Lady Cecilia Is Cordially Disinvited For Christmas by Jeane Sheridan

Author:Jeane, Sheridan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-63303-012-1
Publisher: Flowers and Fullerton
Published: 2019-10-07T16:00:00+00:00

11

Cecilia continued toward the staircase as Devin’s mother joined him and started whispering in his ear.

Cecilia slowly climbed the stairs as she strained to hear if Lady Vincent might be complaining about young Douglas, but try as she might, she couldn’t make out a single word. Lady Vincent kept her head close to Devin’s as she steered him toward the hallway.

As she watched Devin leave, doubts about him still plagued her.

Could he change?

She wasn’t certain. People rarely changed due to an outside force. They only did so if they decided it was in their own best interest. At least, that’s what her mother always told her. “Cecilia, don’t expect to marry an attractive man and then fix him,” her mother had once said. “The shortcomings he has at the beginning of the relationship are the same ones that will sour it a few years down the road. Decide if you’ll be able to bear living with him if he never changes, because I can promise you, those faults will only become amplified throughout his life.”

At the time, Cecilia had only heard that advice as a condemnation of her father and his carelessness with money. Mother would shake her head and tut-tut whenever he lost to yet another scheme, but she never became angry with him. She said he’d always been a hopeful romantic who believed in the power of luck. That made him the perfect target for those who wanted to trick him.

Now, Cecilia could see her mother’s advice as something more. Her mother told her she’d agonized over the role of women in this country, and that had heavily influenced her choice in a husband. She’d known she would have no power over her own life other than what her husband would grant her, so finding a man who wouldn’t abuse his control and would be a good provider was essential.

As was love.

Cecilia had come to realize that she was different from most women she knew. The needs of her heart, nay, her soul, drove her. She needed a man she could respect. Trust. Adore. Someone she could admire.

Plus, she needed him to feel the same way about her.

She’d thought she’d found that man in Devin, but then he’d fallen short. He’d shown a distinct lack of respect for her when he’d chosen to stop writing to her. She couldn’t be with a man who didn’t value her, because his attitude would infect her, and she’d end up not valuing herself either.

Her father respected her mother. He showed it in every word her uttered. Every action he took. He might have occasionally been careless with his finances and his trust, but she didn’t think her mother would change anything about him. Besides, that didn’t happen to be her mother’s decision to make.

Who he was was up to him.

Over time, Father had become more cautious. Each financial setback was also a hard-earned lesson. He now saw treachery everywhere. He kept searching for a way out of their current difficult situation, but he no longer blindly trusted those who approached him with their schemes.

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