Prologue

Lady Cora Stephens happily wandered through the garden at her father's, the Earl of Farrington's country home. She loved the garden and spent as much time as possible there during the summer months. Cora could not imagine a more perfect place, and in her heart, she never wanted to call any other place hers. At ten and two, she could not imagine anything else. She wanted Farrington Abbey to always be her home. She stopped at her favorite area of the garden. In the center of the path was a large fountain with a sculpture of a one of the Greek goddesses regally overlooking the garden. She did not know which goddess claimed this part of the garden, she just believed her lovely, strong, and brave. Cora wanted to be all three of those, and perhaps one day she would be so fortunate.

"Of course you're here," a boy said from the other side of the fountain. "You're always here."

She glared at him. Hayes Grant, the future Earl of Thornton, and the current Viscount Beaxton, was her nemesis. For as long as she could recall, he had been spending summers at her home, and before he'd been sent to Eton, he'd been at her home more often than his. He wasn't even a blood relation. She did not understand why her father wanted the horrid boy around. He was four years older than her, and always a nuisance. "This is my home." She glared at him. "If you do not wish to be in my company, then perhaps you should go back to yours."

He sneered at her. "Trust me, little urchin. I'd rather be anywhere than here."

She'd always hated him. Her father doted on him as if he were perfect. Clearly, her father had never seen how Viscount Beaxton treated his eldest daughter. If he had, then he might not want the horrid boy around. Though he wasn't merely a boy any longer. He'd turn six and ten a few months past. She stared at him and studied the changes. He was still a little gangly—too thin. She wondered why. Did he not eat enough? His dark hair was on the longer side and seemed to almost gleam in sunlight. His green eyes though… That was his best feature. They reminded her of leaves at the start of spring. All new and sprouting toward the sunshine while they grew for the upcoming summer months. Not that dark green of a fully formed leaf, but the light shade of a new spring bud.

Cora didn't like that she noticed these things about him. She didn't want to find something, anything, about him appealing. She wanted to continue to hate him and enjoy the peace in that fact. He was a pretty boy, and one day he would probably be a devastating man. One with the power to break a lady's heart. She would not be that lady. Cora could never love a man that treated her as inconsequential. He seemed to hate her as much as she loathed him. They were comfortable in their dislike of each other, and she doubted that would ever change.

"Then why come at all?" she asked him as she forced herself out of her revery. "We both would be far happier if we didn't have to cross paths."

"If it were my choice," he began. "I'd never gaze upon you again."

Was she that horrid to behold? Cora didn't think herself ugly, but she was a mere girl. Her hair was as dark as his, but her eyes were not a lovely shade of green. They were a boring brown. "There is a sentiment I can agree with." She lifted her chin defiantly. "I'd rather not see you, either."

"You're unbearable." He narrowed his gaze, then brushed past her, causing her to lose her balance. She tumbled toward the fountain with an alarming speed. Cora flailed her arms, attempting to right herself, but to no avail. Before she knew it, she'd fallen into the water face first. She came up sputtering and spitting out water. Her gown was drenched and completely ruined. Lord Dalton glanced at her and then laughed. "Now that," he said between chuckles. "Is well worth the lengthy journey to visit this insufferable estate. I must thank you for keeping me entertained."

"ohhh," she said in frustration. Cora glared at him. "This is all your fault. You pushed me."

"I did not." He shrugged nonchalantly. "But I could have been more careful. Though now that I have witnessed the results, I must admit. I don't regret my negligence." The smug expression on his face grated on her bruised ego.

That did it. He had to pay for being such an obnoxious lout. Before she thought about her actions, Cora stormed over to him and then pushed him. He tumbled backward into the fountain. When he came up sputtering water as she had earlier, she laughed. With a grin, she admitted, "You're right, Lord Beast. That was nothing but pure joy to behold." Cora curtsied. "I'll take your leave now. I'm certain you can find your own way out of the fountain. Much as I had to mere moments ago."

"That is not my name," he shouted at her.

Cora shrugged as if he didn't matter. Because at that moment, he didn't. She did not stop to look back as she made her way back to the house. Her father would likely chastise her later for her behavior, but she couldn't make herself care. It had been worth it to see him a drenched mess and fluttering around in the fountain. The viscount hadn't helped her. He'd laughed. Shouldn't she repay him in kind?

She didn't want to hate him, but he made it impossible to do anything else. When he'd come to Farrington Abbey for the first time, she'd believed he would be her friend. How wrong she'd been. Instead, he had become her enemy and nothing had changed that in all these years. They would always be this way with each other. Some things could not be changed and no amount of wishing could alter that.