Chapter 1
Chapter One
“What of that one?” Lady Iris Hawkins asked, indicating with a nod of her head across the ballroom where a dashing gentleman with blonde hair and a sharp chin was just now parting from his friends.
“No.” Lady Eveline Hawkins recognized the handsome rogue as Lord Bartholomew, a known hedonist who loved charming women into his bed almost as much as he loved breaking their hearts right after. “I think we can do better than him.”
“How about him?” Iris indicated to another. “He looks comely.”
The so-called ‘comely’ gentleman was indeed easy on the eyes.
He had dark hair worn longer than what was normal, which made him appear rugged and unkept – the type that ladies yearned for as if they might be the one who tamed him.
His name was Lord Chesterfield, and Eveline was more than aware of his reputation.
Wilder than his hair. The type who trades in seduction and philandering like merchants do with coin.
“I do not think so,” Eveline snorted. “Believe me when I tell you, he is not your type. And for good reason.”
Iris exhaled sharply, turning her head as she scanned the ballroom. She was growing frustrated, Eveline could tell, annoyed by her sister’s continual dismissal of her suggestions.
Let her be frustrated with me. Better that than ending up with the wrong man – a man who is not worthy of her, as is the case with every single lord that has caught her eye so far.
There were scores of guests crowding the ballroom, a cornucopia of colorful gowns and smart suits, and flowing wine and laughter and joy and unbridled enthusiasm had by all.
It was a typical Seasonal Ball, the first of the Season in fact, and it seemed that half the ton had made it here this evening.
One would think that with so many attendees on show, the options of possible suitors to select from would be just as bountiful.
Indeed, most men here this evening had come for the precise reason of meeting and hopefully courting a young lady for the Season, with an eye toward marriage, and an expectation to raise a family and settle down.
That was, after all, the entire point of these things.
With that in mind, finding such a suitor for her sister Iris should have been the simplest of things. Typically, this was not the case. Not that Eveline was surprised.
“And him?” Iris sighed, hardly bothering to flick her head at yet another lord who caught her eye. She folded her arms and pushed her lips together, bracing for the answer she must have known was coming.
The lord Iris chose this time was another too-handsome-for-his-own-good type.
One who walked as if he had a stick wedged up his backside and something smelly dabbed under his nose.
His features were pronounced and sharp, his eyes dark and withdrawn.
And where Eveline did not know him… I know his type. And that is all I need to know.
“Let us keep looking,” she said, taking her sister’s hand and turning her away. “I don’t like the look of him either.”
“And why not?” Iris asked, finally reaching her breaking point as she snatched back her hand and threw it in the air. “What was wrong with him?”
Eveline blinked in surprise, as her sister rarely rose to anger. “He… I have a bad feeling about him. Trust me, Iris. You can do much better.”
“But you do not know,” Iris shot back. “Do you even know his name? Where he is from? Anything about him at all?”
“I do not need to.”
“And why not?”
“Because…” She clicked her tongue as she tried to find her argument.
A justification that her sister would understand.
“I have done this before, Iris. I have seen firsthand what these lords are like – how they treat women. They will whisper honeyed words in your ears and promise you the world, only to break your heart without so much as blinking. They do not care about you.”
“Not all of them.”
“Most of them,” Eveline assured her. “That is why it’s important to find the right one. Which we will do.” She took her sister’s hand again, squeezing it assuredly. “This is but the first ball of the Season, remember? We have so much time. There is no rush.”
Again, Iris snatched back her hand. “But how will we find the right one if we do not talk to them? If you turn down every single one before I even get a chance to learn who they are?”
“I…” Eveline struggled for an answer that she could justify. Because I know what I am doing, and you should trust me. “We will talk to them. The right ones. Wasting our time with men such as him –” She flicked her head dismissively toward the handsome lord. “Is just that. A waste.”
“But –”
“Please, Iris.” Again, she took her sister by the hand, looking into her eyes with a pleading stare. “Just trust me. I know how excited you are for this. I know how much you have wanted it – how long you have waited. Know too that I only want what is best for you. That is all I ever want.”
“I know…”
“You will speak to many a handsome bachelor tonight,” she pressed. “I promise you that. But the right type of bachelor. And when you fall in love and marry and have all your children, you will look back on this moment here and thank me.”
Iris laughed. “Will I, now?”
“Oh yes,” Eveline said seriously, but with a hint of a smile in her eyes.
“On your wedding day you will take me aside and say ‘Sister, I was wrong and you were right. You are wonderful and I am blessed to have you. In fact, you have always been my favorite sister, for I find the others smelly and annoying and –”’
“Stop it!” Iris giggled. “I would never say that.”
“But you will,” Eveline added with a cheeky wink. “Once I find you the right man.”
Iris rolled her eyes but was still giggling. “I trust you, Eveline. But please promise that you will not say no to every man here. It has been an hour now and you have not let me approach a single one.”
“What is one hour when you have the rest of your life?” Eveline said with a knowing look. “Now…” She turned with her sister to continue scanning the ballroom. “Let us find you the right suitor. He is here somewhere, I know it.”
“He better be,” Iris said determinedly.
Eveline eyed her sister, worried about how desperate she was to be courted.
Where many might say that it was a good thing to be so eager, for that was what most ladies of the ton aspired toward, Eveline was not of the same mind.
Such desperation could lead to mistakes, hasty decisions, wrong choices made, and lives ruined because of it.
It is just lucky that she has me here to guide her. And I will not let her make the same mistake I have seen so many others before her make. No matter what it takes. Even if she hates me for it…
Anyone who had known Eveline Hawkins growing up might be surprised to see her acting so protective of her younger sister.
To see her acting with such maturity and foresight when just a few years ago, Eveline could not have been more different.
But the Eveline of today was not the same as yesteryear.
She was twenty-three years old now and no longer a little girl. She couldn’t afford to be, not when she had a younger sister in desperate need of her guidance and protection.
Having grown up in the family she had, Eveline was more than aware of how important it was to have older siblings to look out for their younger kin.
She was one of six, with three older sisters and an older brother who had treated her much the same as she was now treating Iris.
The only difference being that, unlike Iris, Eveline had never much cared for courtship and marriage.
Let the others care for such things, for they were always better at it than I was.
Her older sisters were married now with families of their own.
Her older brother, one who used to take great pride and honor in finding his sisters worthy matches, was nowhere near as controlling as he used to be.
And Eveline’s mother, the firm hand that weaved the tapestry of her daughters’ affairs, was away this Season and trusted Eveline to take care of Iris where she could not.
It was a level of trust that Eveline was taking seriously.
Growing up, she had always been the outcast of her sisters, the one that her mother had not once trusted to look after Iris because Eveline was a known troublemaker.
This had always made her feel less, like she was not worth her mother’s love… or anybody’s love, for that matter.
She needed to prove differently. And not just to her mother, but to herself. She was good. She was dependable. She could be as important to this family as she knew that she was. Perhaps not the best of the five daughters, but a worthy addition.
So it was that Eveline got to searching out the perfect lord to court her sister, if such a man existed…
“Good evening…” From nowhere came a deep and commanding voice, filled with the type of confidence common among men of the peerage. “I have not seen you before.”
Eveline started and spun about, instantly narrowing her eyes on the man who had spoken.
He was tall and thick of frame, had a long face with a pointed chin, and a nose that was too small for his head.
But his eyes were dark, his smile cocky, and he swept toward Eveline and her sister as if they were old friends and should be just so glad to speak with him.
“Go – good evening,” Iris stammered, beaming to see the lord approach her. “I have… I have not seen you either.”
“A travesty that must be fixed immediately!” the lord declared with haughty laughter. “My name is Edgar, Lord Barlow. And who might you be…” He reached for Iris’s hand, and she gave it without hesitation.
“I am –”
“Not interested, thank you,” Eveline cut her sister off. She did not know this Lord Barlow, but she recognized the devilish look in his eyes well enough to know his type.
Lord Barlow chuckled. “Are you sure about that?”
“I am.”