Chapter 1
1816 England
LADY HOPE WAS THE most beautiful woman in England. It only added to her beauty that she didn’t care about such achievements. If one could even call it such, and she didn’t. Call beauty an achievement, that is. To be born a certain way was not a particularly noble success.
“Mother, remind me why we’re having this Christmas house party when none of my brothers will be here?”
“Despite the fact that they’ve all decided to take extended honeymoons, I don’t need all seven sons as a reason to celebrate Christmas when I have one incredible daughter.” Her mother gently pinched her cheek. “You are the most beautiful, most precious person to me.”
“Now?”
“Always.” Her mother winked. Mavis, the dowager Duchess of Whitewood, was like an old cake hoop. Solid. Sturdy. Determined. Unyielding and utterly unwilling to produce anything other than the shape of what she desired. Yet full of soft, delicious, cake. Just as the circle symbolized, she too was the embodiment of the cycle of life. She had found and appreciated a love match with her husband, and she unrelentingly wanted the same for her children.
Bright-eyed, she encouraged Hope, “Look at the fruit of our labor.”
Hope scanned the table before her. Menu notes. Was that three courses or seven? Soups, fish, beef, pies, and puddings. Scribbles on flowers and decor. Poinsettias. Holly. Apples. Dark emerald green damask fabrics, specially ordered for Christmas. Seating charts. And then of course, there were additional comments about each guest sprawled out over several sheets. Among the listed guests, a few caught her eye: Michael, The Duke of Tinsder, Lady Astrid and her brother Isaac, The Duke of Regium. It was mostly close family friends.
“I didn’t do much of the planning. It was all you this time.”
Her mother chuckled. “Speaking of which.” She waved her hand over the papers. “Who shall we matchmake this time?” The twinkle in her mother’s eyes was contagious.
“Don’t you dare matchmake for me, Mama. You know I’ll see right through it.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Oh, she would dare. She was the one who would dare the quietest, the most dangerously. Hope knew it. Counted on it in fact. Had her blue eyes wide open on the lookout, just in case such a dare was executed.
“Never mind you, my dear. You don’t have any trouble attracting men. Who would make a good match for Lady Astrid?”
Not one to speak ill of anyone, Hope opted to wrinkle her nose.
“All right. Let’s move on to a different guest.” Mavis fluttered her fingers through the air in thought. “What about her brother, Isaac?”
Hope’s finger tapped lightly on her chin, as if to invite thought to the foreground. “Isaac…the duke….he’s such a…” There were many ways to describe the notorious rake. He was a libertine of the highest order. Ever a pleasure-seeker. A seducer that one should stay away from. At best he was a flirt who always made Hope chuckle. At worst he was a—
“Sybarite?”
“Mother!”
“You can’t pretend to be shocked, Hope. The man is an infamous rake.”
“Not all rumors are true, Mother.”
“All the censure in the world won’t erase all the blondes I’ve seen hanging off that man’s arm over the years. I think it’s only getting worse, mind you. The man either has a type or he’s avoiding the one he wants.”
If Hope had been paying close attention, she would have heard her mother murmur her next phrase, “I’m betting on the latter.”
But she didn’t hear, for she had a more pressing concern on her mind. “If he’s such a rake, why did you invite him?”
“Oh,” —Mavis slashed her hand through the air— “he’s a family friend, my dear. He would never do anything to you or this family. He’s harmless. He knows us. He would do nothing here. Not under my roof.”
Hope started to recount all the possiblenothingsthat her brothers had done under her mother’s roof, but was cut short.
“Never mind that, What about Lady Cheyenne?”
A gasp escaped Hope’s lips. “She’s finally leaving her home?”
“I’m as surprised as you are, but she accepted the invitation. We shall see if she shows up.”
“My, my, my…You are quite the hostess if you can lure her out.” Hope couldn’t hide how impressed she was by her mother.
