As she looked over her shoulder, their lips met in a swift but passionate kiss. “Then let’s make this journey together,” he whispered as he pulled her back against him.
Walking hand in hand, they returned to the school where they waited in the drawing room for the arrival of Louisa’s parents.
An hour later, when her father entered, he asked, “Mrs. Rutley, why is there a sword in your front garden?”
ChapterThirty-Seven
Sitting across from her father on the couch in the school’s drawing room, Louisa traced a nervous finger along a printed vine on her skirt. Her mother sat beside her, as quiet as she, while Sir Aaron and her father discussed their various enterprises. She had forewarned her parents that Sir Aaron would be asking for her hand in marriage, but the subject had yet to arise. Now she worried it never would. Why did men spend so much time focused on business?
“It sounds like your future is well mapped, Sir Aaron,” her father said with a smile usually reserved for his best clients.
Sir Aaron cleared his throat. “I believe so, Mr. Dunston. And I’m glad you’ve raised this topic. You see, Miss Louisa and I have become close over these past months.”
Her father laughed. “So I’ve heard.” He looked at Louisa. “I never knew you had such an interest in the theater.”
Louisa’s cheeks heated. “I do enjoy a good play from time to time, yes. But that was not why I fought so hard to keep our little theater open.” She paused. Why should she bother to explain? It was not as if her father had ever shown any interest in anything she said or did.
Now, however, he gave her an expectant look, one she had seen him give her sister Patricia when she was younger and wanted to show him her latest painting. Or Georgia when she had trained her favorite mare to bow. Or even Anne, who possessed a singing voice that even the angels would praise.
Louisa’s nervousness increased, but she took a calming breath and said, “I wanted a place where men and women could both be welcomed. Where we could all enjoy time together. And the theater was one such place. I did not want to see it destroyed only to be replaced by an establishment into which women were not allowed to enter. We’re already restricted from entering gambling halls and pubs. Not that I want to enter one, Father,” she added when her father’s brows rose.
“So, let me get this straight,” her father said. “You found a problem you felt needed to be addressed and took steps to rectify it?”
“Yes.”
He pursed his lips in thought before giving a nod and returning his attention to Sir Aaron. “I’m aware you wish to marry my daughter. You’ve proven to me that you have good sense and are a capable man. I see no reason to deny your request.”
Sir Aaron’s smile nearly broke his face in two. “I thank you, sir. I promise to take good care of her.”
Her father stood. “I’m sure you will. Now, we really should be on our way. We have a long journey. The sooner we begin, the sooner we’ll be home.” His expression gave no indication if he was pleased or relieved by the decision he had made.
As they walked toward the front door, Louisa took hold of her father’s arm. “Before we go, may I speak with you, Father?”
Her father’s brow knitted. “What is it? We’ve no time to dawdle. I have a meeting on Thursday I cannot reschedule.”
“It will only take a moment, I promise.”
With a resigned sigh, he nodded and followed Louisa to the far corner of the foyer. “Now, what is it?”
“I’m not at fault for who I am, Father.” She had not meant her words to be so direct, but they had erupted of their own volition.
“What do you mean?” he asked with a frown.
“I know…” Louisa blinked back tears. “I know why you favor my sisters over me. Don’t deny it, Father. I’ve seen how you look at me.” His dropped gaze was a confirmation of her fears. “I know about Mother’s… indiscretion and that I’m the result of it.”
“How—?”
Louisa gripped her skirts as she said, “Does it matter? What I want to know is why you hate me.”
He lifted his head, shock filling his features and red rimming his eyes. “I don’t hate you, Louisa.”
Louisa’s heart pounded in her chest. “But you don’t love me, either.”
Her father sighed. “I know I’ve treated you differently, and that was unfair of me. And before you say it has something to do with how you were born, let me say this. You are like your mother in so many ways. She was… is an inquisitive soul who wants to know everything. I, on the other hand, have always had my nose in my ledgers and spend all my time with clients. I spent far too much time away from home, which left your mother alone. Loneliness can make people do things they would not otherwise do. I believed I had forgiven her for her indiscretion. Until you were born.”
Tears trickled down Louisa’s face, and she did nothing to stop them. Her chest hurt, and she wished she had not broached the subject. Now she could do nothing to take back that single piece of hope that she was not the cause of his disregard. Now it had been confirmed.
He placed comforting hands on her shoulders, and she looked up at him. “None of this is your fault, Louisa. I was the fool, not you. I wasted too many years placing my anger where it did not belong. And because of that, I never got to know you.” He placed his hands on either side of her face. “My daughter. And for that, I’m regretful.”