your season will begin.”

      “What was that?” Absorbed in looking at the town house as she had been, she must have misheard.

      “Your social season. Your coming out, so to speak.”

      “You will recall that I am twenty-three years old and a good five years past time for that.”

      “Folderol. I do realize it is late in the season but I still hope to have you presented at court.”

      “No, Grandfather. Perhaps I will wed to your liking, but I will not be paraded about like a blushing innocent. It would be humiliating.”

      “You are an innocent, are you not? And in the moment you are blushing. I’ve got to warn you, my dear, that as an American you will be suspect. As a foreigner sweeping in to claim a plum of a prize you must observe all the customs.” He reached down and swiped a curl behind her ear. “Do not be surprised if you are resented by the families who have raised their daughters to fill the slippers you are standing in.”

      “Well, they most certainly have my blessing because I will not be presented at court. Asking me to quietly marry an earl is one thing, but no one will be better off because I look like—”

      “A good and loyal child who deserves every advantage a title can bring. Just think, Clemmie, your children will never suffer from having been conceived of an accident of birth.”

      “That is one of the most outrageous things I’ve ever heard you say. I don’t know that one can consider being conceived in an adulterous liaison an accident of birth. And do you truly believe I would allow that to happen?”

      “I’m certain my mother did not intend it to happen, and yet it did.”

      And he had lived with the unfair label of bastard because of it.

      She wished she had not rebuked him so flippantly. The lack of a respectable birth had been his burden and what formed his values. Grandfather craved respectability in a way that most people did not.

      And yet she had to point out, “I could marry the corner constable and my children would be respectable.” Was the man in the fountain a constable, perhaps?

      “But not protected against life’s unpredictability. I thought you understood, Clemmie. A title gives you power, protection. And I am convinced you will be happy with the earl.”

      “There is one of us, then. I’ve yet to even meet the man.”

      Judging by the wide smile on his face, Grandfather was confident that all would go as he willed it.

      “I told you the truth about him. He’s a fine fellow—an outstanding chap. You will get along well together.”

      Oh, she didn’t hope for that much. Only that they would share a mutual respect.

      * * *

      If Lord and Lady Guthrie’s casual gathering was this grand, what would one of their famous balls be like? It would glitter to the heavens, Clementine figured.

      The Macooish mansion in Los Angeles was lovely, a well-known gathering place, but it did not glow with half the formal elegance of this home.

      She clenched her fingers on Grandfather’s coat sleeve. As long as she remained attached to him she might get through this—this presentation, this being shown off like a new variety of flower, or bug.

      But really, she was far from the first American lady to invade the aristocracy in order to save a peerage from financial ruin.

      “How is it that you got us invited to this ‘little gathering’—isn’t that what you called it?” Clementine glanced about the ballroom that Grandfather escorted her