A Virtuous Lady by Thornton Elizabeth

Author:Thornton, Elizabeth [Thornton, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780821737033
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 1992-03-02T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

In the days preceding their nuptials, the Marquess and his bride came to points on a matter of no small consequence. Ravensworth was somewhat taken aback to discover that Briony intended to be party to the negotiations respecting their marriage contract—a most unusual arrangement in his opinion. Further aggravation awaited his lordship. The lady displayed an aptitude for business and came to the negotiating table with a certain stipulation on which she would not budge, namely, that the income from her fortune be credited in its entirety to her account. Ravensworth protested, for such a handsome sum, he soon perceived, would ensure that his wife to all intents and purposes would remain independent of her husband's management.

"Precisely," Briony had replied in dulcet accents. Ravensworth appealed to Sir John, who did his best to dissuade Briony from such an unwarranted course of action, but Briony remained adamant. Her fortune, at her demise, would be equally divided amongst her heirs, but until such time, the income from it would be hers to administer as she saw fit. Ravensworth would have been happy to see the interest held in trust for their children, but no argument of his could persuade his recalcitrant bride, not even when Sir John disclosed the amount of the handsome settlement that Ravensworth was prepared to make. Briony pointed out, quite reasonably, that to an heiress such a competence was quite irrelevant. Ravensworth ground his teeth in rage—to no avail. Miss Briony Langland would not trust herself completely to the protection of any male.

For a disquieting hour or two, it looked to Sir John that the wedding might be called off. Ravensworth, he knew, was insulted by Briony's provocative persistence. He contrived a few minutes' private conversation with his lordship and finally convinced him that a married Briony, although she might technically be a woman of independent means, in reality would be powerless to thwart a husband's will. Ravensworth considered and finally relented, but Sir John could see that he was not well pleased that his future wife had questioned his integrity. Briony protested that his logic was glaringly abroad since she proposed to leave the management of her fortune to her husband's discretion. She trusted him implicitly, so she said.

Ravensworth had no way of knowing that Briony's determination to retain a modicum of independence in her marriage did not emanate from a distrust of him in particular, but from the teaching and practice of her mother and other Quaker ladies of her acquaintance. Ladies of the Quaker persuasion were accorded a deference and independence by their menfolk which would have shaken his lordship had he but known of it. They were esteemed for their qualities of resourcefulness and leadership and encouraged to participate as equals in the management of whatever interest and aptitude had fitted them for.

Ravensworth knew nothing of Briony's background, nor was he interested. Whatever else she was, she was the one woman in the world who had the power to utterly confuse him. His volatile emotions swung from one extreme to the other.

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