Improperly Wed by Anna DePalo Page B

amends.”
    Belinda’s jaw dropped. “Make amends?”
    â€œYes, darling, in order to keep your options open. You will, after all, be a single woman again some day.”
    Belinda was flabbergasted. Here she’d been concerned about the possibility, however unlikely, of conceiving a child with Colin, and her mother was already thinking about her next husband.
    Her mother had obviously not given up on the Dillinghams.
    â€œYou know I won’t be around forever,” Uncle Hugh joined in, “and Tod would make a good steward of the Wentworth estates.”
    â€œThere are practically no Wentworth estates at the moment,” Belinda retorted. “It’s all in Granville hands.”
    It wasn’t technically true. They still had one estate in Berkshire left, as well as a couple of rental buildings, but it hadn’t been in the family that long. Still, at least they wouldn’t be homeless, thank goodness, if Colin turned them out.
    â€œThis arrangement with Colin need be only a bump in the road,” Uncle Hugh went on. “Surely once it’s over, you’ll wish to return to your rightful groom and pick up where you left off.”
    Belatedly, Belinda recognized just how much animosity her uncle harbored toward Colin, who’d divested him of the Wentworth patrimony. Uncle Hugh was ready to shoo her back in Tod’s direction at a moment’s notice.
    Her mother was worse. She was almost suggesting thatBelinda befriend Tod and keep her options open, as it were, even before her marriage to Colin ended.
    â€œTod is no longer in the picture,” Belinda responded flatly.
    She reached forward and set her teacup down with more noise than necessary.
    â€œNow, now, Belinda,” her mother said in a soothing voice, “no need to get snappish. Your uncle means well.”
    â€œWe’re thinking of your best interests.”
    â€œAre you?” Belinda said as she stood up. “Then why is it up to me to save the family fortunes?”
    She turned then and walked out the door.
    She would head back to her London hotel, and then fly to New York to settle her affairs there.
    Life had just taken a detour—one that led to Halstead Hall.

Seven
    B elinda’s eyes misted as Pia reached the front of the church.
    Pia looked beautiful in her wedding gown, holding a tightly bunched bouquet of red roses. A delicate tiara graced her coiffure. It was a gift from Pia’s groom, Hawk, for their wedding day.
    In a nod to her groom’s country, Pia had made a fashion-forward choice from a British designer. In a bow to tradition, however, the dress had lace elbow-length sleeves and a full skirt. The ensemble was light and ethereal, like Pia.
    Belinda adjusted the skirt of Pia’s dress and then took the bouquet from her friend’s hands, all the while steadfastly refusing to make eye contact with Easterbridge, standing a few feet away, next to the groom.
    The service was being held in the parish church near Silderly Park, the Duke of Hawkshire’s estate in Oxford.
    Belinda was Pia’s lone attendant. Because Tamara wasseveral months’ pregnant, she had bowed out of being part of the wedding party and had instead chosen to remain comfortably seated among the wedding guests.
    To Belinda’s discomfiture, however, Colin was acting as Hawk’s best man. Belinda wondered if Pia’s romantic nature was at work in the choice. After all, not so long ago, Pia had suggested that Easterbridge was drawn to Belinda like a moth to a flame.
    Pia gave her a bright and tremulous smile before facing the minister.
    Belinda was truly happy for her friend. But much as she hated to disillusion Pia, Belinda didn’t think she and Easterbridge bore even a passing resemblance to Romeo and Juliet—though their families, she admitted to herself, might rival the Montagues and Capulets.
    Belinda kept her eyes firmly on the Anglican minister as he began to speak. When