Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

London, 1814

For all of Father's claims about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, he had no qualms about parading his only daughter around as though I were a prize mare at the county fair, regardless of my thoughts on my own life, liberty or happiness.

Since my arrival in London, after a harrowing trip across the Atlantic no less, I had been primped, prodded, and polished by the determined Mrs. White, whom Father had hired to make me into a suitable bride for an English gentleman. I shall certainly take Best In Show, whatever "the show" might be.

In London, I was quite alone—a fact made evident to me during each foray into public. My accent was the object of curiosity. Inevitably, the locals subjected me to quizzical looks, some stares, plus an occasional unfriendly query of "Are you an American?"

Damn right. I was no happier about being in their country than they were at having me there.

But, I was a young lady. Miss Sarah Hancock, whose father had decided to sell her off. No, not for money. My father hardly lacked financially. What he hoped to gain by bartering me was prestige. His greatest wish was to call me Lady Something.

My greatest wish was to simply not feel so alone.

A glimmer of hope flickered in my heart as I had been invited to visit the home of Lord and Lady Winchester. Lord Winchester was an American who inherited a title and came to London. My father, being as American as I was, had a letter of introduction to Lord Winchester when we arrived and made the man's acquaintance shortly after we set up our household in London.

I had no delusions that Lady Winchester, a proper English countess several years my senior, would become a close confidante. However, after calling upon Lord Winchester, Father reported that a young lady of about my age resided with Lord and Lady Winchester. He did not have her name, so like a man to ignore that detail, but he did report that she was Lady Winchester's goddaughter who was, like myself, engaging in the social season in search of a husband.

I got myself properly attired for a morning call, descended the staircase of our rented home and went to Father's study to inform him that I was ready for our visit to the Winchesters.

Not finding him in his study, I moved through the rooms on the first floor, my concern growing as my efforts to locate him yielded no results.

Perhaps I had not understood the time and date of the invitation. A bit of disappointment tweaked at me because I had built up the opportunity to meet a young lady of my own age into a grand event. Perhaps my new friend, for of course we would become fast friends, would be able to decipher some of the intricacies of the social hierarchy of London which confused me to no end. A baronet? What on earth was a baronet? Was that better than being a duke?

And what made one title superior to another anyway?

Did no one care about character or ambition or good humor?

Apparently not.

Speaking of lack of good humor, when I entered the breakfast room I found the dreadful and dreaded Mrs. White.

"Well, it is about time you showed your face. Come along, we must not keep Lady Winchester waiting." She stood and swept past me without so much as a ‘good morning' or ‘fix your hair.'

She paused and ran her gaze over me with minute scrutiny. I fought the urge to fidget and determined that I would not allow her to disrupt my good mood.

"You look well enough for a morning call," was all she said before she continued.

"I was under the impression," I said when I caught up with her, "that my father would be escorting me to the home of Lord and Lady Winchester. Not the hired help."

Mrs. White's brows rose and her nostrils flared. I bit back a grin, knowing I had struck a nerve with the old biddy.

She took a deep breath and ignored my dig at her. "Your father has better things to do than to sit around gossiping with Lady Winchester's goddaughter. Were she associated with any other family, I would not encourage this acquaintanceship, but being the goddaughter of Lady Katherine Winchester gives Miss Primrose a much higher status than she would deserve otherwise."

Mrs. White checked her hat in the hallway mirror, then went to the front door. "Come along, Sarah. It is a short walk and the exercise will do you good."

Good grief. How could she manage to steal the joy out of a walk on a lovely spring morning? It was impressive, in a dreary sort of way.

We walked along in silence for a block, then turned a corner and saw a massive home. We stopped before ascending the steps. "This is the residence of Lord and Lady Winchester. As you might guess from the grand home, they are a couple of high standing and wealth. However, Miss Primrose is not a blood relative and is only there on the good grace of Lady Katherine. I have heard rumors about Miss Primrose and some of her behavior, particularly as it relates to a young woman who had been living next door." She gestured to a house further down the block. Also grand, but not nearly so much as the home we were about to enter. "Slattery Hall is the home of the Waltham family. It is currently under the care of Lady Pearl Kucher. She had been given a great deal of trouble by her niece who refused to cooperate with the expectations of her very concerned aunt." Mrs. White sniffed again to show her disdain for anyone who did not follow the expectations of others.

"Not only did she not marry Lord Banyon, despite his offer of marriage, she ran off with her guardian." The final statement was imparted to me in a whisper. "A man without a title and nearly twice her age."

She drew in her breath and shuddered. "Scandalous. Lady Kucher has barely recovered her own reputation from the horrid actions of her niece."

Mrs. White put her foot on the first step, then turned to me. "See that you do not behave as regretfully as Lady Kucher's niece. And be careful of becoming too chummy with Miss Primrose. She is not the type of young lady with whom you ought to be associated. But, the connection to the Winchesters is quite important, particularly to your father and his business interests. Keep that in mind during our visit today."

Taken aback, I simply nodded.

What must Mrs. White think of me? I had given her no reason to believe I would behave in such a wild manner, though I must admit that I was deeply curious about this young lady and I hoped that Miss Primrose would share the story with me. Of course, I did not say as much to Mrs. White. I had no interest in talking to her any more than necessary.

I was eager to make the acquaintance of Miss Primrose. If Mrs. White did not like her, that was enough endorsement for me.