A Mistress by Rumor (Diamonds of London #11)

Chapter One

Hanover Square

Mayfair, London

“I’m six and twenty years old, Lydia, and life just isn’t what I thought it might be.

” Constance Knight, widowed for just over three years, frowned as she peered out the window in her drawing room.

“In fact, I fully expected to have at least one child by now with another on the way, and I certainly expected to remain by Samuel’s side for longer than I did. ”

“Oh, I quite agree. Sometimes, though, life isn’t fair.”

The Honorable Lydia Morton was the third daughter and fourth child of a viscount, but the same year that Constance had wed her captain, her cousin had married a baron’s son.

Eventually, Lydia would have the title of “lady,” and that had made her parents exceedingly happy.

One couldn’t be choosy when one’s family was already large, apparently.

However, Constance didn’t begrudge her cousin that life.

The pair was so much in love it was almost sickening.

Additionally, Lydia did have two children.

Her son was a year and a half old, while her daughter was only six months.

Each child was a spitting image of either parent, and they were adorable.

“I miss Samuel. There are times when a sound or a smell will remind me of him.” Her frown deepened as she turned to regard her cousin—nay, her best friend. “And then there are other times when I don’t think of him at all. Does that make me a horrid person?”

“I don’t believe so. You were married to him for only four months. That is hardly time for anyone to leave a deep impression, in love though you may have been.”

“I thought I was… Or in love as much as I could fathom it at the time. I was so young, and he was my first, so I might not have had much to go by.”

Seeming so long ago, she’d been hailed a Diamond of the First Water in her first two Seasons.

Sponsored in Town by her cousin’s parents, she was allowed access to ton society events for the specific purpose of attracting a husband.

Both she and Lydia had the best fun in those two years, flirting, dancing, leading men on a merry chase.

Then, miraculously, her head was turned by a decorated captain in the military.

Oh, Samuel had been so handsome and cocksure!

She had been swept off her feet, and was thrilled that someone like him had taken notice of her, despite her own ancestry.

Of course, her parents were enthusiastic, for she wouldn’t have a better offer.

Laughter from Lydia chased away the blue devils.

“Love is different with every person, I think. Look at me.” Amusement danced in her brown eyes.

“I fancied myself in love with half a dozen men during those years when we were introduced to society, each one more exciting than the last, but when Charles came into my line of sight, everyone else paled.”

“Mmm.” Did I have that with Samuel?

There was no way to tell and no reason to puzzle it out. After Samuel came home from military service, he’d been given acreage in the country and a townhouse in London in recognition of the deeds of daring that he’d done for King and Country over the prior two years.

“Don’t fret about it, Connie. I’m sure you loved him and he loved you. Why else would you have married in the first place?”

“Because I was desperate to be matched at that time in my life?” As the daughter of a banker and a seamstress, her options of marrying into the ton were slim. When Samuel came along with interest and promise in his eyes, she thought him the answer to her prayers.

Lydia snorted. “Hardly. You were a Diamond. Any man would have made offers.”

It was something she hadn’t discussed with her father, and he’d not brought it to her attention, for they were both happy with Samuel.

Then, her poor husband died four months into their union.

Why? Because he couldn’t resist going back for one more job, which meant more income for them both.

They had both wished to fill a nursery as soon as they could, and for that, he needed additional funds, for he had recently rented the townhouse she currently sat in.

And he’d filed legal documents with his solicitor ensuring she would get to keep said townhouse—his pension helped her to make the payments—but the land Prinny had given to him had gone back to the Crown.

Which meant the more income he could take in, the better.

So they’d agreed he’d go back and consult, to provide his knowledge to the military as the war ended.

He’d been responsible for overseeing the removal of artillery, cannons, and munitions from various battlefields in France.

As a row of cannons began moving, one of them exploded and killed her husband as well as two others, leaving her a widow four months into their union.

Had it been tampered with, or had it been a horrible accident?

No one knew, but determining a cause wouldn’t bring those men back.

All Constance knew was that every dream she’d ever had was lost on that day, and nothing had been the same since.

Looking at her cousin, she shook her head, hoping to stuff those memories back into the boxes of her mind where she’d stored them.

“My enjoyment of life was shuttered for far too long due to mourning, not only of him but of the future I assumed we would have. I want to live again.” And with Lydia’s connections, that gave her more access than a middle-class widow could have, and frankly, she was glad for it because it was difficult to find men of means and integrity otherwise.

“Ah, now we are coming to the heart of the matter.” Though not exactly matronly in form after bearing two children, her cousin had developed maternal curves in recent years.

It made her quite deliciously plump and adorable.

She refreshed the tea in her porcelain cup then peered at Constance over the rim.

“Are you serious when you talk about putting yourself back on the marriage mart?

“Yes, I believe that I am.” Truly, Constance didn’t immediately need a man to take care of her, for Samuel had left her with a tiny nest egg in addition to the townhouse.

Since she’d spent the past couple of years in mourning, and another year of living quite frugally after that, she had much of the coin left, but she was more interested in finding a decent, clever man with a sense of humor to spend time with.

Which was more difficult than one would imagine. It seemed that English gentlemen didn’t enjoy a joke or laughing.

“Oh? You’ve grown tired of the company of your cat after all these years?”

“Of course not.” She nodded with a giggle.

“Isabella isn’t bad company, and she was the first gift Samuel got me after we were married.

He said he didn’t want me to be alone when he went off to France that last time…

” As if sensing her slight distress, the white Persian cat jumped into her lap.

“Aren’t you a good girl?” she crooned to the feline while the cat curled up in her lap.

“Isabella also helps when I fall into one of my episodes.” Which were more like attacks of sudden panic brought on by intense anxiety.

She’d experienced them sporadically as a youth, but they’d become more steady and pronounced since she’d been introduced to society.

Lydia eyed the animal askance, but she wasn’t above giving Isabella an ear scratch. “Well, if you wish to start immediately in husband hunting, we can do so tonight at a rout John and I are attending.”

“Rout? Tonight?” Constance’s heartbeat immediately accelerated. “I haven’t ordered new gowns yet for this year.” The old familiar tightness of anxiety rose through her chest. Would it manifest into an attack? Such things had always plagued her, but they’d grown worse since she’d lost her husband.

“You can wear one of mine from last year. It doesn’t fit me any longer since I’ve had the baby and my maid can do your hair.” Excitement lined Lydia’s round face as she peered at her. “Please say you’ll go. It will be such fun to attend society events with you again.”

As much as this was going too quickly, Constance nodded. What would it hurt? “All right. I’ll go with you if we can find a decent gown.”

Lydia set her cup and saucer onto the low table. “We should remove to my house. It’s already tea, and the rout will begin in a few hours. We’ll need to go through gowns.”

“Let me run upstairs and pack a few essentials into a valise.” Then she frowned. “Am I ready for this, though? Should I think about it first?”

“Pish posh, Connie.” Lydia stood and shook out her skirting. “It’s been three years since Samuel died. It’s well past time for you to choose a new husband.” She offered a soft smile. “You need to plunge into society feet first. Don’t give yourself a chance to think about it.”

“Why?”

“Because then you’ll walk yourself out of it.” After heaving out a sigh, she took Constance’s hand. “I know you took his death hard; anyone would. He was a lovely man.”

“He was.” Tears briefly stung the backs of her eyelids. “I wish we had more time together.”

Her cousin nodded. “That is my point. You were married to him for only four months, and two of those he was away in France.” One of her blonde eyebrows rose. “One could argue that the two of you were more strangers than lovers.”

When she wished to dispute the claim, Constance conceded the point. “Our courtship was a whirlwind, and you’re right. Two months wasn’t very long to come to know him.” She pressed her lips together as her thoughts raced and she squeezed Lydia’s fingers. “What if things go horribly wrong?”

“More wrong than losing a husband shortly after wedding him?”

There was that. When she sighed, Isabella lifted her head and peered at her until Constance petted the feline again. “I’m a nobody in society. Yes, my father is a banker and in good standing with a handful of powerful lords, but my mother was a seamstress. That’s a dismal pedigree.”