CHAPTER 1
“The unattainable spinster has arrived!”
“She’s here! Don’t stare at her, Katharine!”
“Do you think she’ll dance with anyone? Or will she give them all the cold shoulder?”
Edwina ignored the whispers as she always did. Whispers followed her everywhere she went, but she had long since learned not to let them affect her. Everyone had their own opinions about her. She was practically famous among the ladies and gentlemen of the ton these days. But that didn’t mean she had to give any attention to those opinions.
Besides, it couldn’t come as any surprise to anyone that she was here today. This was her sister’s charity event, after all. Lavinia and her husband, Seth—the Duke and Duchess of Loxburgh—always hosted a charity art auction and ball that served as theunofficial first event of the season, and Edwina never failed to attend.
She crossed the foyer and greeted Lavinia and Seth. “Good evening,” she greeted. “Everything is as beautiful as it always is. You must both be so pleased and proud.”
“We look forward to this every year,” Seth said with a smile. “It’s so good to see you, as always, Edwina.”
“It’s wonderful to see you too,” Edwina replied, grinning back. She liked Seth. He was always kind to her, and she knew he treated Lavinia well. It was impossible not to like him.
But Lavinia wasn’t smiling. “I’d like to speak to you, Edwina,” she said.
“Of course,” Edwina agreed with a frown. “Is everything all right?”
“Lavinia, perhaps now isn’t the time,” Seth suggested. “Our guests are arriving.”
“You know this is important to me. I want to speak to my sister alone,” Lavinia argued. “You can greet our guests, Seth. I won’t be gone for very long.”
She took Edwina’s arm and led her away, down a hallway, and into the dining room, where the artwork sat awaiting the startof the auction. The pieces would be brought out one by one and displayed for the bidders.
Edwina looked around. “This is quite a collection,” she observed. “Is this what you wanted to speak to me about, Lavinia?”
“No,” Lavinia replied. “I want to talk to you about the fact that your debut was five years ago, and you have yet to even think seriously about courtship or marriage.”
Edwina groaned. “I hear more than enough of this from our brother,” she complained. “Matthew is forever criticizing me for my choices. Don’t tell me you’re going to do the same.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Lavinia admitted. “You know what they’re calling you, don’t you?”
“Oh, I know. There are those who say it to my face. ‘The unattainable spinster.’” Edwina laughed. “It’s not a very creative nickname, is it?”
“Edwina, it’s no laughing matter. You’re well on your way to being a true spinster. You’re still young and beautiful now, but looks don’t last forever, and you’re already three years past your twentieth birthday.”
“You make it sound as if I had one foot in the grave, Lavinia.”
“No, only that you may be losing your chance to marry.”
“But you already know I don’t wish to marry,” Edwina pointed out. “I have made that more than clear, haven’t I? Why do you think I’ve rejected every suitor who has come my way?”
“I think you do it to spite Father, to tell you the truth.”
“Well, all right, that’s a part of it,” Edwina admitted. “I don’t like to think of Father getting his way when it comes to me. But it isn’t only that, Lavinia. I’ve never met a man whose intentions I believed I could trust! Father would see me married to the most eligible gentleman available in any given season without considering things such as whether I actuallylikedhim or not.” She sighed. “Of course, things have been better in recent years. Father has turned his attention away from me a bit.”
“Father has given up on you,” Lavinia declared.
“I don’t think it’s that, necessarily. I think it’s his age beginning to show,” Edwina replied. “He simply doesn’t have the energy to worry about my prospects any longer. But you don’t need to be concerned that they’ll go unremarked upon because he has turned the task over to Matthew.”
“Oh, I’m aware of Matthew’s hand in your matchmaking affairs,” Lavinia said. “Our brother does discuss these matters with me. He’s worried about you as well, you know.”
“Lavinia, if anyone would understand, I would think it would be you,” Edwina pointed out. “I remember how difficult your own season was! You didn’t like the suitors Father chose for you either.”
“No, I didn’t, but that wasn’t because I wanted to be a spinster,” Lavinia attested. “Father wanted me to marry for status, and I wanted to marry for love. And it worked out for me in the end. I couldn’t possibly be any happier than I am right now with Seth. I want that for you. I want you to find someone who makes you just as happy as my husband makes me.”
