“I admire your determination to stand by our Christian heritage, and I consider myself one, too. I wouldn’t ever suggest you marry someone outside the faith,” her aunt finally said, putting Mia at much greater ease. “Nor am I here to choose your husband, but I’m sure you might meet some attractive possibilities while you’re here. With the size of the inheritance being left to you, I’m sure you’ll be able to live comfortably and make a difference in this world, with or without a man. However, if I may be blunt for a moment. I don’t want you to be childless like I am. You don’t have a brother or sister with a child to leave this inheritance to a niece or nephew. That means, it is more important than ever for you to consider marriage and family, or you’ll end up having to give all of your inheritance to a stranger or some cause one day. Donations can accomplish a lot of good for the right charity or mission, but it would be nice to keep the majority of the wealth in the family line.”
Mia leaned forward this time, nodding. “I guess I hadn’t thought of it in that light.” Her aunt shared wisdom and foresight. “I’m thankful to hear you explain your thoughts, and I do agree, with wealth, one can accomplish many good things. I’m sure I have a lot to learn, and I’ll do my best to consider these candidates as potential husbands...but I’m not going to come right out and tell them I’m in the least bit interested. Let them think I’m not interested. Then they’ll have to prove their sincerity to get my attention.” Mia paused and set her cup down in the saucer.
“A good plan,” her aunt agreed.
“Let me ask you this, Aunt Sylvia. What else do you need from me, in your own words? I want to be sure I understand so we don’t have any issues between us.”
“I’m glad you asked, which is where I was going with the discussion when I started out by asking why you’d decided to come to New York to live here with me for a while.” Her aunt paused and sipped more tea before continuing. “I don’t have many terms. You’re my family, and I’d much rather leave the wealth to you than to some charity. All I ask is for you to spend one year getting to know me, my friends, the household staff, the properties I own which will be bequeathed to you, and our accountant. And do try to look for a husband while you are here so you can settle down and have a family.”
“That seems reasonable enough,” Mia replied while her aunt paused to drink more of her tea. Roxy didn’t seem to mind. She remained content to be on Sylvia’s lap and had begun to snore softly, which made Mia chuckle.
“You’ll only need to attend two debutante balls, and a number of minor events compared to those, where you’ll be introduced to many of my friends, and a few others who travel in our circles,” her aunt explained. “I’d like you to eventually be able to navigate among the wealthy without much trouble. During that time, it is my hope that one year from now, you’ll be happily engaged, if not married. If you don’t meet anyone you truly love, you are free to return to Kentucky at the end of the year, or try something new. I’ll still leave my wealth to you if you’ve done your very best to find a proper husband, and to stay with me for one year so we can become better acquainted.”
Mia drummed her fingers softly on the chair arm, thinking over her aunt’s request. “One year is double the time I’d expected to be here, but I will give it a go. I guess I can get through two debutante balls and a few other events. That whole world is completely foreign to me, you see. I’ll need a lot of help, especially in the wardrobe department. I’m sure I don’t know the first thing about any of it. I do a lot of sewing, but I’m not sure it’s up to par.”
“Of course, my dear. We can do some shopping for you while you’re here. I’d like to purchase everything you’ll need, so you won’t need to worry about the cost of ball gowns or any expense. I have a fashion consultant who can bring some things to us. Of course, we’ll have to choose your charities, discuss your daily and weekly schedule, and there will be nail and hair appointments and so forth.”
“My charities?” Mia sat up straighter.
“Yes, the ladies at the association for the debutante ball will want to know who you contribute to and your accomplishments. Between your sewing, your homeschooling, teaching children at your father’s church daycare, and your three mission trips, your piano and violin playing, and horseback riding, I’d say you’ll be considered a lady of distinction without any problems. All debutantes must be ladies of distinction, you see. And you won’t need to worry, not when I can pay double the required entrance fees, if necessary.”
“A lady of distinction? I see. Well, I’d like at least one of my charities to be on missions. Something to do with children most likely, but I’ll give it some more thought,” Mia announced. “Uh, you mentioned shopping. That I can do. It sounds fun. The schedule, I’m sure we can work all of that out. I’m a list girl and like to be organized.”
“Very good,” her aunt said as Roxy let out another tiny snore. “Excellent.”
Mia tilted her head to one side as she considered the situation. “These other debutantes will be vying for these same potential husbands at the ball, and they’ve had their whole lives to learn to navigate a world I know nothing of, so I’ll be thankful for your tips, Aunt Sylvia. As with any new adventure, I’ll need to be praying extra hard.”
Her aunt chuckled. “New adventure indeed.”
“You’re not the kind that just wakes up and jets off to Paris on a whim, are you? I mean, I’d like at least a week or two of notice before we travel anywhere.” Mia’s studied her aunt.
Sylvia chuckled again, winced, and shook her head. “No, my dear, I’m not usually that unpredictable. I plan everything and keep a calendar. There are obligations to be met, so you’ll know far ahead of time unless it’s an emergency. My calendar is generally planned a full year ahead. We’ll sync our calendars.”
“Good to know.” Mia yawned, overcome with weariness. It’d been a long day so far. “Thank you for taking the time to sort these things out with me. I hope you won’t mind if I excuse myself until dinner. I’m suddenly tired from the travel.”
“Of course you are, my dear. One more thing before you go. You said you made other arrangements for transportation from the airport to here, and my driver said the traffic was unusually terrible. Sadly, he couldn’t find you. How did you get here? The maid who answered the door while I was at my appointment informed me you arrived in a limousine.”
“Clayton Bridgewater the Third offered to drop me here. He said he lives in the same neighborhood. The maid was very helpful. She welcomed me at once and said she was expecting me. She showed me straight to my rooms and brought my luggage up. Wouldn’t let me lift a thing. Said you’d be back in a jiffy,” Mia explained.
“Clayton? How do you know Clayton?” her aunt asked, wincing again. Mia wondered if her aunt winced all the time, or if she’d said a number of things she shouldn’t have. Roxy peeked at her through one partially open eye.
“Let’s just say we met at the airport and hit it off right away, as friends I mean,” Mia informed her. “Why? Let me guess. He’s one of the friends in your circle?”