CHAPTER ONE
“Itrust that I do not have to remind you to be on the best of behaviors today, Jane.”
Henry Dowding, the Viscount of Stonehave Manor glanced down at his daughter with a raised brow and a disapproving look in his eyes.
Jane refrained from rolling her eyes. It would only rile her father and send him into a spiral, lecturing her and reminding her why he felt the need to chide her at the age of one-and-twenty
“I should not have to remind you of this but you have managed to grow wings and prove that you can defy me at will…”
Jane tuned him out. She bit back a sigh. She should have known it was impossible for him to not go launch into a tirade as he barraged her slightly veiled insults.
Her lips began to turn down in a frown when Sarah’s fingers gently brushed her fingers, offering her a soft smile, her eyes conveying how terribly sorry she felt to have Jane in this situation…once again.
“I’m all right. You do not have to feel sorry,” Jane whispered to her sister, returning her smile.
“What are you whispering about? How are you to learn when you find it difficult to pay attention, Jane?” the viscount asked, running a hand across his temple as though chastising her had given him a headache.
“I do apologize, Father. Of course, I am listening to you,” Jane pacified, one of the first times she has ever done so.
She refrained from smiling as her father cleared his throat to hide his shock. Somehow, that gave her more satisfaction than going head-to-head with him as usual.
“Well, I suppose it is good that you are in an amenable mood today,” he straightened his back, placing both hands on his cane.
Jane tensed as she watched him. He only ever did that when he was about to deliver news he knew would upset her.
“You will find that today, things will be… different,” he said, running a hand down his salt-and-pepper moustache.
“How are things to be different, Father?”
She swallowed quite loudly as she waited for his answer.
The viscount cleared his throat before answering her question.
“There is someone I would like you to be introduced to. He is to be your suitor,” he said matter-of-factly.
Jane’s eyes widened as she stared at her father.
“What?”
“Jane, please be more quiet,” her sister said, looking around. She followed her step and found eyes fixed on her as people nearby stared at them with eyes brimming with curiosity and the search for new gossip.
Jane’s jaw ticked wildly as she struggled to calm herself. Her hands played with the fabric of her skirts while she waited for everyone to go about their business.
She had been so excited to be at the garden party to dance and laugh with her sister, but now, even as she stared at the colorful decorations with ladies’ gowns that matched the beautiful flowers spreading their fragrance in the air, the last of her excitement dwindled.
“Why couldn’t we have discussed this before we left the house, Father?” she asked, holding back the anger that threatened to explode if she didn’t let it out soon.
This was the last place for an argument with her father. Heavens only knew the scandal they would create if that happened.
“And give you enough time to figure out how to mess this up?” he asked, his eyes showing a glint that proved he thought himself victorious.
“So, you would rather I be blindsided as opposed to having an opinion on whom I choose to marry?” she queried, amazed at his logic.
Her father’s eyes held no remorse as he stared her straight in the eyes.
“Perhaps if I trusted that it was a decision you would ever be ready to make, I would have allowed you make it. However, you have proved to be incapable of something as serious as this, so, I will make it for you. I have found the perfect suitor for you and I expect you to impress him.”
“Jane, Father, I do not think this is the place for such a conversation.”
