Chapter 1
Kalina
Staring up at the large manor house, Kalina took in a deep breath of the unfamiliar country air.
The dark grey stone heights were impressive, foreboding even, but it was a house filled with promise.
The future she’d dreamed of when she was a little girl back in India, feeling like there was nowhere she belonged.
She did not always feel like she belonged here in England, either…
but thanks to a small group of young ladies who had reached out their hands in friendship, she was starting to.
Lady Astrid was what her father called an Original.
She was also a force within the ton, literally changing the tides of how Society viewed Kalina and her family.
Sliding her gaze over the many windows facing outward from this side of the house, Kalina paused as she saw two broad-shouldered silhouettes on the corner of the third floor.
Two of the gentlemen who had been invited to this weekend?
Kalina smoothed her hands over her skirts, hoping the wrinkles in her travel dress were not visible from such a distance.
There were dukes present this weekend.
Multiple of them.
If she married a duke, her father’s family would be forced to accept her father back into their fold.
It had to be a duke because only a duke outranked her grandfather’s title of marquess.
Lady Astrid had filled her house party with dukes, several marquesses, and a bevy of young ladies she favored. Kalina was grateful to be among them.
“Do you think they get their name from their house?” Ashwin asked, referencing Lady Astrid’s surname of Blackstone, as he moved to stand beside her.
Her younger brother was now an inch taller than her, even though they’d been the same height when they’d arrived in England.
He was growing so quickly, her father had already taken him back to the tailor for another set of clothing.
“It is very dark grey stone,” Kalina replied, tilting her head as she considered the possibility. “I think it more likely they used the stone because of their name rather than the other way round.”
The front door opened, cutting off further conversation, and Lady Astrid came out, beaming.
As always, she was dressed in impeccable fashion, wearing a rust-orange and black-striped dress that put Kalina in mind of a tiger.
Her favored Cairngorm jewels adorned her throat, though the size of this necklace was smaller than the ones she wore with her ballgowns.
With her dark red hair piled in a complicated coiffure, she looked exactly like what she was—a leader of the ton.
Her mother and father were behind her, practically fading into the background when compared with Lady Astrid’s presence.
Kalina had met them during the Season, though they had not made much of an impression.
“Kalina! I am so glad you were able to come,” Lady Astrid said, sweeping down the staircase with her hands outstretched in front of her.
The warm smile on Lady Astrid’s face made Kalina’s heart feel like it was blooming.
“Thank you. I am very glad to be here,” she said, taking Lady Astrid’s hands.
Servants were already on their way down the stairs to help with the luggage, creating a bustle in the drive as the carriages were unloaded and the Blackstones greeted Kalina’s family.
Lady Blackstone looked like an older version of Lady Astrid, though her red hair was duller, her complexion paler, and her face had more lines.
She smiled as warmly as her daughter, appearing sincerely welcoming of her new guests.
Lord Blackstone stood more stiffly, but that was very British and not necessarily a sign of displeasure, though Kalina made a mental note of his standoffishness.
She would be very careful around him, so as not to tax his sensibilities if he was uncertain about welcoming the estranged branch of the Marquess of Stilton’s family into his home.
Less than ten briskly efficient minutes later, Lady Astrid had escorted their entire family into the same corner of the house Kalina had seen the gentlemen watching from, though a floor below them. Her parents were across the hall from her, her brother in the room beside hers.
“Delilah will be just down the hall from you,” Lady Astrid whispered in Kalina’s ear, giving her a last embrace before whisking out of the room to tend to the next guest arriving. Kalina could not help but smile as the door closed behind the forthright young lady.
Her friend.
It still felt like a dream come true.
Delilah Voight, dowager-baroness, was another new friend.
A little older, more experienced in the ton, and somewhat scandalous, but a friend.
Kalina’s mother had been hesitant about her at first, but the lack of welcome after her father’s family had refused to acknowledge him meant they were grateful for anyone who did not give them the cut.
They could not afford to be picky in their friends.
Kalina was very glad because she enjoyed Delilah’s acerbic commentary and insights into the Society she’d been thrust into.
As a child, she’d listened to her father’s tales about England. As a young lady, she now knew how much he’d romanticized his home country. He had been correct about some things, though.
The ton’s lack of acceptance was as much to do with her grandfather’s rejection of them as anything else.
Though there were some who muttered unflattering commentary about her mother being Indian, others were fascinated by the ‘exotic’ but veered away rather than displease a marquess.
Kalina was grateful to those like Lady Astrid who had decided to champion their cause, though she was uncertain why they had done so.
She kept waiting for some terrible motivation to be revealed, but as yet, there was none she could see.
Lady Astrid had no need of Kalina or her family for anything.
She had her own wealth, her own status, and she was betrothed to a duke.
Sometimes, Kalina wondered if she was Lady Astrid’s good deed for the year.
If she was, she had no choice but to accept the charity or wallow in social exile. A state to which she did not intend to ever return.
That she sincerely liked Lady Astrid and enjoyed her company, as well as the others who had reached out a hand of friendship, made it a far easier pill to swallow.
Kalina had just finished changing from her wrinkled traveling dress to a dark pink twill day gown with the assistance of her maid, Margaret, when there was a knock at her door.
“I have it, miss,” Margaret said immediately, bustling to the door.
Margaret had been with Kalina since India, and she’d been happy to return to England with the family.
She was a few years older than Kalina and very protective, especially when it came to men.
It was a man who had convinced Margaret to travel to India with him, only to abandon her not long after they’d arrived.
Before him, she’d been a seamstress, which was how Kalina’s mother had found her.
She still liked to sew but had decided that being Kalina’s lady’s maid suited her best.
Cracking the door open at first, Margaret immediately nodded and stepped back.
“Her Grace, the Duchess of Clarence,” she announced grandly, beaming proudly as if Kalina had done something particularly impressive by bringing a duchess to her bedroom door.
“Kalina,” Tiffany, Duchess of Clarence, said as she stepped into the room, past Margaret, who curtsied deeply as the duchess went past. Kalina bobbed a quick curtsy as well, despite Tiffany’s small shake of her head and deep sigh, before she embraced the other woman.
“Tiffany,” Kalina said, smiling. Behind Tiffany, Margaret was beaming like a proud mother hen again at hearing her charge use a duchess’ given name. She had told Margaret that the others had accepted her to such a degree, but she supposed it was different to witness it firsthand.
She and Tiffany exchanged cheek kisses in greeting.
Truthfully, Tiffany had been her first friend before Lady Astrid.
Which might be why she had an easier time thinking of a duchess by her given name than she did a marquess’ daughter.
That and Lady Astrid was even more formidable than most duchesses.
It was incredibly difficult not to think of her as Lady Astrid.
Tiffany was the Duke of Bolton’s sister as well as being the Duchess of Clarence, but somehow she did not have quite the same presence as Lady Astrid.
She had a quiet beauty, with a heart-shaped face and high cheekbones that were the classic cream and pinks Kalina had learned the English favored.
Her hair hovered between blonde and brunette, depending on the light she was standing in, and her hazel eyes were full of kindness and warmth.
Today, she was wearing a cornflower-blue gown trimmed with delicate lace.
She was a gentle soul, and the friend Kalina felt the most kinship with, despite having the greatest difference in social standing.
“Astrid told me you’d arrived, and I had to come see you immediately,” Tiffany said, her eyes sparkling. “Did you enjoy the trip?”
“Other than the length of time shut in the carriage, yes,” Kalina said with a laugh, gesturing to Tiffany to come sit down on the window seat that looked out at the front drive.
Now she could understand why the gentlemen had been watching from the floor above her.
The view was quite lovely, as well as providing a glimpse of those arriving for the house party.
“After the trip from India, I did not think it would be so bad, but on the ship, we could still walk about rather than being forced to sit for hours upon hours.”
Margaret nodded her agreement from where she was busily unpacking Kalina’s things, not bothering to pretend she was not listening to the conversation. Kalina smiled.