The Christmas Heiress by Adrienne Basso Page A

quickly scanned the front page,
though he knew in his heart he was dallying.

    The news concerning Edward Barringer, ninth
Earl of Worthington, would not appear on the front
page. It would be on the sixth page, among the announcements of engagements and marriages. And
the more lurid, juicy details of the scandal would be
reported in the gossip column. More than likely as
the lead story.
    The scent of fresh ink and paper filled his nostrils
as he turned the pages. It did not take long to find
what he sought:
    Mr. George Menton regrets to announce that the
marriage of his daughter, Miss Henrietta Menton,
to Edward Barringer, Earl of Worthington, will not
take place as scheduled this comingFriday morning.
    This announcement was only the first part of the
blow. The real dirt was on the following page,
where the sudden elopement of Miss Henrietta
Menton to Mr. Harold Strider was reported. In
amazing detail, considering the pair had just run
off together in the middle of the night.
    Edward refolded the paper and tossed it on his
desk. No need to read about the speculation as to
why Miss Menton preferred marrying a penniless
poet instead of a wealthy, successful aristocrat.
    However, Edward could not hold back his smile
when he recalled the lines that said, according to a
reliable household staff member, the bride had
managed to take along her entire trousseau-the
very same one that had been created for her marriage to the earl.

    He had not realized that Henrietta could be so
practical. Though he supposed in her new circumstances she could hardly afford not to be, for it was
widely known that her new husband was something
of a spendthrift who possessed little wealth. Perhaps this notoriety would aid in the selling of his
poetry, but it certainly would not be enough to sustain the couple for very long.
    Edward made a mental note to himself to make
certain his household staff was always adequately
compensated, ensuring that they would never be
tempted to become the "reliable" source for any of
these stories. Though he supposed the lack of pertinent, truthful information never really stopped
the paper from printing a story. Especially one that
featured the misfortunes of the members of the
wealthy and privileged.
    Lord what a mess! He had approached the arrangement of his marriage with the same thoughtful, precise attitude he used to run his business. Before he
made a decision, he analyzed it thoroughly, with detached, tempered emotions so as not to be unduly
influenced by sentiment or greed. It was a process that
had brought him incredible success and few failures.
    George Menton had garnered a massive fortune
in mining. His family background was humble, yet
genteel. Edward admired his business acumen and
his dedication to both his work and his family. They
had met, ironically enough, after both pulled their
financial support from a mining operation that had
showed signs of failure.
    In hindsight, it had been Menton who first suggested the union with his eldest daughter, but he had
been uncharacteristically subtle in his matchmaking attempts. After all, Edward was an earl and men of his
class seldom married outside of it, especially when
there was no financial need for such an arrangement.

    Yet Menton had shrewdly realized that Edward
was not an ordinary member of the aristocracy.
With him, anything was possible. And thus the
mutual respect and close business relationship the
two men shared gradually shifted into a social relationship as well and Henrietta Menton entered
Edward's life.
    Henrietta was a pretty, slender girl devoid of an
abundance of womanly curves, which was Edward's
preferred style. Though she lacked an impressive
family lineage, he thought she was the embodiment
of female English refinement. She had been raised
with every financial advantage, educated in the
finest boarding schools in Europe to be a lady, traveled extensively to complete and polish her