To Catch a Rake by Sally Orr Read Free Book Online Page B

anticipated our wedding, but it will never come to be.” A few seconds passed, and her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Meta. I no longer trust him. How could I?”
    Meta rose and stood behind her sister. She then caught Lily’s gaze in the looking glass. “You and I will speak of this again sometime in the future, maybe a year or two after your marriage. By then you will realize that gentlemen are sometimes unpredictable, and it is sometimes difficult to understand their position on a subject. That is why you must speak to him. Give him a chance to clarify his objections. You owe him that.”
    “No.” Lily pursed her lips. “He can pay me a call to apologize, and I will hear him out. I can give him nothing more.”
    “This is not like you—you have a kind heart. Are you telling me you no longer love James?”
    “No, I am not saying that…exactly. I’m saying he must apologize to me first, on principle.”
    She recognized the appearance of her sister’s innate stubbornness, mixed with the mortification of rejection. “Well, come and join me then. Together we will pay a call at Codlington House, and you and James can have a word in private. Show him the letter, and all will be forgotten. We can then celebrate together.”
    The smallest of smiles finally broke across Lily’s face. “Thank you, I really mean it, but I must refuse. James must come to me.”
    Meta sometimes failed to understand her father or her siblings, leaving her anxious, unable to sleep, and even ill from too much worry. Unfortunately, these feelings proved to have little effect upon the final outcome. Now her mind only registered the fact that Lily needed her. Not only that, but she had great affection for James and worried that he too might be unhappy.
    They both needed her to facilitate a reconciliation .
    An hour later, Meta found herself standing in front of the home of Lady Codlington and her only son, James. The Codlingtons’ town house was at least twice the size of their home, and it possessed a lovely view of the park from the front rooms. While the size and situation of the house matched the elevated status of the Codlington family, it stood merely three dozen houses away from the more modest home of the Broadshams. Indeed, the two families frequently met during evening walks in the park. As a result, the Codlingtons’ butler greeted her warmly and showed her to the large library overlooking the private side garden. A climbing old rose grew next to the open window. The day was a warm one, so the scent of roses overwhelmed the normal smell of old books.
    Meta hurried over to examine her favorite object in the room, the jovilabe orrery—a mechanical device the size of a tabletop that showed Jupiter and its four Galilean moons. The clocklike mechanism controlled the slow orbit of the four moons around a stationary Jupiter. Both the planet and its moons were made of polished semiprecious stones. The pretty green color of little Io’s malachite was her favorite, so she stroked the cool green stone. Upon her touch, she realized a desire to show the orrery’s gears to Mr. Drexel. Because of his obvious admiration of all things mechanical, he would delight in watching the tiny gears advance ever so slowly, causing the moons to dance around the great marble Jupiter.
    The moment she saw Io move a fraction, Lady Codlington entered the library and greeted her. “Well, my dear, I do not know what to say to you about this business.” The older woman slowly moved to sit in her favorite chair by the fire and spread her black bombazine skirt out in front of her.
    “Good afternoon, your ladyship.”
    “I imagine you have called to change my son’s mind about his broken engagement. But I will speak plainly, since I am well-known for my frankness. The situation will not change. I insist you drop the matter. Thanks to that field guide, my son has come to his senses at last. In the future, he’ll make a match that will prove useful to a young