Prologue

Lady Victoria Spencer dressed carefully for dinner. They were having guests. Important guests. All right, they were important to her. Well, one guest in particular. One that she had fallen in love with at the tender age of four and ten. That had been a mere two years earlier. She'd fallen hard and fast for Viscount Dalton. One of her brother's closest friends.

He was a gorgeous man with golden brown hair and exquisite blue eyes. They were a deep blue, like the sky as the sun was setting. Dark, brooding, and arresting when his gaze met hers. The viscount had always been kind to her. Even when others had looked down their noses at her. As if any of them were better than her. She scoffed at the very idea.

Victoria was a lady, just as they all were. She was the daughter of a marquess, and now the sister of one. Her father had passed a few years earlier, leaving her brother Blake with the title. But none of that mattered. Not when Lord Dalton was coming to dinner.

She put on her best gown. It was a soft blue silk that made her feel pretty. Even though she knew she wasn't close to being beautiful. She was too plump for conventional tastes. Her mother told her that in time, that weight would fall away. Victoria had her doubts. Her brown hair was twisted into a simple knot that made her round face more appealing. She might even be considered pretty. Maybe…

Satisfied she looked as good as she could, Victoria stood and slid on her slippers. She had to be down in the parlor when the earl arrived. She would not miss one moment of his visit. He rarely came to the abbey. She didn't even know why he was now. But he would be there for dinner, and perhaps longer. She hadn't bothered to ask Blake. He wouldn't have told her either way. Her brother was five years older than her and had far more responsibilities than he'd should. He had a lot to handle at merely one and twenty.

Slowly, she walked down the hall. She heard voices echoing in the corridor. He was here. Already? Drat. Victoria had spent too much time worrying about how she looked. She'd missed speaking with him and laying her greedy gaze on his gorgeous face. Now she would have to wait until dinner to have any sort of conversation with him.

But she could listen… Eavesdropping was a terrible habit, but she couldn't resist the lure of his voice. It had a deep timber that sent shivers all over her. She could listen to him speak about anything. As long as he was saying words of any sort, she'd be riveted.

"I don't know what I am going to do," Lord Dalton said. She peeked through the crack in the door. She could almost make out his features. "It's just…" He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. "If I had known how badly he'd let it get, I'd have done something."

"What could you have done?" her brother asked him. She'd never heard Blake sound so, well, concerned. Not even after their father died, and he had to assume the title. "He would not have let you help. He was too prideful. You know that."

Lord Dalton sighed. Again. "I could have at least tried."

"My friend," Blake began. "Our fathers each made mistakes. Yours, unfortunately, was far graver than mine. It's our cross to bear to clean those up those disasters." He shook his head as if he still couldn't believe what he'd had to endure. "Yours will take longer, and you need funds. Lots of them."

"I have a small inheritance that my mother's father left me. I can use it to rebuild the estate." He sighed. "But you're right. It will take time."

"You could marry," Blake suggested. Victoria wanted to scream that no, no, he could not. She was still far too young for marriage, and she hoped. Even when she shouldn't, that she would be the woman he chose. Her heart was breaking.

"I could," Lord Dalton said. "But I won't. It wouldn't be fair to bring a wife into this situation. I will rebuild my finances. Maybe afterward I can consider marriage."

Blake chuckled. "You don't want a wife. Let's be honest," he began. "Even if you had the funds to support one."

Lord Dalton was silent for several moments. "You're right. There's no female I am acquainted with that I'd willingly marry."

"But one day you will consider it?" Blake lifted a brow. "I doubt that as well."

"We all have to consider it," Lord Dalton said in a sullen tone. "We have our duty, don't we?" He blew out a breath. "I could use a drink."

"I've plenty of brandy to spare." Blake stood and walked out of Victoria's sight. He must be pouring them some brandy.

What had happened that had the earl so upset? Something about funds and his father. Was his estate in debt, or was it somehow worse than that? Victoria had so many questions…

Blake came back into view and handed a glass of brandy to Lord Dalton. He held up the glass. "A toast," Blake began. "To the new Earl of Foxcroft. May you find your way out of your financial difficulties with ease and one day be free to avoid marriage in the same fashion as the rest of us."

Foxcroft? His father had died? Everything made a lot more sense now. He was no longer Lord Dalton a mere viscount. He was the earl now. No wonder he seemed so concerned. The estate must be in debt then…

"If Victoria wasn't too young, you could have always wed her," Blake said with a chuckle. "She has a lofty dowry that my father set aside for her eventual marriage."

"I cannot marry your sister," the new earl said. "That wouldn't be fair to either of us. Even if she were older. We wouldn't suit."

"My sister isn't good enough for the likes of an earl?" Blake raised a brow.

"I'm sure she will be perfectly acceptable wife," Foxcroft said. She was having trouble remembering that he held the title now. "For someone other than me." He sounded resigned.

Her heart broke a little at his words. He didn't see her as a possibility. Somehow, she had always known that. Was it because she was too plump? Did he not see her as pretty enough? Why wasn't she good enough for him? A tear fell down her cheek.

It was time to put away childish desires. The new Earl of Foxcroft may not want her, but that was all right. She no longer wanted him. She wanted something far better. Victoria wanted to be desired, to be loved, and above all, she wanted to be the one person someone refused live without. The Earl of Foxcroft could go to the devil…