Chapter 1

Desperate Times

" J ane, under absolutely no circumstances can you do this, you are not in your right mind!" Lady Charlotte Pembleton, Viscountess of Cotswalts cried as she pursued her daughter up the stairs.

Jane Pembleton had had enough. She was tired of being overlooked and unappreciated. Tired of playing all the courtly games of the ton. Tired of people comparing her to her older and younger sister.

So, she had done what any reasonable woman would, and come up with a plan. A very good plan, if she said so herself. Though clearly her mother did not agree.

She quickened her steps to her father's study. "You are mistaken mother, I am of perfectly sound mind. I have never been more sure of my convictions."

"But Jane, this is utterly ridiculous. You cannot –" Lady Cotswalts began but Jane interrupted her.

"- I can and I will do this. It is the most logical conclusion." Jane faced her mother, her eyes full of steely resolve. "This will be my fourth season. My fourth ! And I am utterly surfeited. with. hoping some man will fall madly in love with me. If it was going to happen, it would have happened by now."

As she said the words, Jane felt something in her chest twist but she ignored it and continued, "You have made two sublime matches, and a handful of others of lesser note. Yet-"

"- I just need more time. There has been no one right for you –"

"- Nor will there ever be. And I do not feel like remaining a spinster for the rest of my days." Jane shook her head as she drew level with her father's study. "No, this is the only way. After all, I am ‘unmarriable'."

"Who said that?" Lady Cotswalts narrowed her eyes. "You are not unmarriable."

"I am mother." Jane swallowed as her eyes met her mother's. "I know that you had great success with my darling sister Rose, and my dear friend Olivia, but I am neither of them. I have no wish to spend another season reminded of my inadequacies."

"Oh Jane." Lady Cotswalts eyes were full of a deep sadness. "That is not true. We just need a little more time to find the right man for you. It is not you that is in want of anything, but the men of the ton!"

"It is true mother. My entire first season, when I was not with Olivia, do you know how often I was told that I talked more than I should? That I was entirely too excitable and simply too much ?" Jane shook her head, forcing herself not to remember all of the times men had said this to her.

"Few people find perfection in their first season, you were still finding your feet."

"That is what I thought. So, the next season I tried to learn from my previous failures. I tempered my enthusiasm, tempered my opinions, talked less and listened more, and yet still, no match was forthcoming." Jane sighed. "Every year, I have tried to be who they want me to be, and every year, I seem to have failed."

"Then perhaps you should just be yourself." Lady Cotswalts murmured softly.

Jane laughed bitterly. "Mother, you have spent all my life reminding me that when it comes to the Ton, we must all don a mask. Besides, when I have been myself, it has not been well received by anyone."

Jane's mother shook her head. "Then you have not found the right person."

"And I do not think I ever will. Mother, the fact remains that the ton h.as weighed me and they have found me wanting. Nothing I do will change this fact." Jane felt a sharp tug in her chest, but pushed the feelings down. Plenty of people are happy without passion or love. And perhaps a marriage like this will give me time to pursue my hobbies unbothered by wifely expectations.

"There is still a chance of a love match. You do not know what the future holds, unless you have taken up divination as one of your myriad of hobbies." Lady Cotswalts pointed out.

"Nor do you." Jane retorted. "You are known as the matchmaker of the ton and while you have earned that reputation, I am known as your unmarriable daughter. I do not think even your careful ministrations could fix this."

"There is still hope. You are young, very young and the world is full of men. I refuse to believe that in the entirety of the ton we cannot find you someone to appreciate all that you are."

"And what is that exactly?"

"A .vibrant, stunning young woman. You are a deeply loyal, kind and interesting person, any man would be lucky to love you and more importantly to be loved by you." Lady Cotswalts took Jane's hands in her own, her eyes full of tenderness. "All you need to do is keep the faith. I am sure we will find you the man of your dreams. You just need to be patient."

Jane opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't find the words. How can I tell her that I do not think such a man exists, and that if he does exist, I doubt he would ever be interested in someone like me? . Instead, she shook her head sadly, slipped her hand from her mother's grasp and pushed open the door to her father's study.

Her father, Lord William Pembleton, Viscount of Cotswalts, was standing at his desk, frowning at a small mountain of paperwork. Like Jane, he had reddish brown hair, though his was considerably tidier than his daughters at that moment in time, and it was flecked with streaks of grey.

Jane's father was not an especially tall man, though he always seemed tall to her. In many ways, Jane took after her father. She shared his same kind brown eyes, his same distractibility and penchant for life. Perhaps that is why few men want to pursue me.

As the door opened, he looked up and smiled at Jane. His smile faltered as he caught sight of Lady Cotswalts' sad and exasperated expression.

"Jane, to what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of your company?" Lord Cotswalts asked as he gestured for Jane and her mother to enter the room.

"Father, I need your help." Jane said as she strode into the room, clenching her fists and studiously ignoring her mother.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window. Her reddish-brown hair cascaded around her shoulders, her brown eyes were narrowed in .an unfamiliar determination and her mouth was set in a firm line.

Carefully, she softened her face, not quite smiling, instead trying to seem determined but approachable. She unclenched her fist, and forced herself to take a deep, steadying breath, feeling her shoulders relax infinitesimally.

"Of course, my dear. Anything you ask of me, I-" began Lord Cotswalts but Jane's mother interrupted him.

"- William, make your daughter see reason. She cannot be allowed to throw away years of effort for this ridiculous plan of hers, she cannot!" Lady Cotswalts pleaded.

"What ridiculous plan?" Lord Cotswalts raised an eyebrow at his daughter, concern clear on his face.

"I have decided that it is high time I was married. I have considered my options, evaluated my current success rate and come to the conclusion that the best course of action will be for you to arrange a match for me." Jane attempted to sound nonchalant, as though she were talking of nothing more serious than the weather.

"Your mother is the match maker not me, dear daughter." Lord Cotswalts inclined his head towards his wife, his eyes twinkling good naturedly.

"I know this. And if I were looking for a love match, then I would of course defer to her wisdom. But as I start my fourth season, I find little hope that such an eventuality is likely." Jane bit her lip, determined to keep her voice level. This is the right decision, I need a husband but I do not need love. "Therefore, I am coming to you, Father, to find me a suitable match. And if it helps your business or connections, so much the better."

"Is this truly what you desire?" Lord Cotswalts canted his head towards Jane, his eyes seeming to search her face for some hidden meaning. "A marriage based o.n practicality rather than love?"

"William, you cannot really be considering this. This season has not even begun, we still have time to find her a love match!" Lady Cotswalts eyes were wide with anger and fear.

Lord Cotswalts ignored his wife, instead his eyes found Jane's holding her gaze with his. "Jane, I ask once more, is this truly what you desire?"

"My mind is made up. I wish to be married, and if I wait too long, I will be stuck with the absolute dregs of the ton. If I cannot have love, I must at the very least have a decent husband." Jane nodded, using the words to bolster her own conviction. "This is what I want."

Jane forced herself to meet her father's gaze, willing him to see her conviction if nothing else. I will do this, I will make him understand even if mother does not.

"I shall do as you ask, but it will take some time." Lord Cotswalts exchanged a look with his wife that Jane could not quite read. "I must ensure that any man is worthy of you, and that he will treat you well."

"Of course, thank you father." Jane ran to her father and embraced him. "I cannot tell you how happy this makes me."

"If it makes you happy, that is all that matters to me." Lord Cotswalts squeezed Jane tightly before releasing her.

"And what if Jane happens to find a match before you have found a suitable man?" Lady Cotswalts asked, and Jane could hear the thinly veiled hope in her voice. "If Jane finds someone she loves and who in turn loves her, what happens then?"

It took all Jane's self control not to roll her eyes at her mother. It will do no good, and if anything may make father reconsider his promise.

"I would not want to stand in the way of true love." Lord Cotswalts smiled. "If you do find a love match, I would have you pursue it."

"I think that exceedingly unlikely father." Jane paused a moment, before adding, "You promise that you will actually be looking for a suitable match? That you will not delay simply in the hopes that I might find someone who will love me?."

"I would not do such a thing. You have my word." Lord Cotswats answered solemnly. "But I will not be rushed in this decision. Marriage is for life, and I will not have you bound to a man who is unkind or unpleasant."

"I would not wish that either." Jane agreed, shuddering at the thought of being married to a brutish, vile figure.

"Then we are in agreement." Her father clapped his hands together. "Is there anything in particular you are looking for in a husband? Something you wish for me to find for you?"

Jane's heart twisted, but she smiled and shook her head. "In this matter, I will trust your judgement." Heaven knows mine has not been helpful thus far.

"A weighty responsibility indeed." Lord Cotswalts tapped a finger on his desk in thought. "And who knows, perhaps with the pressure of finding a husband removed, you will be able to more readily enjoy this season."

"Perhaps." Jane smiled. "At the very least, this will be my last season as an unmarried woman."

"It will indeed." Lady Cotswalts agreed, and Jane noticed a feverish glint in her mother's eyes.

It was the glint of a woman who had been issued a challenge, and who refused to lose. Let her try and find me a love match, and we shall see who will be proved right in the end. Jane smiled at her mother, smug in the knowledge that she would be proved the victor.