Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

" L ady Cressida, this is your sister?"

"That's right," Cressida said with pride, giving her sister's arm a squeeze and pulling her gently forward so that Lady Gunderson could have a better look. "This is Victoria. She's a debutante this season."

"I would have thought your father might have waited until you yourself were married before allowing your sister to make her debut." There was a hint of judgment in Lady Gunderson's voice.

Cressida chose to ignore that. "I've taken responsibility for my sister's social affairs," she said. "And her marriage, not mine, is my priority." She released Victoria's arm, allowing her to wander away a little. What she didn't say, what she didn't think she could say to Lady Gunderson and the other gossip-hungry mamas of the ton , was that her own marriage was not a priority at all. She was resigned to the fact that perhaps she would be a spinster.

There was just too much for her to take responsibility in her life. She had never had a proper debut herself, for no one had made the arrangements, and Cressida hadn't had the time. She was in charge of caring for her sister and of keeping her father's affairs in order, for her father—though loving and kind—was irresponsible and could not be trusted with his finances or with the care of his daughters. He depended on Cressida, a fact that she had grown accustomed to in the nearly fifteen years since her mother's death.

The chief thing she had to do now was to make sure her sister had a successful debut season and found herself a worthy husband. Once that was taken care of, Cressida might turn her attention to herself.

"Well, she's perfectly lovely," Lady Gunderson said. "Do you have eyes on any particular gentlemen for her yet?"

"Oh, no, not yet," Cressida said. "I'll have to see whether anyone in particular appeals to her."

"And whether she appeals to them, I suppose," Lady Gunderson said.

"I'm sure that won't be a problem." Cressida beamed at her sister. "She's incredibly charming. She has wonderful social skills and is a joy to everyone she meets. I have no doubt that she'll be able to capture the interest of any gentleman who appeals to her."

"Perhaps you're right," Lady Gunderson said. Cressida couldn't help noticing that her voice had become just that much frostier. "My own daughter, Rebecca, is having her debut season as well."

"How lovely."

"Yes, she's right over there, in the yellow gown."

Cressida looked in the direction Lady Gunderson had indicated. Lady Rebecca was easy to see—the gown in question was quite ostentatious, and Cressida knew that it would catch the eye of many gentlemen. However, it wasn't something she would have selected for Victoria. The gown outshone the lady wearing it, and that was even more true in the case of Lady Rebecca, who seemed to be a bit of a wallflower. She had retreated to a corner and seemed rather overwhelmed watching the members of the ton move by her. Cressida couldn't help feeling rather sorry for the poor girl.

"I've already decided who she ought to pursue," Lady Gunderson said. "We have our eyes set on the Marquess of Feverton."

"Oh?" Cressida asked absently.

"Oh yes. Well, with a debutante sister of your own, I'm sure you know all about the marquess. He's the most eligible bachelor of the season, and I know all the other young ladies will have their eyes set on him as well, but I believe he's a perfect fit for my Rebecca, and I'm sure he will think so too once they've been introduced. I'm glad to hear you don't have aspirations to marry your sister to him. It would be a shame if the two young ladies had to compete with one another."

"Indeed," Cressida said. "But what is so special about this marquess? I've never heard of him."

"You must not pay a tremendous amount of attention to the events of the ton ," Lady Gunderson said. "Everyone knows about Lord Feverton. He came into his lands and title a few years ago when his father, the late Marquess, died. Now he tends to his business affairs, and he's a very wealthy gentleman. That's why everyone considers him to be such a good choice for their daughters. I should say it's wise of you to keep your sister out of the competition for his attention, though. You won't have to worry about most of the young ladies of the ton , since they will have their focus fixed on the marquess. Your sister ought to be able to attain whatever gentleman she sets her sights on, if she isn't planning to look at him."

She said this very magnanimously, as if she felt that she was reassuring Cressida or doing her a favor, and it made Cressida feel irritated. If Victoria was interested in this marquess, whoever he was, she has as much of a chance of attracting him as anybody else did. She didn't need to step aside because the competition was too fierce.

But Cressida didn't want to get into an argument. She scanned the room. What had happened to her sister? Sometime in the course of her conversation with Lady Gunderson, she had lost sight of Victoria, and that was the last thing she wanted. She needs to know where Victoria was at all times. Her most important duty was to keep her eyes on her sister.

"Excuse me," she murmured to Lady Gunderson, and walked away before Lady Gunderson could say anything to try to continue the conversation.

She walked around the perimeter of the ballroom, her anxiety mounting as she looked here and there for her sister. Victoria was nowhere to be seen. In a moment, Cressida knew, she would have to start asking people whether they knew where she had gone—but she didn't want to do that until she absolutely had to. She didn't want to call attention to the fact that Victoria had slipped away, for such a thing could easily give rise to a scandal, and that was something neither of them needed.

The door to the patio was open, and here Cressida finally got lucky—she heard the sound of her sister's voice wafting toward her on the breeze. Victoria was laughing lightly, but Cressida found nothing humorous as she heard a deeper voice join the conversation—her sister was out there with a gentleman, and for all Cressida could tell, the two of them were alone—unsupervised!

She hurried through the doors and out onto the patio. Sure enough, there was Victoria, standing only inches away from a tall, dark-haired man Cressida had never seen before. He looked up when Cressida stepped outside, and she thought she saw an expression of guilt flash across his face—he knew he had done wrong, that he had been out of line.

"Victoria," she said sharply, "I need to speak to you, please."

"Of course," Victoria said, her eyes widening in innocence. "Forgive me, Mr. Young. I ought to see what my sister wants."

"Of course you should," the gentleman agreed. Mr. Young, Cressida could only suppose. He inclined his head toward her. "Good evening, my lady."

Cressida said nothing. She didn't trust this gentleman, and she certainly didn't trust his intentions. She only watched as he turned and made his way into the house.

"Cressida," Victoria said, her forehead creasing in a scowl. "That was rude. You offended poor Mr. Young."

"I don't know who that man is, but I don't care," Cressida said firmly. "He should not have been out here alone with you, Victoria. That was completely improper. Don't you realize that your reputation would have been ruined if you had been discovered by anyone other than me? You need to be much more careful." She sighed. "Perhaps we ought to go home."

"Cressida! You're overreacting, as you always do."

"You could have ruined yourself, Victoria."

"I don't see how!"

"You don't see how ? Out alone with a gentleman? Do you know what would have happened if you had been seen? You would have been forced to marry him to save yourself from scandal! Who is that man? I've never even seen him. What would your life be, married to him? Has he any money or a title—is he able to provide for you at all?"

"His father is a baron."

"He's the son of a baron? "

Victoria took a breath. "The second son."

"Victoria!"

"But I love him!"

"You haven't thought about what you're doing!"

"I won't do it again. I promise you that I won't. But you must understand—I have true feelings for Mr. Young, and nobody would understand. He's only the second son of a poor baron. Father would never approve…I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I can't simply ignore my feelings for him."

"Victoria…"

"Cressida, I know this seems sudden, but…I am in love. I shouldn't have been out alone with Mr. Young. I understand that. I simply don't know what to do!"

She looked so distraught that Cressida found herself feeling sorry for her sister in spite of her recriminations. She put an arm around Victoria's shoulders.

"Don't worry," she said. "If you truly care for this gentleman, we may be able to find some sort of solution."

"Oh, Cressida—do you mean it?"

"I won't promise anything," Cressida said warningly. "And you must promise me never again to behave in the manner you did tonight. Never to be alone with a gentleman without a chaperone. The next time you want to spend time with someone—no matter who he is, no matter what you imagine I might think of it—you're to come to me and ask me to join you."

"I will," Victoria pledged. "I promise, Cressida. You can trust me."

"We're going to have a visitor today," their father announced the following morning over breakfast.

Victoria's head jerked up, and Cressida knew what she must be thinking—would it be Mr. Young? Would he have come to pursue a courtship?

Cressida didn't think so. She had another concern. "Is this going to be about your debts, Father?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know I know about them," Cressida said. "I've been through your ledgers."

It was a mark of the way things were run in their household that her father didn't even try to scold her for looking at the ledgers. It went without saying that she would have done so. "This isn't breakfast conversation," he said. "You and I can discuss these matters later if you'd like to do so, but right now, we need to prepare for our guest."

"Who's the guest?" Victoria asked, excitement etched all over her face. She seemed unable to sit still, fidgeting in her chair as if she was being stuck with needles. "Why are they coming, Father? Is it—is it a gentleman?"

Her father looked up at her across the table. "It is," he said evenly. "So you're to be on your best behavior today—both of you."

At this, Victoria became fairly giddy with excitement, nearly bouncing out of her seat. Cressida had to admit that she, too, was rather shocked. Who was this guest? Was it possible that it was going to be Mr. Young? That he really was coming to inquire about the possibility of courting Victoria?

Would she intercede if that happened? She wasn't sure how she felt about him after the way he had snuck out to be alone with her sister last night.

Cressida knew that she had the power to impact what happened when it came to her sister's courtships, and that was a good feeling. Even if her father was partial to Mr. Young, she would be able to send him off. Her father would listen to her.

So she was feeling slightly apprehensive, but still confident, when the butler walked into the room.

"Begging your pardon, Lord Sedgwick," he said. "The Marquess of Feverton is here."

Cressida's head spun. Had she misunderstood somehow? "The Marquess of Feverton?"

"Yes," her father said, rising to his feet. "Go into the sitting room, ladies. The marquess is our guest today."

Cressida looked to her sister, but to judge by the expression on Victoria's face, she hadn't expected the marquess any more than Cressida had.

Without speaking, the two sisters rose to their feet and went to the sitting room.