“How many times must I tell you not to mumble? No man will want you if you cannot even carry on a conversation.” Her mother shook her head.
“I was just saying that I think it is high time I attended my first ball.” Vivian held out the invitation to her parents, and their eyes widened.
They looked at her as though she had sprouted wings and a second head.
“You want to go to this?” Her father frowned. “To use this as your debut?”
Vivian shrugged, doing her best to sound more confident than she felt.
Someone needs to take charge, and clearly it will not be them.
“You said it yourself; we need swift and bold action. What better way to introduce myself to society than at an event everyone is sure to be talking about for the rest of the Season?”
“She does have rather a large family.” Vivian saw her mother’s eyes light up. “And I have heard that she loves nothing more than throwing together eligible young people with one another.”
“Then we are in agreement.” Vivian straightened. “It is time that I entered society.”
Chapter Two
“Damn these bloody rumors and superstitious fools.” Thomas Heathcliff, Marquess of Elington, growled as he flung open the door of his study.
The sound of a merrily roaring fire greeted him, as did the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Thomas was entirely unsurprised to find himself looking into the smiling, but tired-looking face of his cousin, Frederick Felton, Duke of Caverton.
Thomas arched an eyebrow at Frederick. His cousin’s dark hair was a mess, and he self-consciously checked his own black hair. They shared the same blue eyes, though where Frederick’s were full of gentle laughter, Thomas’s were cold and piercing.
His cousin looked up at him from the armchair, his usual boyish grin stretching across his face. It tugged an answering smile from Thomas, despite his irritation.
“You certainly took your time,” Frederick teased.
“I was delayed. Besides, you seem to have made yourself at home.” Thomas gestured to the refreshments spread on the table in front of his cousin. “I trust you have saved something for me.”
“Of course, I am a gentleman after all.” Frederick gestured to the second teacup and the collection of cakes and biscuits. “I even saved you a few custard creams.”
“How kind.” Thomas rolled his eyes and shook his head, even as his lips quirked into a half smile. “I shall forgive you this time, Felty—I know that you need your strength to manage my nieces.”
Thomas thought of his two cousins as his brothers, and when they had both had children, it had felt only natural to refer to them as his nieces and nephews.
“I do indeed,” Frederick agreed. “Which reminds me, are you planning on visiting? I know the girls would love to see their uncle.”
“I will make a point of visiting when I am next in the country, though I fear it will be some time before I leave London.” Thomas kicked his feet onto the footstool and stretched languidly, rubbing at a kink in his neck.
Frederick canted his head toward him, his voice teasing. “Struggling to tear yourself from all the delights the city has to tempt a bachelor like you with?”
Thomas arched an eyebrow at him and let out a sigh. “If only my pursuits were so trivial. No, I find myself tied here for reasons far less enjoyable, but more practical. I have business that needs tending to.”
“You do know what they say about all work and no play, do you not, Elington?” Frederick chuckled. “You have gotten rather serious lately.”
Thomas shrugged. “It is hard not to become serious when you are the last bachelor remaining in our band of three brothers. I need to strengthen my finances and think about the future.”
“Which reminds me, Grandmama asked that I give you this.” His cousin handed him a thick piece of card. “She expects you to be at the ball this Friday.”
“Of course she does.” Thomas ran a hand through his hair as he pictured his grandmother’s kind but determined face, and the latest woman she wished for him to meet.
How many times must I escape her net?
“I have no plans to let her play matchmaker. Besides, I have too much to do and not enough time to do it. Not that my efforts seem to be going very well right now.”
His eyes darkened, and he clenched his jaw as he thought of the frustrating meeting that morning.
