Chapter 1

Chapter One

P rudence licked her lips and clasped her hands together as she looked out at the ballroom. This was her first time back in London and, though the invitations had begun to arrive, that had not filled Prudence with any sense of confidence that all would be well. She did not know whether or not the ton would welcome her back, whether what she had done last Season would still be remembered and, if it was, what society would expect from her.

The only way she would know for certain would be to step forward and attempt to insert herself back into society again, trying to converse with other gentlemen and ladies in the hope that they would speak with her.

I cannot do it.

Taking a deep breath, Prudence set her shoulders and lifted her chin. She tried to take a step forward, attempting to follow her mother and father, who had given her the time and the space she required before making her way further into the ballroom, but she could not do it. It was as though invisible strings were holding her back, tugging her back into the shadows she knew so well. Lowering her head, Prudence fought against the sense of despair that immediately began to crash over her.

Yes, she had endured being a wallflower before but, at that time, she had been utterly determined to catch Lord Newling, so it had not mattered to her. She had not cared about being back amongst the other wallflowers and had deliberately set herself apart from them, choosing to be alone rather than with the others who might understand her predicament and could share in her sorrows. Given that her only intention had been to tie herself to Lord Newling by whatever means she could, Prudence had not given a single thought to the fact that she was no longer welcomed by society, that they ignored her and forgot entirely about her presence.

She had told herself repeatedly that it would not matter in her future, for she would soon be wed, and all of the ton would be glad to welcome her then! That had been her plan, her intention, and her expectation, and all of it had fallen apart. She now had nothing save for her own company. There was no husband to speak of, no respect from the ton, no awareness of her presence as she set foot in amongst them again. Barely anyone had even glanced at her and, as Prudence twisted her fingers together, she felt herself shrink inwardly. Her father had promised that the ton did not know of what she had tried to do. They were entirely unaware that she had done her best to force Lord Newling into a situation where they could be discovered, with matrimony being the only way forward for both of them. Could she be sure of that? What if someone from society had overheard one of her conversations with either Lord Newling or her sister? What then? Even if she dared make herself step forward, then what might she be met with?

"I am sure I was not this weak before."

Prudence shook her head to herself, irritated and upset with how little courage she had. She wanted to hurry away, to stand tall and place a smile on her lips but she could not bring herself to do either thing. Instead, the shadows made her welcome, wrapping around her shoulders as a friend might do. Prudence took another step back and let out a long, slow breath of regret.

The consequences of what she had done had not fallen on either Lord Newling or on Frederica and, given how she now felt about her actions, Prudence was glad of that. All the same, however, she felt herself filled with a fresh wave of sorrow and regret. Had she chosen to behave properly, had she chosen to simply let her sister pursue Lord Newling and looked for another gentleman herself, none of this would have happened. And perhaps then, she might have found herself happiness already, might have been contented at home, setting up in her new life as mistress of her husband's home.

Instead, all she was left with was darkness.

"Oh, excuse me! I did not see you there."

Prudence stepped back, only for the gentleman to laugh and sway forward, his glass of wine teetering a little too close to her. He had only just barreled into her, clearly in his cups, and much too drunk to have any real understanding about what he was doing. His speech was a little slurred, his smile slipping as he saw her frown and, much to Prudence's astonishment, he reached out one hand towards her.

"You do not need to look like that, now," he said, his eyebrows furrowing. "You do not look pleased to see me and everyone in the ton is usually pleased to see me."

"Is that so?"

Prudence spoke mildly, doing her best to feign an interest while silently wondering where her mother and father had gone. If they were close by, then she would hurry to them at once or, if she could catch her mother's eye, would silently beg of her to draw near. This gentleman was a little too bold and brash to Prudence's mind, to the point that a warning began to ring through her, telling her to move away from him at once.

"Yes, it is." The gentleman chuckled and swayed again, his hand still reaching out to catch hers. "I am the most jovial of all the gentlemen in London! And, I confess, the most delightful. Every young lady in London wishes to be in my company so you are very favored indeed!"

Disliking the way the gentleman's eyes glittered, Prudence made to step back from him, only to bump into the wall of the ballroom. Panic began to climb up her throat as the gentleman advanced towards her, a clear desire set in his eyes.

"Now that you are in my company – and in such a private setting, I might add – is there something that you should like to garner from me? That is why were are here, is it not?"

Prudence's heart began to beat a little more furiously and she quickly shook her head. Clearly, this gentleman had drunk so much liquor that he had forgotten that he had come here of his own accord and had not made any plans whatsoever with her.

"You must be mistaking me for someone else, Lord…?"

She had hoped that the question would give him pause, that he would realize that she was not who he believed her to be, but the gentleman only grinned.

"Ah, you are playing a little coy with me now, are you not?" Laughing, he set one hand flat against the wall by her shoulder, his body now blocking her path to escape. "You need not tease me, Miss Villiers. I am sure that–"

"I am not Miss Villiers!" The fright that began to tear through her forced Prudence to act. She pressed one hand flat against the gentleman's chest as she spoke, seeing the grin on his face begin to fade as he looked down into her eyes. "You are mistaken. You are so much in your cups that you do not know where it is you are and who it is you are speaking to!"

"I believe that Miss Villiers is on the opposite side of the ballroom, Lord Childers."

Another voice came from behind Lord Childers and Prudence felt herself sag back against the wall just a little as the gentleman lifted his hand, turning to look at the person speaking.

"Is she?" he asked, looking to Prudence and then back to the other young lady who had spoken. "I thought that she…" With a frown, he turned and looked back into Prudence's face again before throwing up his hands and taking a step back. "Wait a moment! You are not Miss Villiers! Why are you pretending to be her?"

Prudence blinked furiously, her heart pounding with sudden frustration.

"I am not pretending to be this Miss Villiers! It is you who has chosen to come and confront me in this manner, believing that I am she."

The gentleman scowled.

"It is most unfair of you to pretend to be the lady I love," he said, his words still slurred at the edges. "Excuse me."

Before Prudence could protest, or even defend herself again, Lord Childers turned and walked away from them, though his steps were still a little wobbly. Letting out a harsh breath, Prudence pushed herself away from the wall just a little and then shook her head.

"I believe that Lord Childers has imbibed a great deal this evening," the young lady said, reminding Prudence that she was there. "I do hope that you are all right?"

"I am." Silently demanding that she pull her gaze away from the retreating figure of Lord Childers, Prudence eventually managed to look at the young lady who had saved her from his drunken advances. "I must thank you for what you did. If you had not come, then I am quite certain that he would have done something foolish."

"Yes," came the reply, a small, wry smile on the lips of the fair-haired lady, "especially if he believed you to be Miss Villiers." She winced, perhaps seeing the confusion in Prudence's expression. "Miss Villiers is known for her… interest… in the gentlemen of London."

Heat blossomed in Prudence's chest.

"I see."

"And he believed you to be her," the young lady continued, with a shrug. "You are rather similar with your dark hair and green eyes but that is all. You are a little taller than she, I think."

"And I certainly would not encourage him to come towards me in such an obvious and improper way." Not wanting this young lady to believe that she had done anything to encourage the gentleman's attentions, Prudence managed a faint smile. "That was rather shocking."

"I am certain it was, though I am glad he has done as I suggested." The young lady's smile grew wry. "Being in his cups means that he is very open to suggestion, it seems."

"Indeed." Recalling that she was still a wallflower and was generally ignored by society, Prudence smiled at the young lady. "Might I ask your name?"

The lady smiled.

"Of course, I should have done that at the beginning of this conversation." She bobbed her head. "I am Miss Anna Rockwell. My father is Viscount Drakewater."

"How very good to meet you." Prudence bobbed a curtsey. "I am Lady Prudence Twyford. My father is the Earl of Lymington." This, much to her relief, did not bring any sort of interest from Miss Rockwell, for her eyes did not flash with a sudden understanding, nor did she nod as though she recognized the name. Instead, she simply smiled. "It is a little unusual to have a lady such as yourself standing back here," Prudence continued, not wanting Miss Rockwell to ask the question before she did. "Were you following Lord Childers for some reason?"

Miss Rockwell laughed and shook her head.

"No, indeed not. I am betrothed, you see – though not to Lord Childers – and my betrothed is currently absent from London. Given that I have no interest in any other gentleman aside from him, I find there to be very little point in attending occasions such as these. My mother insists, however, for we are to keep up our appearances here in London so that the ton knows all is well."

Prudence smiled sympathetically.

"I can imagine that must be something of a trial for you. Might I ask where your betrothed is at present?"

Miss Rockwell sighed and shook her head.

"Business forced him to return to his estate - business which he simply could not put off. It seems that his sister and her husband have had some financial difficulties of late – not of their own doing. The crops have done very badly, and a lot of the interests that… well, that does not matter." She shrugged. "Needless to say, Lord Yates decided to return to his estate to make certain that all was going as he expected, though he intends to be of aid to his brother-in-law, I believe."

"That is very generous of him."

Miss Rockwell smiled softly, her eyes holding a gentleness that spoke of a true affection for her betrothed.

"He is a very generous man." For a moment, nothing more was said, only for Miss Rockwell to give herself a slight shake and then look back at Prudence with interest. "And you? Why are you hiding here, might I ask?"

Prudence hesitated. She wanted to suggest that it was a little bold to ask such a question when they were only just introduced but, given that she herself had asked such a thing, it was not as though she could.

"Society has decided that I am to be a wallflower," she said eventually, not giving any further explanation than that. "My parents are encouraging me to step forward as it is a new Season now since they decided that I am to be pushed back in such a way, but I have not yet found the confidence to do such a thing."

Miss Rockwell nodded, turning to look out across the room rather than holding Prudence's gaze.

"It can be difficult," she agreed, softly, "but I would encourage you to step out. If you have the opportunity, why should you not?"

Prudence pulled her mouth to one side.

"I am afraid of what they will do," she said, finding her heart filled with a desire to unburden herself. If she told Miss Rockwell the truth, then she could decide whether or not she wanted to linger in Prudence's company. And if she did not, then Prudence would be left alone again, just as she had anticipated. "You see, Miss Rockwell, I was discovered in a room with a gentleman. This gentleman was in his cups and… well, I was present with him. It did not end in matrimony for various reasons, but society has not taken well to such a thing."

Miss Rockwell turned her head and looked back at Prudence steadily for some moments. Prudence's stomach twisted this way and that, heat beginning to spread up her spine and into her shoulders, her heart beginning to quicken furiously. What would Miss Rockwell say to such a thing? Was she going to bid Prudence good evening and step away? Prudence could not blame her if she did. There was enough of the truth there to keep all of the ton from her.

"Lady Prudence." Miss Rockwell smiled, her expression gentling. "You need not think that I will remove myself from your company because of any past experiences or situations you might have suffered. I can see that you might be in need of a friend which, I must admit, is something that I am also seeking." With a small tilt of her head, she shrugged her shoulders lightly. "What say you, Lady Prudence? Might you be willing to be my friend this Season?"

Prudence blinked, tears beginning to build behind her eyes as her throat tightened. This young lady had no knowledge of Prudence's past, had no real understanding of who she was, yet she was willing to step into a friendship with her, should Prudence be willing. Part of her wanted to confess everything to Miss Rockwell, to tell her all that she had done and how much of a fool she had been, but the other part of her held that back. Miss Rockwell had only just stated that she did not care about the past and therefore, Prudence was not going to torment herself with such things either.

"That is an offer I could not even think to refuse," Prudence answered, seeing how the broad smile spread right across Miss Rockwell's face. "Thank you, Miss Rockwell. I feel a good deal better already, knowing that I now have company!"

"As do I." Miss Rockwell let out a small, contented sigh and then came to stand beside Prudence, looking out at the ballroom. "This has turned out to be a rather pleasing evening after all!"

Prudence nodded, the tension within her frame beginning to untwist and fade away for what was the first time since she had set foot into the ballroom.

"Yes, Miss Rockwell," she agreed, smiling. "It certainly has been."