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Eliza Courtney wasn’t entirely certain what it said about a young lady of noble birth that her closest friend and ally was her maid. Millie sailed cheerily out of the room, leaving Eliza in her customary spot during the colder months, wrapped warmly in a shawl in her cosy chair by the fire in her bedchamber. Spring was on its way, but Northumberland was damp and chilly, and a long way from warmer weather.

She put her book down on a sigh. With her brother Charles and his wife, Mary, away in London with Hannah, she was stuck with only her mother for company who spent much of her time in her own bedchamber. It was dreadful.

She doubted she would ever forgive her mother for not allowing her to go to London too. She was old enough for a season and could see no reason at all to miss out. She had even petitioned Charles, but he hadn’t responded to her letters, remaining stubbornly silent, miles away in London.

The family dog, Monty, somehow sensing her mood, heaved himself up, plodded over to her, and rested his gentle face in her lap. She couldn’t help but smile as she fondled his silky ears. He wasn’t a thoroughbred like her late father’s hounds; he was a jumble of all kinds of dogs that culminated in a long-legged, curly haired, sweet-faced, silky-eared darling that she simply did not know what she would do without.

‘Dear Monty,’ she murmured, bending down to kiss his adorable grey head. ‘You wouldn’t run off to London and leave me in the lurch, would you? No, you wouldn’t.’ She giggled and moved her face to avoid a serious licking.

‘Perhaps Charles will write soon and tell me I may join them in London. What do you think?’

Not only was she the youngest in the family, her siblings were much older than her. Indeed, her eldest brother, Charles, was over forty. They were all perfectly lovely, but, with the exception of Hannah, they were married and had families and lives of their own. Hannah had married, but her husband had tragically died at sea. Now Hannah was searching for a new husband and, if she did marry, it meant that Eliza would be stuck in Northumberland with only her mother for company whilst Charles was in London. The thought filled her with a cold sense of dread. Not that she didn’t love her mother, she did, but since Papa had died, she had retreated from life. Nor did she begrudge Hannah seeking new companionship. She had met the dashing Captain Bettesworth on leave from the navy in her first season and fallen in love in a flurry of romance and excitement. They married, had one blissfully happy year, but then he was gone. Lost at sea, and Hannah’s heart had broken.

When Hannah could face the world again, and when the family had put off its blacks for Papa, she had decided that marriage was what she wanted, what she needed, and Charles had agreed that he and his wife, Mary, would take her to London again for the season. Eliza had asked to be included, and Charles seemed amenable to the suggestion, but then Mama had stepped in and put her foot down. Eliza had remained at home in Northumberland.

Having taken all things into consideration, Eliza had concluded that, to make anything of her life, marriage was the only option open to her, which meant she needed a husband. Eligible men were in short supply in the wilds of Northumberland, so going to London was the only option for a young lady. She just needed to persuade her mother and brother to let her.

She kissed Monty on the head. ‘Do you think Hannah will find someone to love in London?’ He whined and wriggled closer, so she pulled him onto her lap. It was a squeeze, as he was no longer a small dog. Her mother would be mortified, but she didn’t care. She needed a hug, and Monty was just the man to provide it.

Millie tapped on the door, then sailed back in. ‘I’ve got your laundry to put away, my lady.’

‘Thank you, Millie,’ she murmured into Monty’s fur.

‘Your mother will have apoplexy if she sees Monty doing that.’

Eliza buried her face in Monty’s fur and kissed him again. ‘I know.’

‘You’ll smell of dog, my lady.’

Eliza inhaled. ‘I don’t mind. He smells lovely.’

Millie laughed at that, so Eliza emerged to smile at her. ‘Any news from London?’

Millie’s look was sympathetic as she shook her head.

Eliza rested her head atop Monty’s. ‘I’m glad for Hannah, truly I am. I just cannot see why Mama would not let me go. I thought for sure Charles would have replied by now to say I could stay with him and Mary.’

Millie nodded and paused in the sorting of the laundry. ‘It’s so sad to think of Lady Hannah as a widow at only five and twenty. I’m sure she’d enjoy a London season a sight more if you were there to support her, my lady.’

Eliza shrugged. ‘I think so too. Even if I haven’t had my come out, I could help her, and who knows, I might meet a pleasant gentleman in the process who would like to marry me,’ she said brightly.

Millie put the garments down and rolled her eyes. ‘Well, if you were to have your come out this season, you might do more than meet a ‘pleasant gentleman’. You might find a dashing lord who falls madly in love with you!’ Millie shook out an underskirt with vigour. ‘Pleasant gentleman indeed. You need to aim higher.’

Eliza groaned, making Monty lick her face again. ‘Well, it’s all a moot point, isn’t it?’ Her parents and siblings seemed to forget she existed with distressing regularity. Since Papa died, her mother seemed to disregard her altogether. The youngest of seven children, she supposed it was easy to be overlooked. Her sister, Hannah, had her come out, her eldest sister, Elizabeth, had a come out. She had assumed that she would too, but with Papa passing, then Hannah’s husband George passing, there had been a lot of mourning. So now, at the tender age of eighteen, she was stuck in Northumberland, which was about as far as one could get from London without actually going to Scotland. It all felt rather hopeless.

Millie shot her a sympathetic look. ‘I believe your brother, Lord George, and his wife may pay a visit before long.’

Eliza groaned aloud.

‘I can’t be certain, but I’m sure that I heard the housekeeper mention they were going to stay a while.’

‘Oh, no… absolutely not… I…’ Eliza put her head in her hands. She loved George dearly, and all his assorted children, but she knew it meant she would become an unpaid nanny for the visit, for his and for Charles’s growing brood. George’s wife was a dear, but a bigger nip-cheese she had yet to meet.

Decision made, Eliza dislodged Monty and brushed at her dress in a futile attempt to rid it of dog hair. ‘I have written to Hannah, and I’m going to write to Charles again, forthwith. I might not be able to go to all the fancy balls, but I could attend some informal events and, in doing so, secure a husband, and escape. The time has come to act.’

Millie laughed. ‘Well said. You always were a practical soul. You do that, my lady, though finding a husband isn’t like shopping. You can’t just find one you like and that’s it.’

‘My dearest Millie, from what I’ve heard, the London season is exactly like that!’