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Chapter One

A Wedding Announcement

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Friday, March 17th, 1911

Wakefield, England

xx.

"Lilianna Elizabeth Calhoun! You will stop that this instant!"

Lilianna turned, confusion and surprise, mixed with a hint of mischief, written across her face. "Mother, what are you doing here? I thought that you and father would not be arriving until tomorrow." One of the maids who had been standing nearby to watch immediately hurried forward and took from Lilianna the stick she had been waving at a stray dog who had wandered into their yard. She then shoed the dog away, though it was obvious by the pained look on her face that she did not wish to do so. The poor thing looked hungry, in Lilianna's opinion, and she had been just about to order something brought out for it too. She sighed, watching as the mutt darted under a hedge and Lilianna hoped he'd wander back later so she could have some food fetched for him.

"We've come with news!" Her father said cheerily, leading his wife up the front walk. Behind them came the nanny who was carrying Lilianna's one year old brother. Lilianna ignored the child and watched her father and mother pass her and move towards the house. "Come along, Lilianna, and leave the dog. You must hear about the letter I received yesterday!"

She followed reluctantly, sending another regretful glance towards the hedge where the dog disappeared. Her father was strangely cheery, her mother obviously smug. What had the two of them done this time? Could they be sending her away? Perhaps they had found her a new tutor? Maybe the daughter of a friend needed company this upcoming social season and Lilianna was lucky enough to play the part. It certainly would not be the first time her parents had arranged friends for her, or scheduled her plans. They seemed convinced that if left to her own devices, Lilianna would promptly fall to ruin. It was an insult, really, and Lilianna frowned as the butler took her coat. Or maybe it had nothing to do with her at all. Perhaps her father's business had done incredibly well and because he "adored her so", she would be getting all new dresses for the season – not that she wouldn't anyway. Her mother always made sure she was one of the most stylishly dressed as though that would somehow attract an excellent husband. So far, however, Lilianna had not received any offers. Not that she minded one bit; she was not looking for a husband yet.

"What is it?" She asked as she found them in the parlour, tea already brought out to them. She sat across from her father, hardly able to bear looking at her mother's sickeningly pleased expression. Anything that had her mother so undeniably happy was sure to make her, Lilianna Calhoun, deathly miserable. They differed so much that Martin often teased that the two could hardly be related. Lilianna wondered the same thing at times, especially when her mother made some decision for her that she never would have made.

"Lilianna, that is quite rude," Elizabeth Calhoun reprimanded, letting her words hang in the air for a moment as she took a sip of her tea. "You must not speak to your father in such a way."

She sighed. Turning a pleading gaze to her father, Lilianna begged him with her eyes to put her out of her misery and simply tell her what was going on. However, it seemed as though he intended to make some sort of long, drawn out process of the whole thing and she glanced impatiently towards the window as she settled back in her chair with her own cup of steaming tea.

"As you know," he started, studying her. "There have been some difficulties with finding you a husband here."

"Yes, because I am disagreeable. Which is hardly my fault," Lilianna said, her voice emotionless, "When I was told I had the world at my fingertips and had it all taken away with the birth of your son." They had gone through this so many times before. Lilianna, who had grown up being told that she would inherit everything, would need to know how to stand on her own two feet a little more than most girls. She had to know how to hold her own and she was promised suitors of all varieties. She had been, up until a little over a year ago, an heiress. And they by some medical miracle, Elizabeth Calhoun had conceived and given birth to a son and all Lilianna's certainty had disappeared.

"Lilianna, how many times must I tell you not to interrupt your father?"

At least Lilianna had taken that disgusting look of pleasure off her mother's face. "I am sorry father. Do continue." She sipped her tea, waiting for him to say something along the lines of how hard they would need to work at this year's London season to make certain that she found a suitable match. However, when he did speak, it was most definitely not what she had been expecting.

"I have found you a husband," he declared triumphantly, his mood not dampened as Lilianna set her tea aside and stared at him wide, disbelieving eyes.

"A husband? What are you talking about?"Lilianna leaned forward, studying her father critically as she wondered what all of this could possibly be about. Of course, she knew her father had been wishing to secure a husband for her, and there had been talk for ages that she wasn't getting any younger – that she really must try harder to attract the attention of one of the eligible young men either in London or, if need be, in Wakefield. The family had given up on securing anyone of great status, or importance, once little Martin Jr. was born and Lilianna lost her rights to her father's estate.

"Do you recall," he began, settling back in his chair, looking quite proud of himself, "An Edmund Hurst?"

"No, not at all," she was quick to say, wondering where in the world he had found her a husband – and why he had not mentioned any of this sooner. A husband? But she was not ready to be married just yet! She was livid, but folded her hands on her lap, trying to keep her anger under control. Perhaps they were only in the preliminary arrangements stage, perhaps she still had years. "Who is he?" She knew it was unlikely that she had much time, however, because of the way her mother sat there looking smug and pleased.

"An acquaintance of mine that I met years ago; we have kept in contact these last ten years or so but only recently did he mention his son's desire to go to Harvard to go into law." The pride on his face was undeniable and Lilianna merely sat on, stunned. "I inquired about his son, only to discover he has three, all close in age. The oldest, William, is four years your senior and has a bright future ahead of him, I can tell."

Lilianna stared blankly on. "William. William Hurst. I have never heard the name, is he from London?" Certainly if he was from London, she would have heard of him. "Or perhaps north of London, for I cannot recall meeting such a person and surely I would have met him last season if he was indeed from around here." There was the faintest change in her father's expression and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Father? Where exactly is he from?"

"Philadelphia."

"Philadelphia..." Lilianna frowned. "Philadelphia... near Newbottle?" She knew, of course, of the Philadelphia across the North Atlantic but did not for a moment suppose her father could mean to send her out of England, to the United States.

"No," her mother interrupted, encouraged by the concern on Lilianna's face. "No, my sweet, America's Philadelphia."

The silence lasted hardly half a minute before Lilianna was on her feet, her hands shaking as she crossed her arms tightly over her stomach. "No. No. I refuse." America? She would be damned if she willingly let some stranger cart her off to that vulgar country. Her mind was racing as she tried to process what all her father, and mother, had just thrown at her. It was too much, too fast. She wasn't sure she could accept any of it.

"You may not refuse," her father said, his cheer quickly replaced by obvious irritation, "the plans have already been made. You will marry this October, here at the Wakefield house after the season is over. William will come in September to allow you some time to get to know one another before the wedding ceremony."

"You cannot honestly expect me to marry an American!" She cried, her eyes burning with unshed tears as she fought back her frustration. "I will not! I will not leave England, I will not go to that blasted country!" This was ridiculous, she thought, wishing she could wake up and realize all of this had only been some terrible dream. Why was this happening to her? None of the other girls she knew were so undesirable that their parents had to send them across the ocean to find a husband. It was downright insulting! Horrifying! No, she simply would not allow it!

"Lilianna, lower your voice," her mother warned, "a proper young lady never raises her voice. And you will wake your brother."

Her brother! The cause of this whole thing! He was hardly a year old and still she blamed him for her fall from grace. Like she cared if he woke! He could wake and cry and scream until his throat was parched and his eyes red and puffy and he thought the whole world had abandoned him. If she hadn't been fifteen when he was born, damn it all she would have cried and screamed for someone to listen to her too! As it was, she had cried more than her share over the misfortunes of her life; could they not spare her this injustice? "I will not marry a man I have never met!" She insisted, dropping her arms to her sides. "I refuse. I will not do it! Father, please, you must understand! I cannot bear to leave you behind. I cannot bear to leave England behind. What of my friends? What of everything I know? I cannot leave everything! I cannot! I will not!" She ran her hand over her eyes, determined not to show weakness, not to show tears. That would never convince her parents to call off this ridiculous idea. That would never convince her parents that she should be able to make her own decisions – especially concerning something so important, so final.

"You will do as your mother and I deem best for you," Martin said, rising to meet his daughter's gaze. He stood nearly a foot taller than her and Lilianna took a step back after getting one good look at the anger on her father's face. "You will not find anyone suitable here, Lilianna. This marriage is ideal; it is what is best for you. William Hurst is a good man and he will take good care of you."

"How can you possibly know that?" Her voice was soft though her words defiant. "You have never met him and while his father might sing his praises, what father would not sing the praises of his eldest son? What if he has a great temper? What if he strikes me? What if he is nothing more than a drunkard?"

"Then sweeten him," her mother responded tartly, "Surely even you are capable of such a thing, if it was important enough." Lilianna hated that smug look on her mother's face. Hated the way her mother seemed to see her as expendable, now that she had a son to secure her favour in society. Lilianna was the rightful heir to everything – that blasted boy should never have been born! Now her mother went about without a care in the world, pleased with herself and her miracle baby. She doted on Martin Jr. the way she had doted on Lilianna when the girl was nothing more than a child. Back when Lilianna had been her miracle. It wasn't fair at all! It wasn't right and Lilianna was determined that she not have to put up with this.

"Elizabeth." Martin's tone was warning as he turned to his wife. Regardless of what her mother said or did, Lilianna knew that deep down, she would always be her father's favourite child. Of course he had wanted a son – what man did not? But Lilianna knew that her father hated what had happened to her, hated that she had promptly lost everything. She could not truly hate her father, though at the moment it felt like hate was the only emotion she carried for him. When he turned his attention back to Lilianna, his gaze softened somewhat. "You will be safe; he will not strike you."

"How can you know?" She demanded, "You are giving me away to a stranger; a man you know nothing about and a man that you will never know anything about."

"Enough." Martin sighed and waved his hand to dismiss her. "I will hear no more of your worries. This is a good arrangement, to a good man. You will be well cared for and lead a happy, prosperous life as his wife. Now go find something to do and leave your mother and I in peace." He sat again and Lilianna, sending them both the most evil glare she could must, turned and fled the room.

There was nothing quite like the beginning of spring; Lilianna waited for it eagerly every year. The slushy snow had disappeared and everything had been given time to dry and thaw and get green. She stood looking out her second story window, a sad smile on her face as she surveyed her surroundings. She was pleased to be here in Wakefield again; while Lilianna had always been fond of London, she hated what it represented. Her family only spent the winters in London, winters and the season that she sometimes loved and sometimes hated, and so she had grown to equate the city with bitter cold and the stresses of being always social. But winter was over now and the season did not start until May; Lilianna was free to enjoy the quiet of the English countryside and the peacefulness of her surroundings. She liked nothing more than to take a good book outside, usually an Austen novel though she had read them all countless times, and sit beneath one of the great trees down by the river. Sometimes she was accompanied by Alyson, her personal maid and dearest friend, but often she went on her own.

This year's homecoming to the Wakefield house should have been wonderful, it should have been exciting and calming and a relief from the business of London. But it was not, not now that her parents had decided to tell her she would be married in seven months. While the time they had given her was not so terrible, it was the fact that she had never before met the man that was so unbearable. She hadn't a clue what sort of man he was, how he would treat her, if he could ever even like her. She knew she was not the ideal bride; she had been counting on choosing her own husband... a man she could know might at least be able to tolerate her ways. It was difficult to know that she could spend the rest of her life being hated by the man she was meant to spend the rest of her life with, to have children with, and to go about looking happy. What if he was the sort to have numerous affairs, or the sort to gamble away his money without much of a though? Perhaps he was a drunkard, which she absolutely detested... or maybe he was a good person. She sighed, stepping away from the window. She could not know, it seemed, until she met him in September.

There was a soft knocking at her bedroom door and Lilianna sighed, calling for whomever it was to enter. She wished she would not be disturbed so often, but it seemed as though everyone had something that they needed to say to her, or some question that they needed to ask her.

"Lilianna?"

"Alyson!" Lilianna spun around, overjoyed to see her friend. Her maid was burdened with boxes of all sizes and colours, and Lilianna rushed to help her set them down. "What are all these?" She lifted the lid off the top box, smiling faintly as she pushed aside the wrapping paper and ran her fingers across the silky material. Beautiful colours, spring colours. Interesting.

"Your dresses, for the spring," Alyson said with a smile. "Your mother had them ordered."

"She never told me. It was probably planned to soften the blow. Maybe to make me forgive and forget." But that would most certainly never happen – Lilianna was angry, and she would be angry for a good long while too. This was a crime that no amount of boxes filled with pretty dresses could forgive.

"The blow? What do you mean?" Alyson looked concerned as she lifted one of the lids and pulled out the dress so Lilianna could see it. Lilianna, however, was not interested and she waved towards wardrobe so Alyson would simply put them away.

"They have gone and gotten me engaged," she said plainly.

"To whom?"

"A William Hurst; he is an American." The disdain was obvious in her voice.

"No! Oh Lili, I am so sorry."

"You will come with me, will you not?" She tried not to sound demanding, knowing she could never force her friend to come along if she was not completely in agreement. However, Alyson's cheerful smile and nod of agreement improved her mood immensely.

"Of course I will! Where else would I go; you are like family to me and I could not imagine working for another." She set aside the dress she was holding and crossed to Lilianna, giving her a tight, affectionate hug. When she stepped away, Lilianna could see that Alyson was being honest and she sighed with relief.

"Good. I do not believe I could bear it if I had to go on without you." Glancing towards the window once more, she folded her arms and took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts. "But of course I will still do everything within my power to make sure that this wedding does not take place. If there is anything I can do to stop it... oh Alyson! I really, truly, do not wish to go to America! This is terrible!" She sat down on her bed, running her hand over her hair, irritation on her face. "How can they do this? How can they just... decide they are going to send me away?"

Alyson went back to unpacking dresses and hanging them up in the wardrobe. "They are your parents, Lili and, as unfair as it might be, they can do with you as they wish I suppose. There are few to whom you can protest – fewer who would even think that something needs to be done. They have put you in quite the spot and unfortunately I can think of little you might do to get out of it."

"You are lucky you needn't worry about your parents telling you what to do," Lilianna mumbled. When she turned, however, the look of pain on Alyson's face was enough to make her backtrack. "I am so sorry, Alyson, that was heartless. I just... I just wish this would all go away."

"You cannot make it go away, Lili," Alyson told her softly, hanging the last dress up before closing the wardrobe doors. "But you can choose how you will react to the situation. Perhaps this William... Hurst, you said? Yes, perhaps he will be a good man, just the sort of man you need."

"And perhaps he will be nothing more than a bitter drunk who abuses women."

"You could write to him? Attempt to get a feel for his personality?" Alyson looked hopeful but Lilianna shook her head.

"It takes little to put up a front by letters. I do not believe I will bother – I do not intend to let this wedding happen."

"Of course."

Lilianna could tell that Alyson disagreed with her, but there was nothing that she could do on that count. They were often of different minds and while Lilianna respected Alyson's opinions, her thoughts, very much – she rarely followed the girl's advice. She was much too stubborn to let anyone else tell her what to do. Even if the advice was given out of concern and the intentions behind them were good. "I will think on it, Alyson. Maybe when the day draws closer. For now, I would like to think as little about this William Hurst as possible. First I have the spring to enjoy, then the season to get through. And once that is all done, and if the wedding is still on – and I assure you, that is a very weighty if, then perhaps I will write to him." In all fairness, that would give her less than a month to get to know him by letters before he came and it was hardly even worth it. But perhaps it would be enough to easy Alyson's concern somewhat; perhaps she did not realize that William was to come in September to meet her. As it was, she was not sure she wanted to meet him – but of course it made the most sense. At least she would not then need to marry a man she had never met before the wedding.

Wednesday, May 3rd, 1911

Philadelphia, USA

xx.

"I still cannot believe that you did this without involving me," William said, pushing a few papers aside. The initial announcement had been less than pleasant, but after having taken a day to cool down, he knew that pushing his father was most definitely not the right decision. He couldn't afford to be disinherited; he needed his father's money in order to go to college – even though, at the moment, his father had silenced all talk of college and instead had told his eldest son to focus on the banking business. "That is what is important," he had said when William had asked how in the world he would attend Harvard, taking care of a wife at the same time.

"You will like her," his father said, not looking up from his work.

"How can you know?" William knew his father knew very little about him; he also knew that he did not trust his father's judgement. He did the best he could to avoid his father at all costs, but this was an issue that needed to be dealt with, and dealt with promptly.

"First off, she has money and her family is of good status in England."

William clenched his jaw, fighting to fire back a sharp retort. That wasn't all that mattered, or at least it shouldn't be. But to Williams' father... nothing mattered more than money and status. The whole family had learned that the hard way. "But what is she like?"

"Her father assures me she is quiet and docile, soft spoken, easily pleased and sweetly innocent."

"Perhaps he simply speaks highly of her; perhaps he is desperate to be rid of her. Why else would he have her sent away?"

"She is not being sent away," Edmund Hurst mumbled, dipping his pen in the inkwell before bringing it back to the nearly full page. "Martin and I are friends – it is not uncommon to arrange matches between the children of friends. What reason have you to be bothered? It isn't as though you need to stay there. Just go there, marry her and that is the end of that."

"Go there to marry her?"

"Of course! Surely you did not think her father would dump her on a boat and send her over! She will be married in her home – from what I've read, it is most certainly big enough for the ceremony."

"And what of you? Of Jane and my brothers? What of... your wife." He frowned, still disgusted with the fact that his father had, several years ago, married a young woman only six years his own senior. William was twenty-one years old, Anne – his father's young bride – was a mere twenty-seven. William was relieved, at least, that his soon-to-be bride was not so very much younger than he. She would be, if he had been informed correctly, seventeen when they were married. It was a little young, perhaps, but not terribly so. That wasn't to say he was happy with this whole affair – most certainly not! But he saw no way around it; why should he make things more difficult for himself?

Besides, if she was as he had been told, perhaps she could make him happy. He could use some companionship. He feared, however, that she was not quite at all how her father had described her. If she was ill tempered and irritable and miserable, if she nagged often and caused a fuss, he was not sure how he would cope.

"It is likely we will not be in attendance at your wedding; though I'm sure it would be a... wonderful affair."

William could tell his father did not really regret that he would miss it. William did not comment – he was not even sure he cared for his family to be there. There were none among them he was particularly fond, save for maybe his younger sister but he certainly was not going to bring just her along. He would not wish to be responsible for tending to her and making sure that she stayed out of trouble.

"Business planned?"

"Yes, October will be busy."

William nodded, setting the stack of papers he had been toying with to the side. "Thank you, I think my questions are answered."

"So you will do it then?"

"Have I any choice?" For a moment, there was a flicker of hope but his father's amused glance up at him sent those miniscule hopes crashing down around him. He had known there was no hope, no chance out of the blasted arrangement. He could only hope that he might be able to make the best out of it all, and that this Lilianna would be as her father described her and that she would be tolerable as a wife. He also hoped she was lovely, but her father had skimmed over that and hadn't given much detail.

"No."

"I suspected as much. Then yes, I will do it."

"That's my boy! Now leave me to my work; I have plenty to do, and not nearly enough time to do it." Edmund's eyes left his son's face and he turned his attention completely back to the papers on his desk. "You may go speak with Rogers, I am certain he has something you can do – you aren't done for the day quite yet."

William nodded and left his father's office, pulling the door shut behind him. So he would be married in just under half of a year. He was resigned to the fact – he had tried to get out of it when he had first been told but that had done him no good. He needed to be careful or he would lose everything. While he was certain he could fend for himself, he could not do so while paying for college. He couldn't afford to defy his father until he had his own career. Then.. then he could give the man a piece of his mind.