Chapter Two

Mayfair, 1815

"What about me and Delphi?" Miss Augusta Steere palmed her cheeks, the panic rising inside her cresting to unbelievable heights. She couldn't believe the position she and her sister were in. "Thenie married the man she loved. But her actions have left us, her very own sisters,"—she argued as she pointed to her twin, Delphi—"to deal with her disgrace. One simply does not insult the man who offers for your hand."

"Nothing can be done," her mother, Lady Mary Steere, said, alluding to the fact that their sister, Parthenia, was now Lady Kilverstone after refusing Lord Boothe's hand and marrying on the eve of scandal.

"This is not to be borne! If I understand you correctly, and I believe I do, you are saying we are to be thrust into marriages of convenience because our sister defied Papa's choice and married for love? Are we to be heartlessly discarded? Cast out before wolves without forethought and compassion?" Augusta fisted her mouth. "Forced to marry—"

"In haste?" Delphi finished for her, per their usual habit. Since birth, they had always seemed to know what the other was thinking and prepared to do. Oftentimes with calamitous results. "How do you to expect us to survive this torment, Mama?"

Their mother produced a sympathetic tear. "Nothing can be done, my darlings, except cutting off the head of the snake. The rumors are beyond hearsay now. The Morning Chronicle and The Morning Post take pleasure in scandalizing innocents. It will not take long before the city knows the sordid details, however misguided. Truth does not matter. The more lies are spoken, the more people believe them to be true. Tittle-tattle is a thriving market."

Apparently, so was auctioning them off like delicate house lambs at Leadenhall Market. "Poppycock!"

"Augusta Steere!"

"Perdition!" She shuddered with humiliation, rampant thoughts flushing her cheeks. "I am sorry, Mama. It is just that I am beside myself with worry."

"Both of you should be."

"Marrying a man shouldn't be like deciding what to wear. There should be more, affecting a woman as deeply as—" A single encounter with a man carrying a walking stick strolling through Hyde Park. A man who was tall, dark, broad-shouldered, and handsome. One in possession of a baritone that thrummed through her, soothing her soul. She'd handed him his cane, her heart fluttering as he almost introduced himself. She'd stopped him, however. Why had she stopped him? Now, she might never see him again. And she wanted to see him again. She wanted—

She gasped. Where were these thoughts coming from?

"You are taking this harder than I thought you would," Delphi said.

"Aren't you?" she quipped, turning Delphi's words against her and trying to gather her wits.

All three sisters, Thenie, Augusta, and Delphi desired a love like their cousin, Charlotta, "Lottie", had found with Lord Septimus Grey, but Thenie had taken things too far. They were in this predicament because Thenie had kissed Lord Kilverstone at Vauxhall, crafting a scandal that led to their hasty marriage. And while the nuptials worked in Thenie's favor, the cost had come at Augusta and Delphi's expense.

Augusta's idea of marriage wasn't a business merger between two great families, or marrying in haste because her elder sister had caused a scandal. She wanted love and passion, and an instant connection like the one she'd found with the mysterious man in Hyde Park.

Horse feathers.Him again! Since they'd interacted, she'd done nothing but think of him—dream of him. His searching eyes had latched onto hers with fervor, stealing her breath. His polite and proper touch had sent a shocking fiery trail through her gloved fingers down to her toes before she'd rushed off to rejoin Lottie and Delphi.

"I am a bird-witted fool." She rubbed her belly. "Put him out of your mind, foolish girl."

"Who?" Mama asked.

She started. "Who, what?"

"Who do you want to put out of your mind?"

"No one," she blurted. "I am woolgathering, Mama."

"You have done that a lot as of late." An embarrassing flush crept up her face. Mama clasped Augusta's hand, massaging her palm in a soothing manner that had always settled her nerves. But not today. She would probably never recover from the encounter at the park. Who recovered from losing something extraordinary before it began? "Life is not always fair, my precious girl. I know you are aware of this."

"Yes." That was a reality she was being forced to accept.

"Do not worry. We shall address one thing at a time," Mama said brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Every story starts with a trial. And like every character who crosses the threshold of adventure, we will weather this chapter together." She stretched out her hand to Delphi, who accepted it gladly and sank down beside them. Flanked by her children, Mama wrapped her arms about their shoulders, embracing them like she did when they were young. "‘After the rain cometh the fair weather.'"

"A fable, surely," Augusta said despising the sarcasm in her tone. "I sincerely doubt Aesop can get us out of this fix."

Delphi peered at her mischievously. "‘In union, there is strength.'"

"Pshaw." She rolled her eyes. "Is every situation an opportunity for someone in this family to quote Aesop?"

"‘Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is common prudence to see our way out before we venture in.'"

"Mama!" she and Delphi exclaimed, laughing.

The habit was beyond curing now. It got its start after Lottie's mother died in childbirth and their uncle, Bertram Walcot, a professor at Cambridge, was on an expedition to Hadrian's Villa. Mama had fallen instantly in love with their infant cousin and raised Lottie alongside Thenie, who was just a few months older. The two girls possessed a rare comradery, one Augusta might compare to the connection she shared with her twin. Hers and Delphi's ability to finish each other's sentences seemed intrinsic, pure and priceless. Whereas, Thenie and Lottie's had developed over time, bonding over Aesop's Fables.

"‘The injuries we do and those we suffer are seldom weighted in the same scales.'"

She glared at Delphi. "Must you feed into the frenzy?"

"Ha." Delphi grinned. "If it exasperates you enough to make you forget about our worries, then I shall recite Aesop all the day long." A frown distorted her face, suddenly. "It hurts me to see you unhappy."

"I dislike feeling this way too," said she abruptly. "And I should think you share the same thoughts, since this predicament involves both of us. Neither you nor I will come out of this scandal unscathed."

"It is not my turn, Augusta. As you have so often reminded me, you are ten minutes older than I am." The inside joke always calmed their nerves in times of trouble. "I am a willow, bending in the wind, and you glide across meadows astride the fastest horse. Believe what you will." Her caring eyes turned serious. "Rebellion will not lead to freedom. I choose to believe that life will unfold as it should without my interference."

"Riding astride is shocking behavior. No one need hear of it. And, believing any of this does not affect you, too, is just as dangerous, Delphi," Mama said with mock horror as the door opened, putting an end to their private conversation.

Lottie entered the room with a swish of skirts and a perky grin that never failed to uplift their spirits. Sunlight streamed in from the parlor windows, highlighting auburn streaks in her artfully arranged brown hair. She must have just come in, in her hand she toyed with a straw bonnet adorned with a garnet bow.

"Am I too late?" Lottie placed her hat on the end table before approaching them. "I do beg your forgiveness. Grey arrived later than expected, delaying my trip."

"All is well, I hope." Mama's body tensed—unusually—her attention sharpening and niggling at Augusta's curiosity. "Has his business concluded?"

"Perfectly," Lottie said, nodding. "In Whitehall." A moment of silence and a look of understanding passed between the two women as Lottie seated herself on the overstuffed chair.

"Whitehall?" Curious. "What was Grey doing there? Is he with you?" Augusta lowered her feet to the floor. Restless, and in desperate need of stretching her legs, she abandoned the settee and began to pace. "I am eager to hear what kind of plan he has devised to save us."

"I do have news to share," Lottie said with an energetic burst.

Delphi caught Augusta's hand as she passed. "I hope it is good news. I am weary of the load we've been forced to carry."

"'Tis both good and bad."

"In either case," Mama said, "we shall hear it." She rattled the bell, mining the suspense. An eerie silence prolonged their agony until a footman named Dawkes arrived. "Are you ready for tea, my lady?"

"Yes, Dawkes. And the sponge Cook made, as well."

The footman bowed, then departed quietly, leaving them alone to discuss the details of their cousin's visit.

Augusta sat next to Delphi, filled with anticipation, nervously studying her cousin. "The bad news first, Lottie, I beg. I will not survive the night without any hope to cling to."

Lottie sprang from the overstuffed armchair and rushed to Augusta's side, kneeling before her. "Life has not been fair to our family on occasion, that is true. Still, we have prevailed and we shall continue to do so. We are made of firm stock. And to our credit, we have each other to rely on. Inseparability will see us through any quandary we face." They embraced, Lottie's cold glasses a stark contrast to her warm skin. "I assure you; all will be well," she said, meeting Augusta's inquiring eyes. "We must exercise a little patience."

Delphi harrumphed. "Patience requires time. And time is not something everyone can afford."

"What a strange thing to say, Delphi," Mama interjected before lightening her tone. "Allow Grey and your father time to work. Men excel in these matters."

"Why do I get the feeling you are alluding to something we cannot, as yet, comprehend, Mama?" she asked curiously.

"The particulars are not important." Lottie turned to Mama, her expression serious. "I have it on good authority that the girls will be taken care of."

"Whose authority?" How many people knew about the pickle they were in?

"The details are not important," Lottie said.

Clearly, she'd heard wrong. The situation was enough to cause significant worry in any parish. And it had the potential to ruin any new relationship she might form. "Has our sister's impulsive actions ruined the Season for us, and any good matches we might have made ourselves?"

"Augusta!" Mama exclaimed. "Thenie did not intentionally set out to destroy your reputations. She had reasons for refusing Lord Boothe, though it is anyone's guess why the man would retaliate and besmirch your sister's character. His actions are an endorsement of his flawed character, not Thenie's. Or would you have preferred her to marry the spiteful man when she'd obviously fallen in love with another?"

"A man who introduced himself as Mr. Spencer Wright-Smythe," she said, suggesting he'd also misled them. "Hardly honest, if you ask me."

"Kilverstone is a lucky man," Lottie returned, unexpectedly cross. "He is our good friend and a man of remarkable ethics, respectable and reliable. He kept his barony private so that it would not influence Thenie in any way. Can you find another man in our circle who values status and wealth thusly? Also, if anyone is to blame for Thenie's behavior, it is me." Her lengthy pause magnified Augusta's curiosity. "I received a letter on the Grand Tour about Boothe and Thenie."

"A letter—"

"From whom?" Delphi interjected.

"When?" Augusta asked, perplexed.

Lottie shot Mama a peculiar, knowing look. "It came from someone very dear to me, though I am not at liberty to reveal this person's name yet."

What was the likelihood that a letter would find Lottie and Grey on the Tour? Letters to the continent arrived by sail, which was subject to the weather. Given the direction of the trade winds, no one knew, with certainty, when ships would reach their destinations. Even they could not expect to know where Lottie would be at any time. "How did a missive find you there?"

"My associate deemed the situation so dire that she sent letters to every port on our itinerary. Of course, you can imagine our distress at receiving such a letter. Immediately, I... well... we happened upon Kilverstone. At that moment, given his history with Grey and my childhood at Cambridge, and the fact that he wanted to put his rakish days behind him, I knew he was the answer to Thenie's troubles. He agreed to return with us to England, but made us swear not to tell Thenie, or anyone else, about our plans, in case the two of them did not suit."

Had Augusta and Delphi miscalculated? The baron had swooped in to rescue Thenie before stealing her away to Athens. The whole affair left Augusta feeling short-tempered and ill-used for she missed her elder sister dearly. Especially when Kilverstone's ethics, lauded by Lottie, had not prevented him from playing a scandalous game of truth or dare in the meantime. A game that eventually led to a kiss at Vauxhall, a special license, further disgrace, and them scrambling to pick up the pieces of their lives.

"I think," Lottie said softly, "we can all agree that Thenie wanted to marry for love and ended up doing so, against all odds. Passion cannot be easily ignored."

Delphi's cheeks flushed. "Lottie!"

"It's quite all right, dear." Mama smiled like a cat got the cream. "Thenie did not love Boothe. It's safe to say that it was a good thing she rejected him. Especially when he revealed his cruel nature." She paused as if to gather her emotions. "I confess that Thenie never wanted to delay your future happiness." Mama glanced from Augusta to Delphi and back again. "So, I beg you. Do not be angry or judge her too harshly. She may not have opened the door for you to wed in the traditional way, and in a manner which we all would have preferred, but her marriage to Kilverstone has opened the door."

But where did that door lead?

Augusta let out an exasperated gasp. "If I have misjudged my sister, I am truly sorry." Indeed, her heart sank into her belly as she deliberated Thenie's sacrifices, and the burden she had carried alone for so long. "But can you blame us for feeling slighted, Mama? Delphi and I thought we would have more time to divert ourselves with balls, soirees, and trips to the theater. I—"

"Never expected—"

"To be forced to marry in haste." She smiled warmly at Delphi, knowing with certainty that her sister grasped the enormity of what they would miss once they married. They had never been apart. Marriage would whisk them away to separate homes. "And yet, we were terrified we'd be spinsters before Thenie ever settled down."

"I confess, I am presently thrilled that our sister married Kilverstone," Delphi said. "As for me, I do not think I shall ever marry."

"Do not say such things, Delphi."

"Mama." Her sister smiled weakly. "I do not have my head in the clouds."

"But the gossips..." their mother added, desperate to tweak Delphi's thinking. "The pen is cruel and readers of scandal driven rags live to slay and conquer. What other recourse do you have?"

"I could become a governess or a beloved aunt to Augusta's children. That way, we'd need never be apart."

"Your devotion to each other is admirable, but you both deserve your own happy endings." Lottie gazed at them, her brown eyes shimmering sympathetically. "I was desperate to keep my father's past from being exposed when he was being blackmailed, although I never fully understood his crime until—" She stopped midsentence, her composure shifting in the most perplexing way. What had Uncle Bertram done? This was the first they'd heard of it. "That ordeal reunited me with Grey... Rather—"

"What has passed should stay in the past," Mama cut in abruptly. "Choices have been made. We must move on."

An odd sort of feeling that her mother and Lottie were hiding something they did not want Augusta and Delphi to know took hold. She poked the lion. "Unless the ripples have a broader and more lasting reach."

"Gossipmongers are to blame for the situation we find ourselves in, believing themselves far superior to everyone else, and appointing themselves both judge and jury, while sanctioning the destruction of innocent females for their own benefit. The Morning Post endorses these rumors, feeding public frenzy." Mama raised her palm to ward off any interruptions. "We can be thankful no one has connected your names to the pseudonyms listed in The Morning Post thus far. Though that provides little solace, other dalliances will cast shade on Society and seize attention. This will give us time to reflect and deflect."

"How?" Augusta moaned. "Thenie admitted to kissing the baron on the Grand Walk at Vauxhall. If witnesses come forward—"

"We shall tackle that situation when it presents itself," Lottie said. "For now, we must go about our days as we normally do."

Not one thing in her life had been ordinary since her encounter a sennight ago with the handsome man in Hyde Park. What was his name, and why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

Her life flashed before her eyes. A marriage of convenience. Droll conversation. Quiet meals at opposite ends of a long table. Resigned isolation. A cage, surely. The very existence Thenie had argued so diligently against. As for Augusta and Delphi, they were young, not two and twenty years old. Given their ages, they deserved a horizon ablaze with happiness. Thenie's actions had robbed them of bliss, dumping flotsam and jetsam about their feet. Now, nothing could hold back the tide.

"Forgive me," she said, "but your assurances don't feel like assurances at all. Not if we have no say in the matter."

"Most daughters have no say," Mama reminded her, a cautious warning flickering in her eyes. "Remember, my dears, you've been blessed with a kindhearted father."

"All will be well," Lottie promised. "You will see. I have it on good authority that everything is being arranged as we speak."

Arranged?How? By whom?

Her mood blackened. They were at the mercy of the ton and loose-lipped telltales. Life at a convent appealed more than being forced to marry a man she'd never met. Unless that man happened to be the stranger from Hyde Park.

She gazed out the window, envisioning the moment she first saw him, striding along, twirling his cane, and mumbling to himself like a curmudgeon. Everything about the smartly dressed gentleman proclaimed him off-limits, absconding with preconceived notions she had about Society and propriety. The color of his skin hinted he was not a city man. Rather, a country gent, his gait signifying an old injury. Upon closer study, he'd appeared distressed about some such thing or another. Perhaps it was his sad stare that compelled her to act out of character when his cane dropped to the ground.

Dismissing Lottie's attempts to stop her and forgetting who she was, how she'd been raised, and all that she'd been taught, she'd rushed forward.

"You dropped this."Embarrassed to be stating the obvious, she'd slowly raised her head to look at him, then blinked back astonishment. The incredulity of it all was that he had the most interesting, appealing face of anyone she'd ever met. A ruggedly handsome face that spoke of power and ageless strength. A generous mouth and aquiline nose. And eyes that were a deep, velvet brown. His inquisitive gaze had spoken to her soul, filling her with the sense that she was the only thing that mattered in the world.

She closed her eyes, basking in the connection forged on that instant spark, an incarnation, a whisper of passion feeding flames of alertness. She'd felt comforted by him, in communion with understanding and acceptance. Bound by forces larger than time.

But how could this be so?

"Thank you. Clumsy of me."A wild thought penetrated her perplexing world. This is the man I am meant to marry. But, of course, that was impossible. No one fell in love at first sight. Even though, Thenie and Kilverstone had. "I am—"

"Good day to you, sir."

Curse her for not allowing him to introduce himself. Aesop's story about The Lion in Love warned her that strong feelings led to humiliation and harm. Expectations were... well, expectations. No good could have come from subjecting herself to a stranger's caprice when scandal hovered over their family. Even the King of Beasts had been tricked into trimming his claws and removing his sharp teeth to marry a woodcutter's daughter, finding the butcher's block his reward in Aesop's ironic tome.

"I must go," she'd quickly said to stem the flow of uncertainty inside her.

"Must you?"Society required it. In fact, she'd dreaded every inch threatening to separate them. Nevertheless, when he reached for her hand to guide her to her feet, the brief interaction scattered her plans asunder. "How can I repay such kindness?" he'd asked.

"You cannot. You must not."The words cut, forcing her to question all she had ever known as she lingered a little bit longer, desiring to experience more of his hypnotic spell. Overwhelmed and confused, she'd quickly come to her senses. "I cannot be here."

"Good day, then," he'd said forlornly.

"Good day."

A ripple of delight washed over her at the memory of their short interchange, shocking her to her stockinged feet. More than ever, she yearned to return to Hyde Park, to search every corner for the mysterious man with the cane. She was certain if their paths crossed again, talk of arranged marriages and matchmaking would cease.

She glanced at her sister, wondering if she'd offer support. "Delphi?"

"Hmmm?"

"Would you be willing to accompany me to the park?"