Lady Amelia's Secret Lover by Victoria Alexander

this household is not the subject at the moment.”
    “You’re right, Father.” Cordelia crossed her arms over her chest. “The subject is your desire to arrange a marriage between me and a man I have never met.”
    “Arrange is such a hard word.” Mother shook her head. “Encourage is a far better word.”
    Cordelia raised a brow. “But is it as accurate?”
    “Yes,” Mother said brightly.
    “No.” Father’s voice was firm. “You need this marriage, Cordelia, as much as I do. It’s not as if you have made any effort to find a husband on your own.”
    Cordelia sniffed. “I’ve made every effort. I’ve simply not found the right man.”
    “Well, I have.” He leaned back in his chair and studied his daughter. “I should think you would be pleased.”
    Cordelia’s brows pulled together. “Why on earth would I be pleased? This is a decision that affects the rest of my life and you have taken it out of my hands.”
    “Thus relieving you of the necessity of continuing your efforts in this regard. Cordelia.” Her father’s voice softened. “Have you or have you not had several proposals through the years?”
    “I’m not sure I would use the word several,” Cordelia murmured.
    “Three that I am aware of.” Mother glanced at her.
    “That would definitely be several.”
    Father nodded. “All of which you declined because?”
    “I don’t recall,” Cordelia said in a lofty manner, although she did indeed recall quite clearly the reasons for rejecting each and every one.
    Proposal number one came from a gentleman who was so deadly dull she envisioned a future filled with nothing more exciting than trying to keep awake as he droned on and on about topics of no consequence. Proposal number two was issued by a suitor who was quite dashing and handsome but certainly could not be trusted as, even as he’d asked for her hand, his eye was drifting elsewhere. Cordelia did not intend to be the type of wife who overlooked a husband’s indiscretions. It was rather a pity really as he was quite the type of man she could easily love. Fortunately for her heart, at that particular moment, she had not. And the third came from a pleasant enough gentleman with a distinguished title and an excellent family, although, given all Cordelia had heard about his finances, she’d been certain her appeal for him lay more in her substantial dowry and family connections than in any sense of affection.
    Cordelia shrugged. “Suffice it to say, Father, I simply didn’t harbor any particular affection for any of them.”
    Her mother leaned toward her father. “She wasn’t in love, dear.”
    “Unfortunately, the time for love has passed.” Her father studied her for a long moment. “I would havethought you would understand this situation, Cordelia. Aside from your romantic notions regarding this particular subject, I have long considered you the most practical and levelheaded of all my daughters. You have a fine mind as well.”
    “Thank you, Father,” Cordelia said in a prim manner that belied her surprise. She’d always thought Father considered her somewhat frivolous and stubborn, rather like her mother.
    “You are, in truth, the most like myself of my children.” He shook his head. “I too have always enjoyed the adventure of travel, the excitement of new places, the mystery of what might lie around the next corner in a foreign land. And I might add, I write a fine letter as well. In both temperament and interests I have long thought we are very much alike.”
    Cordelia slanted a quick glance at her mother who appeared unsurprised by this startling revelation, but as Cordelia was not one to overlook a stroke of luck, she lowered her voice in a confidential manner. “I have always thought so, Father.”
    “Then you will understand when I explain that a union with this man’s family will be in all our best interests. Cordelia.” Father paused to choose his words.
    “As you well know, I have any number of business