CHAPTER 1
"It's nearly time for the London season, oh it's going to be wonderful."
"I care little about it, my lady. Except that the festivities give me a chance to see you in a fancy dress."
"Oh, stop."
"Do you wish me to in earnest?"
Daphne Carter sat patiently on the park bench, fingernails biting into the base of her palm as she tried to keep herself steady. She tried her best to tune out the conversation that was taking place beside her, for she had no interest in it.
And neither did the couple have any interest in including her.
Her foot kept tapping against the cobblestone floor, a natural reaction to being ignored for the better part of the hour.
Daphne considered herself to be a patient person, but even her patience was running thin. Next to her, her older sister Joyce was completely engrossed in conversation with Edward Reeves, the Viscount of Riverton. They had gotten married some three months ago and were still very much so in thehoneymoonphase of their relationship.
The two spoke in hushed tones, laughing at inside jokes that Daphne wasn't privy to. Every once in a while, Joyce would glance at her sister with an apologetic smile, but it was fleeting, gone before Daphne could respond.
It's as though they do not even notice I am here.
Daphne shifted in her seat, deciding that she had enough. She cleared her throat loudly, the sound cutting through the chatter between Joyce and Edward. They finally looked in her direction, their conversation halting mid-sentence.
Joyce raised an eyebrow, a hint of annoyance flickering in her eyes. "Daphne, is something wrong?"
Daphne forced a smile, though the frustration behind it was clear. "Oh, nothing really," she said, her tone deceptively light. "I was just noticing how the weather has gotten quite lovely, don't you think?"
Joyce turned back to look at her husband, "Oh, she is right. It's gotten much windier," she smiled in a sickeningly sweet way that made Daphne avert her gaze, feeling as though she was intruding in a supremely private moment. "Don't you think, my dear?"
Edward, ever the gentleman, glanced around. "Indeed, it is. Quite the astute observer you are, my dear," he replied with a polite nod.
Daphne felt her stomach flip at the words, like she'd just bitten into something sour. She took a deep breath, determined not to gag, and managed a tight smile instead.
"Lovely day for walk by the lake, wouldn't you agree?" she suggested.
Joyce gave a small, dismissive smile, though her attention was already drifting back to Edward. "Yes, it is, but Edward was just telling me the most fascinating thing about?—"
Daphne tuned out the rest of her sister's sentence, realizing her attempt to join the conversation had been swiftly dismissed.
"Excuse me," she muttered, pushing herself up from the bench. "I think I'll take that walk by the lake after all."
Daphne was happy that her sister had found true love. She usually loved seeing her sisters smiling like this. But the ideaof awkwardly lingering by them did not seem appealing in the slightest. She felt as if she was intruding in their sweet moments.
And so, before Joyce or Edward could respond, Daphne turned on her heel and strode away. She could feel their curious stares on her back, but she didn't stop. Besides, they would forget about her in a moment anyway, given how engrossed they were in each other already.
As she strolled, a group of finely dressed ladies passed by. She tried not to pay much attention to the way that their gaze seemed to linger on her longer than it ought to, but once they had passed her by, she managed to catch a glimpse of their conversation.
"Look, she's off sulking again," one of them said with a laugh.
"She never knows how to fit in, does she?" another remarked, shaking her head.
Daphne quickened her pace, her heart pounding with a mix of anger and embarrassment. These sort of comments were not out of the norm.
Within theton, Daphne had developed quite the reputation for being...different.Having lost both her parents at the tender age of eleven, Daphne had been almost singularly brought up by her three sisters – Joyce, Annie and Felicity, the latter of which was the oldest and truly the closest thing that she had to a mother in this world.
While all three were now happily married, they had perhaps always held a soft-spot for their youngest sibling. Daphne suspected that it had something to do with the fact that out of all of them, she had the least amount of time with her parents. It was a tragedy if she thought about it deeply, but in a way, it had given her some benefits as well.
For one thing, her sisters spoiled her. They fussed over her so much that Daphne grew up with a confidence, or rather, an independence, that set her apart from the other ladies of her age. While they were busy perfecting their curtseys and engaging in polite, empty conversations, Daphne was off doing as she pleased.
