Page 2

James lifted his gaze.

"You must produce an heir."

The words struck him with the force of a blow.

James rose and walked to the window, staring out at the bleak estate that might soon no longer belong to him. Somewhere beyond the glass lay every childhood memory he possessed, every field he had ridden across, every ancient tree he had climbed, every place he had once believed would remain his forever. His reflection stared back at him, tall and broad-shouldered, his blue eyes troubled beneath the fall of dark hair.

An heir. James rested one hand against the cold window.

Chapter One

"I'm convinced no man shall ever persuade me to marry with how dreadfully dull they all are," Olivia said.

Across the table, her twin sister Louiza delicately spread butter upon a piece of toast, her expression thoughtful as she considered the subject that had occupied nearly every breakfast for the past several weeks.

"I do not think Lord Gilson is entirely dreadful," she said, though the hesitation in her voice suggested that even she did not believe herself.

Olivia raised one dark brow. "He spent twenty minutes yesterday explaining the pedigree of his horse."

Louiza smiled. "It was a very fine horse."

"It may have been a duke among horses," Olivia replied, reaching for the raspberry preserve, "but I am not certain I wish to marry it."

Louiza laughed, nearly dropping her knife, and Olivia could not help smiling with her. There was something comforting about that sound. Their entire lives had been spent learning one another's strengths and weaknesses. Olivia gave Louiza courage when she needed it, and Louiza reminded Olivia that not every problem required a battle.

The breakfast room at Shirley House was warm with the quiet clink of china and silver, though Olivia thought there was something deeply suspicious about a meal that required so many dishes before eight o'clock in the morning. A silver coffee pot stood beside a matching one with tea. There were plates of buttered toast, warm rolls, muffins, preserves, honey, and soft-boiled eggs nestled in little silver cups, along with cold ham.

Olivia had selected tea, toast with raspberry preserve and precisely one serving of kedgeree, because she believed a woman ought to appear restrained at breakfast, particularly when her mother might be watching.

However, her mother was not there to keep an eye on her, which was unusual enough to make Olivia suspicious.

They had just begun discussing whether a gentleman could be forgiven for being dull if he possessed a handsome face when the dining-room doors opened.

Their parents entered. Olivia immediately knew something was wrong.

Lord Shirley, now fifty-seven, wore the mildly uncomfortable expression of a man who would have preferred to remain in bed. Lady Shirley, at fifty-four, looked considerably more purposeful, which Olivia thought was never a promising sign. Her mother's gaze travelled across the table and settled upon Louiza with such cold determination that Olivia's appetite vanished.

She put down her knife. "Why have you both been absent from breakfast?"

Lady Shirley did not answer the question. Instead, she looked directly at Olivia and said, "Say goodbye to your sister."

Olivia stared at her. Louiza stared at her. For several seconds, neither twin moved.

"Goodbye?" Olivia repeated slowly.

"You heard me," Lady Shirley replied.

Olivia's stomach tightened. She looked at Louiza, whose fingers had gone still upon the table. There was fear in her sister's eyes now, and Olivia immediately felt that familiar instinct rise within her, the one that had been with her since childhood, the fierce certainty that if Louiza was frightened, Olivia must do something about it.

"Why?" Olivia demanded, turning back toward her mother. "Where is she going?"

"Do not make a fuss," Lady Shirley said sharply. "I have given an order, and it must be obeyed."

"If Louiza is going somewhere, I shall go with her."

Lady Shirley ignored this entirely. She turned toward Louiza and said, "Your things have been ordered packed. You are leaving within the hour, so you may say your goodbyes now."

Louiza's face drained of color. She rose halfway from her chair before sinking back down. "But Mama, so sudden?" she asked, her voice trembling. "You are frightening me. Where am I going?"