Chapter 1

“And Lord Granger is seated there.”

“Mm-hm.”

Nudging Joy lightly, her mother scowled.

“You are not paying the least bit of attention! Instead, you are much too inclined towards staring! Though quite what you are staring at, I cannot imagine!”

Joy tilted her head but did not take her eyes away from what she had been looking at.

“I was wondering whether that lady there – the one with the rather ornate hairstyle – found it difficult to wear such a thing without difficulty or pain.” The lady in question had what appeared to be a bird’s nest of some description, adorned with feathers and lace, planted on one side of her head, with her hair going through it as though it were a part of the creation. There was also a bird sitting on the edge of the nest, though to Joy’s eyes, it looked rather monstrous and not at all as it ought. “Surely it must be stuck to her head in some way.” She could not keep a giggle back when the lady curtsied and then rose, only for her magnificent headpiece to wobble terribly. “Oh dear, perhaps it is not as well secured as it ought to be!”

“Will you stop speaking so loudly?”

The hiss from Lady Halifax had Joy’s attention snapping back to her mother, a slight flush touching the edge of her cheeks as she realized that one or two of the other ladies near them were glancing in her direction. She had spoken a little too loudly for both her own good and her mother’s liking.

“My apologies, Mama.”

“I should think so!” Lady Halifax grabbed Joy’s arm in a somewhat tight grip and then began to walk in the opposite direction of that taken by the lady with the magnificent hair. “Pray do not embarrass both me and yourself, with your hasty tongue!”

“I do not mean to,” Joy muttered, allowing her mother to take her in whatever direction she wished. “I simply speak as I think.”

“A trait I ought to have worked out of you by now, but instead, it seems determined to cling to you!” With a sigh, Lady Halifax shook her head. “Now look, do you see there?”

Coming to a hasty stop, Joy looked across the room, following the direction of her mother’s gaze. “What is it that you wish me to look at, Mama?”

“Those young ladies there,” came the reply. “Do you see them? They stand clustered together, hidden in the shadows of the ballroom. Even their own mothers or sponsors have given up on them!”

A frown tugged at Joy’s forehead.

“I do not know what you are speaking of Mama.”

“The wallflowers!” Lady Halifax turned sharply to Joy, her eyes flashing. “Do you not see them? They stand there, doing nothing other than adorning the wall. They are passed over constantly, ignored by the gentlemen of the ton, who care very little for their company.”

“Then that is the fault of the gentlemen of the ton,” Joy answered, a little upset by her mother’s remarks. “I do not think it is right to blame the young ladies for such a thing.”

Lady Halifax groaned aloud, closing her eyes.

“Why do you willfully misunderstand? They are not wallflowers by choice, but because they are deemed as unsuitable for marriage, for one reason or another.”

“Which, again, might not be their own doing.”

“Perhaps, but all the same,” Lady Halifax continued, sounding more exasperated than ever, “I have shown you these young ladies as a warning.”

Joy’s eyebrows shot towards her hairline.

“A warning?”

“Yes, that you will yourself become one such young lady if you do not begin to behave yourself and act as you ought.” Moving so that she faced Joy directly, Lady Halifax narrowed her eyes a little. “You will find yourself standing there with them, doing nothing other than watching the gentlemen of London take various other young ladies out to dance, rather than showing any genuine interest in you. Would that not be painful? Would that not trouble you?”

The answer her mother wished her to give was evident to Joy, but she could not bring herself to say it. It was not that she wanted to cause her mother any pain, but that she could not permit herself to be false, not even if it would bring her a little comfort.

“It might,” she admitted, eventually, as Lady Halifax let out another stifled groan, clearly exasperated. “But as I have said before, Mama, I do not wish to be courted by a gentleman who is unaware of my true nature. I do not see why I should hide myself away, simply so that I can please a suitor. If such a thing were to happen, if I were to be willing to act in that way, it would not make for a happy arrangement. Sooner or later, my real self would return to the fore, and then what would my husband do? It is not as though he could step back from our marriage. Therefore, I would be condemning both him and myself, to a life of misery. I do not think that would be at all agreeable.”

“That is where you are wrong.” Lady Halifax lifted her chin, though she looked straight ahead. “To be wed is the most satisfactory situation one can find oneself in, regardless of the circumstances. It is not as though you will spend a great deal of time with your husband so, therefore, you will never need to reveal your ‘true nature’, as you put it.”

The more her mother talked, the more Joy found herself growing almost despondent, such was the picture Lady Halifax was painting of what would be waiting for her. She understood that yes, she was here to find a suitable match, but to then remove to her husband’s estate, where she would spend most of her days alone and only be in her husband’s company whenever he desired it, did not seem to Joy to be a very pleasant circumstance. That would be very dull indeed, would it not? Her existence would become small, insignificant, and utterly banal, and that was certainly not the future Joy wanted for herself.

“Now, do lift your head up, stand tall, and smile,” came the command. “We must go and speak to Lord Falconer and Lord Dartford at once.”

Joy hid her sigh by lowering her head, her eyes squeezing closed for a few moments. There was no time to protest, however, no time to explain to her mother that what had just been discussed had settled Joy’s mind against such things as this, for Lady Halifax once more marched Joy across the room and, before she knew it, introduced Joy to the two gentlemen whom she had pointed out, as well as to one Lady Dartford, who was Lord Dartford’s mother.

“Good evening.” Joy rose from her curtsey and tried to smile, though her smile was a little lackluster. “How very glad I am to make your acquaintance.”

“Said quite perfectly.” Lord Dartford chuckled, his dark eyes sweeping across her features, then dropping down to her frame as Joy blushed furiously. “So, you are next in line to try your hand at the marriage mart?”

“Next in line?”

“Yes.” Lord Dartford waved a hand as though to dismiss her words and her irritation, which Joy had attempted to make more than evident by the sweep of her eyebrow. “You have three elder sisters do you not?”

“Yes, I do.” Joy kept her eyebrows lifted. “All of whom are all now wed and settled.”

“And now you must do the same.” Lord Dartford chuckled, but Joy did not smile. The sound was not a pleasant one. “Unfortunately, none of your sisters were able to catch my eye and, alas, I do not think that you will be able to do so either.”

“Dartford!”

His mother’s gasp of horror was clear, but Joy merely smiled, her stomach twisting at the sheer arrogance which the gentleman had displayed.

“That is a little forward of you, Lord Dartford,” she remarked, speaking quite clearly, and ignoring the way that her mother set one hand to the small of her back in clear warning. “What is to say that I would have any interest in your company?”

This response wiped the smile from Lord Dartford’s face. His dark eyes narrowed, and his jaw set but, much to Joy’s delight, his friend began to guffaw, slapping Lord Dartford on the shoulder.

“You have certainly been set in your place!” Lord Falconer laughed as Joy looked back into Lord Dartford’s angry expression without flinching. “And the lady is quite right, that was one of the most superior things I have heard you say this evening!”

“Only this evening?” Enjoying herself far too much, Joy tilted her head and let a smile dance across her features. “Again, Lord Dartford, I ask you what difference it would make to me to have a gentleman such as yourself interested in furthering their acquaintance with me? It is not as though I must simply accept every gentleman who comes to seek me out, is it? And I can assure you, I certainly would not accept you!”

Lord Falconer laughed again but Lord Dartford’s eyes narrowed all the more, his jaw tight and his frame stiff with clear anger and frustration.

“I do not think a young lady such as yourself should display such audacity, Miss Bosworth.”

“And if I want your opinion, Lord Dartford, then I will ask you for it,” Joy shot back, just as quickly. “Thus far, I do not recall doing so.”

“We must excuse ourselves.”

The hand that had been on Joy’s back now turned into a pressing force that propelled her away from Lord Dartford, Lord Falconer, and Lady Dartford – the latter of whom was standing, staring at Joy with wide eyes, her face a little pale.

“Do excuse us.”

Lady Halifax inclined her head and then took Joy’s hand, grasping it tightly rather than with any gentleness whatsoever, dragging her away from the gentlemen she had only just introduced Joy to.

“Mama, you are hurting me!” Pulling her hand away, Joy scowled when her mother rounded on her. “Please, you must stop–”

“Do you know what you have done?”

The hissed words from her mother had Joy stopping short, a little surprised at her mother’s vehemence.

“I have done nothing other than speak my mind and set Lord Dartford – someone who purports to be a gentleman – back into his place. I do not know what makes him think that I would have any interest in–”

“News of this will spread through London!” Lady Halifax blinked furiously, and it was only then that Joy saw the tears in her mother’s eyes. “This is your very first ball on the eve of your come out, and you decide to speak with such force and impudence to the Earl of Dartford?”

A writhing began to roll itself around Joy’s stomach.

“I do not know what you mean. I did nothing wrong.”

“It is not about wrong or right,” came the reply, as Lady Halifax whispered with force towards Joy. “It is about wisdom. You did not speak with any wisdom this evening, and now news of what you did will spread throughout society. Lady Dartford will see to that.”

Joy lifted her shoulders and then let them fall.

“I could not permit Lord Dartford to speak to me in such a way. I am worthy of respect, am I not?”

“You could have ignored him!” Lady Halifax threw up her hands, no longer managing to maintain her composure, garnering the attention of one or two others nearby. “You did not have to say a single thing! A simple look – or a slight curl of the lip – would have sufficed. Instead, you did precisely what I told you not to do and now news of your audacity will spread through London. Lady Dartford is one of the most prolific gossips in all of London and given that you insulted her son, I fear for what she will say.”

Joy kept her chin lifted.

“Mama, Lady Dartford was shocked at her own son’s remarks to me.”

“But that does not mean that she will speak of him in the same way that she will speak of you,” Lady Halifax told her, a single tear falling as red spots appeared on her cheeks. “Do you not understand, Joy?”

“Lord Falconer laughed at what I said.”

Lady Halifax closed her eyes.

“That means nothing, other than the fact that he found your remarks and your behavior to be mirthful. It will not save your reputation.”

“I did nothing to ruin my reputation.”

“Oh, but you did.” A flash came into her mother’s eyes. “You may not see it as yet, but I can assure you, you have done yourself a great deal of damage. I warned you, I asked you to be cautious and instead, you did the opposite. Now, within the first ball of the Season, your sharp tongue and your determination to speak as you please has brought you into greater difficulty than you can imagine.” Her eyes closed, a heavy sigh breaking from her. “Mayhap you will become a wallflower after all.”

Hmm,my mother always said my mouth would get me into trouble…and now Miss Bosworth could be in trouble!