Mistress - Amanda Quick [124]
“I vow, it was the happiest moment of my life.” Zoe burst into more tears.
“And of mine, my dearest.” Otis went to her and put his arm around her. “You cannot imagine what it means to me to be able to openly acknowledge my own dear daughter.”
“We should have told her immediately after Guthrie died last year,” Zoe said to Iphiginia. “Only think of the trouble it would have saved.”
Iphiginia folded her arms on her desk and frowned. “What about the marriage to Sheffield?”
“Maryanne insists upon telling him the truth,” Otis said, not without a touch of pride. “May as well, since the blackmailer will no doubt do so, anyway.”
“I expect he’ll cry off.” Zoe sighed. “There’s no help for it. The Earls of Sheffield have always been very high in the instep. Pity. It was such a fine match. But Maryanne is so lovely and charming that I am convinced that we’ll find another equally suitable husband for her.”
“I shall make it public knowledge that I intend to settle an inheritance upon her,” Otis said stoutly. “Always intended to do so, of course, but planned to keep it a private matter. Now we can be open about it. That should help produce a good selection of candidates.”
“Very true.” Iphiginia picked up her pen and fiddled with it as she considered the situation. “Do you know, it strikes me that there might be an even simpler way of brushing through this entire affair.”
“What’s that?” Zoe asked.
“If you and Otis were to marry,” Iphiginia said, “Maryanne would become Otis’s stepdaughter in the eyes of the law.”
“Married?” Zoe stared at her. “Married? But Otis and I are so happy the way we are. Isn’t that so, Otis?”
“You have always been the delight of my life, my dear,” Otis said gallantly. “You know that. You will continue to be my heart’s truest friend regardless of whether or not we are wed.”
Zoe smiled tremulously. “Otis, I do love you so.”
“The thing is,” Iphiginia said briskly, “if Otis were to marry you, there would be no need to make the true facts of Maryanne’s parentage public.”
“Iphiginia is right,” Amelia said.
Zoe frowned. “I do not comprehend.”
Otis’s brows formed a bristly hedge across his nose. “I say, she has a point, y’know.”
Iphiginia saw the new light in his eyes. She smiled. “If you and Otis were to wed, he would become Maryanne’s stepfather. She could call him Papa and no one would take any notice. He can refer to her as his daughter and people will merely assume that he has a genuine paternal affection for her.”
“Which is no particular secret, anyway,” Amelia pointed out. “Furthermore, the legalities of the situation settle rather nicely into place with regard to both the Guthrie money and the Otis fortune.”
“Precisely,” Iphiginia said. “Maryanne will no longer be a young lady with a respectable portion, but a great heiress.”
“No one will think to question the situation,” Otis murmured. “Perfectly natural that I would provide for her.”
“Good Lord.” Zoe was clearly struck by the possibilities. “She would have her pick of husbands.”
Otis took her hand and kissed it. “And I would have the great pleasure at last of not only claiming my daughter without a scandal, but of being able to claim you, my sweet, as my wife.”
“Oh, Otis.” Zoe looked up at him. “You have always been so good to me. You were the only thing that made my life bearable while Guthrie was alive.”
“It was my greatest pleasure,” Otis said. “And if you wish to continue our liaison as it is, I shall be honored to do so. But I want you to know that nothing would make me happier than to be able to call you my wife.”
Zoe’s eyes glowed. “How can I say no? I thought never to marry again after being freed of Guthrie. But in truth, you are the only man I have ever loved. The father of my child. My dearest friend.”
“I shall obtain a special license this afternoon,” Otis said. “We can be married tonight.”
“Something tells me that Maryanne will be delighted,” Amelia said.
Iphiginia tapped