Substitute Bride

Chapter 1

     Philip Treyane rode up to the front of his manor. He sat on his horse and surveyed his estate. He was proud of his ancestral home. It was left to him by his father, John. He had to wait until he was twenty-one. On the eve of his birthday, he moved in. He felt guilty  for leaving his three sisters, but he couldn't live in the same house as his parents. His stepfather was verbally abusive toward the children. His mother didn't care about them.

     Philip's mother married Stephan Henderson when Philip was five. His father had died of a heart attack. Neither parent had a kind word to say to the children. Philip had planned that whenever he married, he would take custody of his sisters. He already spoken to his parents. They didn't hesitate to give him permission. His lip curled in disgust.

     He took out his pocket watch to look at the time. He had a ball to get to in two hours. He was quite dirty from his ride and needed a bath. His stable hand, Maxwell, came up to him. Maxwell was the fourteen year old who Philip had found on the streets and took pity on. Philip jumped down from his horse. He handed the reins to Maxwell.

     "Give Sandy here an extra carrot," Philip said. "We had quite a ride today."

    "Yes, sir," Maxwell said. He led the horse away.

     Philip ran up the steps. He opened the door. The butler, Samson, greeted him.

     "Good afternoon, sir," Samson said. "Did you have a nice ride?"

     "Yes, thank you," Philip said. "Please send Jason to my room."

     "Yes, sir," Samson said.

     Philip went to his room for a quick wash. The ball was to make a formal announcement of his betrothal to Caroline Wilson. He told his family friend, Stuart, that at now twenty-eight, he decided to settle down and marry. He had a daughter from an affair with a local woman. She was very poor and couldn't take care of a child. He offered to set her up in a house and take the child. But his daughter was illegitimate and couldn't inherit the family fortune. He needed an heir.

     Stuart suggested his daughter, Caroline, because she was young and loved children. Stuart assured Philip that she would treat his daughter as her own and wouldn't judge her because she was illegitimate. Anna was another reason why he decided to marry. After giving him their child, her birth mother severed her ties with the infant. He wanted her to have a female role model in her life.

     Jason, his valet, came into the room as Philip was shaving. Jason laid out his black suit. He helped Philip dress. After he was ready, he went to the nursery. He was surprised to find his sisters there. The oldest, Lauren, was rocking Anna to sleep. The other two girls, Elizabeth and Nicole, were sitting on the floor playing with dolls.

     Nicole looked up and saw Philip. "Philip!" she exclaimed. She stood up. She ran over to him and hugged him around the knees.

     He scooped the four year old up and gave her a hug. "Hi, squirt," he said. "What are you doing here?"

     "Mother sent us over here," Lauren said. "She said we were underfoot."

     "Well, I am happy that you are here," he said. "I have missed you."

     Nicole kissed him on the cheek. "We have missed you too," she said.

     He gave her a kiss and set her down. "I just wanted to see how Anna is doing," he said.

     "She was very well behaved," Lauren said. "I just gotten her to fall asleep."

     "Do you not have a ball to go to, Philip?" Elizabeth said.