Chapter 1
The sun shined brightly in the sky and the wind blew lightly across Lady Charlotte Rossington’s face. The garden at her father’s, the Marquess of Seabrook’s, London house had started to bloom. They were mere buds, but they showed promise of becoming true beauties when they reached their peak. She reached down and brushed her fingers over the tiny flowers and smiled.
“Are you certain this plan of yours is wise?” Her closest friend, Lady Pearyn Treedale, asked. Her dark locks were pinned back into an intricate chignon, but a few tendrils had escaped in the breeze. Her blue eyes were the same shade as the sky. She was a true beauty, and one day would be a duchess, if her fiancé ever deigned to return to England. Pear didn’t seem to mind his absence, at least she proclaimed such often enough to Charlotte... She’d enjoyed being out in society without having to bother with finding a suitor. In some ways, Charlotte envied her. She very much did not want to partake in any society events.
“It’s the only way I can make my mother understand my wishes. Her only desire is to see me married and having babies.” Charlotte wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I have more wants and desires than can be found in wedding vows and years of marriage. She may have found happiness with my father, but I would prefer to have much more than love to sustain my future.” Maybe one day she wouldn’t mind finding a man to give her heart to, but not for a long while. Charlotte wanted time to be alone, explorewhoshe was deep inside, and write. She had so many ideas, and she wanted to have time to put the stories inside her head down. Sharing them with the world was her greatest dream. She would not be able to do any of that if her mother forced her to participate in the Season.
Pear took a deep breath. “I understand, I do, but I cannot help wishing there was a better way.” She twisted her mouth into a frown. It was not a pretty look on such a lovely face. “The scandal…”
“Is the reason I’m doing it at all,” she reminded her friend. “My mother won’t have any choice. She’ll have to let me return to Seabrook. There, I can weather the scandal, and I’ll be left in peace to write my first novel. It will work, I know it will.” Her mother, Rosanna, the Marchioness of Seabrook, would be livid.
“I still do not like it. With you at Seabrook, I’ll be left alone in London all Season. I’ll miss you.” Pear sighed. “And with you in seclusion, your mother will not have a house party as she usually does. The one at Weston Manor will also be off limits for you. This seems extreme.” She placed one hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side. “Is writing your book worth being without any social interactions for months?”
She nodded her head vigorously. “Yes, yes, and yes,” Charlotte said. The very thought of being alone to write…it filled her heart with happiness. “It won’t be so terrible. We can still write each other, and I’ll have my family. Well, Mother and Father. I’m not certain what Rhys will decide to do. He might spend time in London with his wife.”
Before her brother Rhys, the Earl of Carrick, had married Lady Hyacinth, Charlotte had been thrilled at the idea of attending balls, soirées, musicals—anything that involved society. Her young heart had seen it as an opportunity, and in some ways, it had been. The first year had been wondrous. Until she thought she’d fallen in love and the rogue broke her heart. Since then, she’d given up on finding someone. It hurt too much when the gentleman of her dreams had crushed her fragile heart. She’d much rather take control of her life, and this scandal was the first step.
Pear tapped her fingers on the bench she sat on as Charlotte paced the garden path near it. “I suppose you wish for me to accompany you on this endeavor of yours.”
“I would like it if you would,” she stopped pacing, met Pear’s gaze, and said. “It gives my statement credence.” Thetonwould notice Charlotte either way, but with Pear, they would also gain the attention of any gentleman that happened to be nearby. Considering her affianced state, it drew them all to her side. They thought they might coax her in breaking her engagement. What they didn’t understand was that she liked being engaged; however, Pear had no desire to actually be married. She didn’t want love any more than Charlotte did.
“Very well,” she agreed. “I’ll be glad to assist you in ruining yourself.” She sighed heavily. “It is all quite dramatic. I hope the end result is what you hope for. I would hate for this elaborate scheme to be for naught.”
“So you have mentioned several times.” Charlotte grinned. “You truly are the greatest friend a lady could have.” Then she clapped her hands with excitement. “I cannot wait.”
“I can,” Pear said dryly. “Once this is done, I’ll not likely see you until Christmastide.”
“Don’t be sour,” Charlotte chastised her. “It is unbecoming.”
“Now yousoundlike your mother,” Pear said distastefully. “I don’t think you’re as unalike as you claim.”
They might have some similarities, but there were not many. “We don’t even look much alike. My coloring is more like my father’s.” Her hair had the same golden hue as her father’s, but her eyes were a blue shade somewhere in-between her mother’s and father’s. Even her brother favored their father in looks. “Mother has complained about that often enough. She once said that if she hadn’t given birth to us she wouldn’t have believed us to be her children. It was very crass of her to say aloud.” She giggled. “Though to be fair, we were being minxes at the time.”
“I do not doubt that,” Pear told her. “You can be quite the hellion from time to time.” She narrowed her gaze. “After this, they’ll consider you more of a vixen. Are you prepared for all the negative gossip?”
She had thought long and hard about it. Charlotte wouldn’t enjoy what some in society would openly say about her. Some of it might even…sting. “It won’t be anything resembling enjoyment, but I do believe I can withstand even the harshest of criticisms.” Most of which would come from her own mother’s sharp tongue. “Once I’m back at Seabrook, I won’t be privy to it any longer. So I can pretend they aren’t saying anything at all. I’ll be peacefully writing and forgetting the scandal. I will be all right.” She smiled at Pear. “I do appreciate your concern for my welfare.”
“Since you are resigned,” Pear began, “then we should prepare for this scandal of yours. I’ll have the stables prepare our horses. Meet me there after you’ve made your wardrobe adjustments.”
“Perfect,” Charlotte said. “I’ll meet you in the stable in twenty minutes. It should not take me long. We need to be away from the house and in Hyde Park before my parents return from their luncheon with the Duke and Duchess of Weston.”
“Shoo,” Pear replied and waved her hands at her. “There isn’t a moment to lose.”
Charlotte sprinted to the house and ran up to her bedchamber. Once there, she stripped off her gown, chemise, and shift. Then she proceeded to change into a pair of her brother’s old breeches, linen shirt, waistcoat, and jacket. She had been lucky enough to locate an old pair of his riding boots as well. Charlotte let her hair down from the chignon and plaited it, then twisted it in a knot at her nape. Once her hair was secured, she slid a gentleman’s hat on top her head. If not for her bosom and curves, she might have been mistaken for a man at first glance. Satisfied with her handiwork, she rushed down the stairs, careful to ensure no one noticed her, then went out to the stable.
Pear was already seated on her horse, and a groomsman held the reins to Charlotte’s mare. She didn’t ask him for assistance mounting. She had instructed Pear to request a regular saddle for her, and was glad to see the groom had followed directions. Charlotte strode to the block and mounted the horse herself. Breeches were so freeing! She would have to figure out ways to wear them more often. She could ride like a man and not worry over a sidesaddle. She turned to Pear and asked, “Are you ready?”
“Are we taking a chaperone?”
“That would defeat the purpose, don’t you think?” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Are you worried about your reputation?” Charlotte didn’t want to cause her friend any harm.
“I will be all right either way,” Pear told her. “I don’t have to worry about securing a good match. I’m flush with funds, and I even have a fiancé if he decides traveling the continent is boring and returns to England. I was uncertain how much of a scandal you wished to cause, is all.”
“Well, if you don’t mind…”
“I do not,” Pear reassured Charlotte, then pressed a knee into the side of her horse and guided the mare into a walk. Charlotte did the same, and then they started on their path to Hyde Park.
They did not converse for most of the trek to the park. Charlotte was too nervous to find words. So far, everything had gone as planned. The rest had to follow suit. Otherwise, the entire scheme would have been for nothing. She pressed her lips into a line as she anxiously rode beside Pear. Finally, they reached the park and steered the horses to the correct path. Hyde Park was the place to be seen, and a large portion of thetonshowed up to walk or ride in the late afternoon. There were perhaps not as many in the park as usual, but that was in large because it was not yet the full Season. Early in spring was still early, as the gentry would not start to fully return to town until May. Still, there was enough of the upper crust in Hyde Park for Charlotte’s purpose.
