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Mei scowled before she remembered and smoothed her expression back out again. Matchmakers did not show their emotions on the outside. Especially negative ones.

“I do not need to be cracked, either,” she argued. “We have been getting along perfectly fine without husbands.”

“That is because I am old.” Grandmother eyed her. “You are not. A husband would mean protection. Not just physically, but financially.”

“I can provide both for myself.”

“I am not saying that you cannot; I am saying I would like you to have even more. Life is difficult enough as it is; there is no reason not to seek as much stability as one can get.”

Which was hard to argue with. Still, Mei was not going to concede without a fight. The matches she and her grandmother made took into consideration social standing, finances, and all the practical considerations, but they also looked for more than that—attraction, desire, and emotional compatibility.

“If I ever fall in love, I will consider being married.” From what she’d seen of the marriages within the ton, that was the best reason for someone like her to become married. Debutantes needed to marry in order to have any control over their own lives, something Mei already had.

Her grandmother was very correct about the options of professions open to young women. Becoming a maid or governess was a possibility, but those positions were not always safe for a beautiful woman. Becoming a matchmaker was not exactly a route a debutante would easily be able to take, especially one who could not even procure her own match.

Even with Mei and her grandmother—though she did as much, if not more, of the actual investigations into possible matches than her grandmother did—they always put her grandmother forward as the lead. Mei was her assistant. Which was what her grandmother was trying to change now, to ensure that Mei would be able to continue the business as an unmarried woman, regardless of her grandmother’s involvement.

“Love is a good reason to marry, but it is not the only reason. Sometimes, a woman must be practical.”

Mei nodded as she decided not to argue the point. Her grandmother was not going to change her mind, and neither was Mei.

To her mind, remaining without a husband was the practical thing to do. It was far too easy to make a poor choice, and then one was stuck with that decision for life. And there were quite a few terrible marriages within the ton that had been made for practical reasons.

As far as Mei was concerned, remaining unmarried was the far more sensible decision.

1

Mei

Bolton House.

The very last house Mei expected to be called to as a matchmaker. Yet here she was, walking up the steps where the Duke of Bolton lived.

Was there a part of her that felt just a tinge of triumph?

Of course.

Yet she was nervous, too. Not just because her grandmother was not with her. There had been several instances of her grandmother sending Mei out on her own recently, always claiming that she was feeling ‘under the weather.’ The first few times, Mei had been concerned. Now she realized her grandmother was perfectly fine; she was claiming to be unwell so Mei would have to attend appointments by herself.

She did rather wish that this appointment was not one that her grandmother had decided Mei should attend on her own. After all, it was their first request from a duke. On the other hand, her grandmother had appeared a bit wan at breakfast, so perhaps her desire to stay home and rest had more truth to it than usual. Still, it would have been nice to have her grandmother here to enjoy the success of winning over the ton’s most reluctant duke.

Mei had dressed the part of matchmaker, eschewing the English style of dress for one of her favorite outfits. Chinese garments were not available on the fashionable streets frequented by the ton, but among London’s mishmash of denizens, there were quite a few places where she and her grandmother had been able to find them. Such little distinctions helped set them apart from Society, giving them an especial place within it.

They were not of the ton, but with her green silk and gold embroidery, Mei didn’t appear beneath them either. Instead, she was other. Outside the normal strictures and expectations.

Which was why she could visit a gentleman alone.

Although her stomach fluttered as she stepped down from the carriage, she did wish she had someone with her. Not because she was afraid of ruining her reputation—she had none other than that of a matchmaker’s assistant—or because she was afraid the duke might do something untoward. No, Mei wished someone was there with her because entering a ducal household with an eye to matching the occupant was rather intimidating.

It would be nice to have her grandmother there to support her. Or even a friend.

However, eventually, she would be doing this on her own. Mei squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, striding forward without showing any of the uncertainty bubbling up inside her. Before she even reached the door, it opened, and a footman stepped back to give her entrance, allowing her to step smoothly through into the foyer without stopping.

The butler waited for her there and bowed.

“Miss Hu,” he said formally. “Please follow me.”

Bolton House was every bit as large and grand as Mei had come to expect from a duke’s London residence. She’d been in quite a few of them, thanks to her friendship with Lady Astrid, who was betrothed to the Duke of Ormonde. That friendship was what had led to her befriending the now-Duchesses of Clarence and Hereford. Most recently, she’d added the newly wedded Duchess of St. Albans to her roster of duchess friends as well.