Meet Me at Dawn

Chapter One

“Father, I swear to you, nothing has happened,” I pleaded desperately, as Mama pulled me into the fire-lit room. He was there waiting, leaning upon the mantle, still with a glass of sherry in hand.

“Sutherland,” Father began with a nod. He never did like to bother with the formalities of the ton. The earl turned in our direction and silently waited for my father to continue. “You are well aware of the rumors running rampant about you and my daughter this evening, are you not?”

Sutherland nodded.

“Well then, I must ask. Will you be offering for her?”

The earl pushed away from the mantle and leisurely made his way over to our party. Mama gripped my arm, daring me to protest. He stopped and stood before me; I looked to him with pleading eyes, finding nothing but a blank stare in return.

“Sir, I will do no such thing. I have done nothing wrong here,” he announced to Father as he continued to look straight through me, as if I were nothing but air.

The sharp knife of rejection sliced through me as his words registered, followed by the indignation spurred by my hot American blood. I held my tongue for Mama had stiffened beside me. That arse.

“B-but, my lord, she will be ruined if you do not offer for her,” my father babbled.

“Sir, I will not repeat myself. I have done nothing wrong. I will not ask for the lady’s hand. Good evening.” He bowed smartly and left without another word.

“Oh, Simon!” Mama wailed, “We are ruined!”

Her voice grated on my ears, however if I mentioned it to her at that very moment, I was sure to have my ears boxed.

“She is ruined!” Mama continued. Father shook his head in defeat. “What will we do now? Not one of my friends will be able to help her after this. It took everything within my influence to elicit a voucher to Almack’s for the Season.”

Suddenly remembering that I stood beside her, she rounded on me, berating me for my misdeed. “How could you do this to us, Kathryn, after everything we have done for you? The visits to the modiste, the lessons in French and watercolor…How could you disappoint us so?” She was livid, her voice an octave higher since the earl’s departure.

I stood frozen as Mama glared daggers into my being; Father stared into the fire, and uttered not a word. I committed no falsehoods to deserve their censure. Remembering the earl’s blasé demeanor upon hearing of my ruin, crushing my status amongst the ton with his own hands, ire shot through to my core.

Before I could voice my opinion in the matter, Mama spoke once again. “We must marry her off; quickly, before the rumors have chance to circulate through the ton.”

Father looked up from the glowing embers of the hearth, “But to whom?”

Mama paused and thought, wrinkling her brow in the process. “Lord Atherton. Yes, Lord Atherton would do nicely. He is looking for a bride.”

Lord Atherton was an aging, bald baron, with yellow teeth and a paunch belly. From what I heard from the gossips, he had driven his three previous young brides to plummet to their death off the turrets of his medieval castle into the moat. I would no doubt succumb to the same fate should I marry the horrid man. “Absolutely not! I will never concede to marry that horrid man!” I yelled before they could continue as if I were not in the room.

“Come to your senses, gel,” Mama chided, “You have no choice in the matter. For all anyone knows, you could be breeding. You would never be able to catch a peer after this incident.”

Ire bubbled up to the surface. “I do have a choice. I have done nothing wrong. Abigail Harding is a lying twit! She would spread gossip about her own horse if it would garner up any attention.”

“You are being foolhardy and missish, Kathryn. You have no other option. Lord Sutherland has refused to speak for you. You are a fallen woman.”

I clenched my teeth at her words, anguish quickly washing over me. She was right. I was a fallen lady; my reputation in polite society was ruined. However, I could not marry that horrid man; I had to have another option. I did have another option. “No,” I replied with all the calmness I could muster, “I do have another option. Send me to the country estate. I will reside there, away from London and the gossips.”

“Oh, I think not!” she cackled. Her incessant screeching was truly irritating upon my person. “You will no longer leech from us, Kathryn. Gone are the days when you received our provisions. No, you will marry. That is final.”

“I will do no such thing!” I argued.

“I am your mother. You will do as I see fit.”

“No. I—“

“Enough!” Father barked, interrupting our verbal sparring. “Kathryn, it is late. Go to your rooms. We will discuss this at a later time.”

I glowered at him, but he returned my gaze, daring me to defy him. However, I knew better than to oppose his bidding when he addressed me as “Kathryn” rather than his pet name for me.

I spun on my heel, following Father’s orders when Mama’s voice stopped me. “You will do as I see fit, Kathryn. Make no mistake about it.”

I balled my fists as I glanced back at her over my shoulder. “We shall see, Mama. We shall see.”

Without waiting for a reply, I stormed out into the hall and trudged to the winding staircase. As I made my way up the plush carpeted steps, I could not help but to glance back at the gaiety and grandeur of the ballroom. I would miss it, no doubt, but I would never bow down to Mama’s contrivances of marrying me off.  

As I gazed at the happy faces and dancing couples below, I caught sight of a pair of silver eyes watching my ascent. Sutherland. The wretched bastard. If it were to be the only goal for the remainder of my pitiful life, he would atone for this misdeed.