Chapter 1

"Come on, Starlight!" Anna urged, patting the horse's neck. "We have to get there before Mary and Jasper. I will not lose this one!"

Starlight nickered in excitement, picking up its speed without hesitation.

Anna laughed, the spring in her horse's steps causing her to hold on tightly to the reins for fear of falling. A fear, if she was being honest, that never lasted more than a second or two. Her brother had taught her too well to be afraid of riding.

"Starlight will tire before Jasper does!" her best friend, Mary, called from somewhere behind, charging along on her own horse.

Anna snorted inwardly. Who called their horse Jasper? It remained ridiculous to her.

"We shall see about that!" Anna shouted back defiantly, spurring Starlight onward.

Before long, a fine distance had opened up between the two women, and Anna could enjoy the true freedom of the ride—the cold wind nipping her cheeks, the world unfurling ahead of her, making her wonder if she should just keep going.

Best not…

The foggy morning air was already beginning to affect her lungs.

"Yes, Starlight! We are far ahead of Lady Mary now," Anna said. "She will not catch us."

She could afford to slow down now, but drawing the reins closer, her horse refused to obey. It continued at its speed, forcing her to flatten herself against the creature's muscular neck or risk a whipping from the wind in the face.

"Anna, wait!" Mary's worried shout only urged Anna's horse onward.

Starlight wasted no time jumping over fallen tree branches, the stocky mare's hooves slamming against the forest path in dull beats. Here in the outdoors, surrounded by the falling and blooming flowers, the scent of nothing and everything, away from the bustling London streets, was everything Anna wanted and more.

This was home.

She was lost in her thoughts, keeping a firm grip on the reins as her horse led her along the banks of the winding stream, over an upturned log, and down the path to victory.

"Anna!" Mary shouted again, unheeded.

It is a trick.

Anna knew that triumph was within her grasp. She would not fall at the last hurdle.

Moments later, Starlight leaped clean across the stream and barreled toward the old oak in the near distance. Once beneath the boughs, Anna pulled Starlight to a halt and sat there in the saddle, panting hard, a grin on her wind-stung face.

Even though the race had happened out of the blue, it had achieved its intentions. Once again, Anna had proven her horse's superiority. It was high time, and tea, that she and Mary enjoyed their time together.

At least, without the spying maids, who always swore their loyalty to them but ended up selling whatever they had said amongst themselves to the highest bidder.

Before, it was her father. Now, it was her brother.

"I was sure we were going to beat you this time," Mary grumbled, finally catching up. "Better luck next time, Jasper."

Mary got off her horse, leading it by the reins to a low bough where Anna had tied Starlight, looping the reins thrice before tying them into a knot. Mary brushed the silky mane, fishing out an apple from one of the saddlebags.

Jasper neighed, munching on the crisp fruit, core and all, before bumping his nose against Starlight's.

"It cannot be denied that Starlight might be the fastest horse in our stables," Anna said, spreading the picnic blanket on the ground.

"That she is. If only women could enter the real horse races, I am sure you and Starlight would be the talk of town. I can only imagine what your brother would say if you brought home victory for the manor. He would be unable to move for a century."

Anna laughed, as Mary's words rang true. "Society would be unable to move for a century. The scandal would echo through the ages."

"It would be fun, though, just for that winning moment." Mary sighed.

Both knew that racing with men and clinching the prize would never happen. Instead, it was off to tea parties and birthing the next heir and daughters to continue the cycle of respectability.

A man's ideal world.

Gingerly, with poise, Mary folded her skirts beneath her before sitting down. She looked at the spread that Anna was setting out, taking a biscuit and bypassing the sandwiches that Anna had packed specifically for her.

"You really do need to do something about that name, however," Anna said. "The poor creature must be so embarrassed among his horsey friends. Perhaps he would consider being faster if he did not have to bear the burden of such humiliation."

Mary hit Anna's arm and then crossed hers under her bosom. She looked to the left, pouting even as Anna continued laughing.

"Jasper is a good name," Mary insisted. "I demand an apology. You have tainted the months it took for me to come up with a worthy name for my precious horse."

Anna rolled her eyes, finding the entire thing amusing. But Mary was the sort of person to be petty, and if she did not apologize, heavens knew it would be days before Mary forgave her.

"I apologize, Mary, for insinuating that your horse may benefit from a better name. Keep in mind that names such as Reginald and Archibald are on the table," Anna said and hid her grin behind her fan. "Something more regal."

"I accept your apology. However, you not only insulted my skills but also my horse. You must apologize to him as well."

Anna looked at the horses, who were not bothered by what their mistresses were doing. Both of them were snatching up tufts of lush grass, enjoying their own picnic.

"You cannot be serious," Anna said.

"Apologize."

Begrudgingly, Anna did as instructed.

Both women settled down, allowing the wind to carry the scent of lilies and jasmine around them. Anna noted that the scent was beautiful, and maybe picking a few flowers would help brighten the manor's appearance and mood.

It seemed that Mary could use some cheering up, too. The young woman was staring off into the distance, her eyes pinched with concern. All the joy had drained from her sweet face.

"What is the matter?" Anna asked. She wiped a drop of tea off her lips with a handkerchief before crossing her hands on her lap.

Mary sighed, trepidation rolling off her in shivering waves. She reached for her reticule and pulled out a letter, the seal broken but standing proudly against the plain white paper.

She put the letter in Anna's hand. "It is from my aunt in London—Lady Catherine. Apparently, the Viscount Lovell has been celebrating his marriage to Lady Isabella. It seems they have been brazenly prancing around and look to be very much in love." She lowered her voice. "And there have been whispers about a broken courtship and the abrupt severance of a betrothal, but no one knows who is involved, exactly."

Anna's grin fell off her face as she scanned the letter's contents. "For now. You know that the gossip will soon spread. It is only a matter of days before everyone puts the pieces together and I become a laughingstock."

Mary sighed, picking at her dress before staring off into the distance again. Sensing the mood had soured, and not wanting Mary to be sad on her behalf, Anna plucked a few grapes from their stems and threw them at Mary until she began laughing and retaliated, throwing back the bruised fruits.

"You do not have to worry about me," Anna said. "As much as I liked and respected the Viscount, the truth is that if it was not meant to be, it was not meant to be. The only unfortunate thing is that I will have to live with the rumor that is no doubt making its way across the ton, and the ensuing stain it will leave on my reputation. But I wish the couple well, and that stain will wash out in time."

Mary smiled, her countenance relieved, and they continued talking about everything and nothing, ignoring the bad tidings altogether. Anna did not want anything to spoil a perfectly good picnic, or a perfectly peaceful morning, the thrill of the ride still bubbling in her veins.

About halfway through the meal, Mary inquired about Benjamin, Anna's older brother.

Anna paused, looking at the horses, who had quieted down, resting snugly against one another, before looking back at Mary. "My brother? Well, if I have to say anything, Benjamin seems to be… overwhelmed."

"With the next ball or the state of the manor?" Mary asked, reaching for a boiled egg.

Anna shook her head. "He might not be attending. Says he is ‘too busy for frivolities,' while forgetting entirely that Society events are very much a part of his duty now."

Mary sighed before turning away. Anna looked at her from the corner of her eye before falling on the blanket and closing her eyes. It was true what she had said, there was no reason to hold the Viscount dearly in her heart again. He, evidently, did not hold her dearly in his.

Why could he not have picked someone else and subjected them to the ridicule that is coming my way? Why does it have to be me?

A year ago, she had thought the game of courtship was over. Now, on the brink of spinsterhood at two-and-twenty, she had to begin the game again, and with her at a very stark disadvantage.

Once the bad news got out, at least.

"Lady Anna! Lady Mary! Gosh, where are they?" The shouts came from across the gleaming lawns, the voices of their lady's maids carrying across the wind, the tiredness and a slight hint of anger ringing in their words.

Both ladies looked at each other before holding their stomachs as they laughed.

"We are right here. There is no need to scream so loud," Mary said and then waved until their maids turned to where they were.

A matching frown of disapproval creased the maids' faces as they hurried across the lawns, coming to a halt near the edge of the blanket.

"Lady Anna, Lady Mary," Anna's maid, Margaret, muttered, struggling to suppress her frustration. "Thank goodness we found you. There are important things to be done. We have to leave now."

Anna waved Margaret's remark away, offering both maids a cup of tea and some cheese. "We can leave, but not before you two replenish your strength. We are sorry for riding off. It will not happen again."

Mary giggled, dropping onto the blanket and covering her eyes from the sunlight. She looked over at Anna, catching her wink before pretending to doze.

"With respect, Lady Anna," Mary's maid, Frederica, said, "you say that every time. Yet, every single time, we still end up running after you."

Margaret nodded in agreement. "We can refresh ourselves indoors, where there is plenty of tea to be had. Come now."

"But it promises to be such a lovely morning," Anna protested with a sly smile, bumping Mary's elbow. "I think… one more ride is in order."

She jumped to her feet. Like magic, Starlight was already standing tall, her nose bumping against Anna's head as she loosened the knot around the tree and climbed into the saddle. With a wave and a promise to meet them back at the manor, and Mary in eager pursuit, she flicked the reins and took off.

The screams of her lady's maid echoed behind her, so loud that it startled the crows from the trees.

"I despair of you, Anna," the Duke of Yarmouth said to his sister as he walked into her bedchamber. After their father's unfortunate passing earlier that year, he had inherited the title and everything that came with it.

Still flushed from her last blissful ride of freedom, Anna met her brother's sharp gaze with a smile. "Tell me something I do not know."

"I am turning gray because of you," he grumbled as he stood near the window, his fingers brushing against the curtain before looking back at her, where she sat on the bed.

A few white hairs had begun to sprout on his temples, despite his attempts to hide them by plucking them. Still, she did not see how she could be held responsible for such things.

"Settle down, Brother," she said. "Mary and I were on the fields, enjoying a picnic breakfast. There was nothing to be worried about."

He huffed and rolled his eyes. This was commonplace between the two of them, they could never agree.

"That is beside the point," he replied sternly. "You made them run around the fields and woodlands, searching for you. What if there was something important here at the manor that needed your attention?"

Anna pursed her lips, pressing her tongue against her cheek, and got off the bed. She stalked to the window and came to a halt before him. "Here I am, Brother. What does the Duke want with me?"

"The Season is beginning…"

"No! If you do not have to endure it, why should I?" Anna shot back, pounding her fist against his chest.

Benjamin looked from her face to her fist before wrapping his hand around hers. "I wish you had a choice in this. But you do not, Anna. Father would want you to find someone and be happy. Please, I cannot afford for you to miss it."

"Cannot afford? What a curious turn of phrase," she muttered bitterly. "Last year, I trusted your judgment, and look where it got me. A failed courtship, rumors, and shame. Do not make me do it again."

Benjamin shook his head and pulled her into his arms. He held her there, rubbing her back, humming the tune their mother used to sing whenever it was time for them to sleep. Anna hit his chest twice, struggling against his hold, but he refused to release her until all the fight had fled from her body.

"I am sorry for that awful business with the Viscount. I trusted him and thought he would be good for you. But he turned around and bit the hand that fed him. Forgive me, Sister. But, please, for the sake of the manor and our reputation, go. One ball. You do not need to dance with anyone you do not want to. Just go."

Anna gripped her brother's lapels. "Please… do not throw me to those vultures."

"We both must do our duties, Anna," he said, more softly.

"One ball?"

"One, for now," he confirmed. "Show them that you will not retreat. Show them that your head is held high, and you cannot be brought low, for both our sakes."

Clenching her jaw, Anna gave a resigned nod. "I will… do as you ask."

"I am grateful for that." Benjamin released her, at last, as if the relief of getting what he wanted had allowed him to loosen his grip.

He left without another word. What else needed to be said, now that he had his way?

Alone, Anna grabbed a cushion from the window seat and hurled it across the bedchamber… where it narrowly avoided hitting Margaret in the face.

"Lady Anna! What is the matter?" Margaret picked up the fallen cushion.

"Oh, it is nothing," Anna said dryly. "Just that I have received my sentence."

Margaret arched an eyebrow. "Your sentence?"

"I am to be paraded before Society like a fool, to be ridiculed and jeered at. My brother has commanded it. Why, I hope there are no ripe tomatoes at the first ball of the Season, for they are sure to be thrown at me."

Margaret's expression relaxed. "Your brother only wants what is best for you, My Lady."

"After last year, you think a ball is what is best for me?"

Margaret had been in the family since Anna was a child. She had cared for Anna like she was her kin, and Anna had grown to cherish Margaret's advice. Even though she spent most of her days running away from the woman.

"Oh, My Lady." Margaret sighed. "Yes, last Season should have been exactly that, your last, and the beginning of something wonderful. But it was not. Still, that does not mean it is the end of you. Who knows? Maybe this one will be so much better."

Anna huffed out a breath. Margaret was right, even if she did not want to admit it. Benjamin had always wanted what was best for her, despite their squabbles. Now that all they had left was each other, his peace rested on her being well taken care of. Not to mention the guilt he must have felt, considering he had introduced to her someone who had disgraced her.

This was not the time to be fighting with him. It was only the Season. And why stop at one ball, once she had gotten the first out of the way? They would all be the same. Surely, she could manage six months of dancing and parading herself in front of eligible bachelors, hoping they would pick her.

Her thoughts began to transform, unfurling the first petals of an idea. If she failed during the Season, maybe her brother would deem her ball-attending days over.

Then, I could spend as much time as I want tending to Starlight…

She smiled at Margaret and nodded her head. If she played the game correctly, maybe this would be the best Season yet. The last, but not in the way everyone expected. After all, why bother finding a suitor, when she could find her freedom instead?