Chapter One
What was theworld coming to? To be precise, what was going on in the world of her mother, the Marchioness of Blackpool? The woman demanded perfection out of her child. To be honest, her mother regarded her as anything but perfect, and after the disastrous first season she’d had, it didn’t surprise Harriet at all that the marchioness would resort to pulling in other family members to help her prepare her daughter for the upcoming season. After all, her mother had been embarrassed and mortified by Harriet’s dismal performance last season. Not one suitor or offer of marriage resulted from all her mother’s hard work. It had been an utter failure.
Now here she sat with her mother in the drawing room of Jameson House waiting for Lady Daphne, her cousin Arthur’s wife, to join them. Her mother was certain a fresh pair of eyes could help turn Harriet into a swan. With Lady Daphne and her cousin Roxanne’s help, this would happen.
The door opened and Lady Daphne appeared and walked across the room to where they were sitting. “Lady Margaret, it’s wonderful to see you again.” She glanced at Harriet, who was standing next to her mother, staring down at the rug. She had felt her mother nudge her with her elbow. If she had seen it, Lady Daphne acted as though she hadn’t. “Lady Harriet?”
Harriet nodded her head and raised her gray eyes to meet Daphne’s and took a seat in an ivory-colored wingback chair.
“I ordered tea. It ought to be here momentarily,” Daphne said. “So, Harriet, your mother says your first season didn’t go well?”
“It was a huge disappointment,” Lady Margaret trilled.
“No, it didn’t,” Harriet replied softly.
“That’s part of the problem. She is extremely shy. Won’t say a word hardly.”
That’s because you won’t let anyone get a word in, Harriet thought as she tried to focus on Daphne.
The duchess saved her from her mother. “That’s fixable. Some young women take more than one season. What else?”
Harriet forced herself to answer before her mother did. “No one signed my dance card. Ever. One or two did ask me to dance at the beginning. Sons of my father’s friends. I had no callers, no suitors, no flowers or chocolates, nothing. Men avoided me like the plague.”
“What about other girls? Did you make friends with any of them?” Daphne asked.
“Heavens no!” the marchioness replied. “Nor was she permitted to keep company with the wallflowers.”
“How did you spend your evenings if I may ask?”
“She stayed with me of course.”
Harriet could feel her cheeks heat up. In a matter of one or two minutes her mother had managed to mortify her in front of their hostess. Thankfully, she didn’t need to say anything. Two footmen brought in a tray with a tea service, sandwiches, cakes, and other tempting treats, diverting the focus of the conversation from her to the tea cart.
Lady Daphne began to prepare to serve tea to her guests. Rather than pour the tea, she allowed her guests to prepare their own cups, leaving them a chance to choose their choice of sandwiches or sweets and cakes.
Holding her breath, Harriet stood in front of the cart and prepared her mother’s tea with milk and sugar. She passed the tea to her mother and listened to her instruct her on what sandwiches and cake she wanted. Harriet prepared a plate and once again she handed it to her mother. The marchioness nodded and Harriet went to fix her own cup of tea. She picked up the milk pitcher, when her mother cleared her throat. A reminder telling her no. Harriet picked up her tea and sat back down.
“Lady Harriet, wouldn’t you like a piece of cake or a sandwich? The marmalade cake is delicious,” Daphne said stirring her own tea.
“Harriet must decline. Food is not her friend. If she eats one slice of cake, she’ll eat five more. Self-control is one of her weaknesses,” the marchioness replied.
Once again, her mother was exaggerating, but Harriet decided she had no choice but to say something. “Mother thinks I am overweight and should avoid temptations like sweets.”
“Do you think you are? Overweight?” Lady Daphne asked.
“Not at all,” Harriet replied.
“That’s because of the strict dietary restrictions I have her on,” Lady Margaret said sniffing. “Isn’t that correct, Harriet?”
“You know best, Mother.”
That infuriated her mother and Harriet noted she was trying to restrain herself from reprimanding her daughter. Instead, the marchioness changed the subject to ignore her insolent daughter.
Finally, Lady Daphne pulled their conversation back to what Lady Margaret expected of her. “I thought I made that clear. You are to ready her properly for the upcoming season. I don’t care what needs to be done, just have her ready.”
Harriet pretended she didn’t hear how she just spoke to the duchess. That showed utter disrespect from her mother. Fortunately, Lady Daphne appeared to ignore the slight.
The bit of silence that was happening right now was interrupted by the sound of a bird squawking somewhere in the room. Daphne rose from her chair.
