AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
Amelia
London, July 1815
Iawoketothesound of Lady Radcliffe’s voice echoing throughout the walls of her Mayfair townhome. Her shrill voice carried through the walls, ensuring that I was wide awake, despite the early hour.
I sighed and buried my head under the white bedlinen, but to no avail. I would have bet that her whines could be heard all the way in Hackney.
The sun was barely rising above the wide streets of London’s finest neighborhood, and the city had yet to awaken for the day. I dressed by myself, brushing my hair, and tying my skirt with expert hands.
As a poor orphan, I was dependent upon Lady Radcliffe’s generosity for survival. I didn’t have a dressing maid at my disposal or any servants at all. But I knew with absolute certainty that if I was ever afforded such a luxury as servants, I wouldn’t scream at them the way that she did.
“Miss Allen, did you eventryto fix your hair?” Lady Radcliffe asked, sniffing at me with a judgmental expression as I stepped into the breakfast room.
I felt my hand impulsively reach up towards the stray tendrils of dark blonde hair that were falling from my bun. When I’d first come to live with the Radcliffe’s, her cruel words stung. But by now, I was numb to any insults.
And besides, I rather thought my hair looked nice. Perhaps a bit windswept, but I was no beauty, anyways. The most I could hope for was youthful vitality.
Lady Radcliffe had taken me on as a governess of sorts to her granddaughter, Cassandra, nearly two years ago. Cassandra was a year younger than me and an orphan as well. Her parents had died of cholera when she was a small child, leaving her alone in the world. She’d lived with her imperious grandmother ever since.
Though we were of different stations in life – Cassandra of the peerage, and I just a commoner – we got along well. She knew what it was like to be lonely.
The only reason Lady Radcliffe kept me around was because of Cassandra’s pleadings. The girl had been living alone with her strict grandmother for years. She was desperate for company.
But despite our friendship, the situation was still precarious. If Lady Radcliffe’s opinion of me changed, I knew she wouldn’t hesitate to throw me out. And once Cassandra married… if the overbearing Lady Radcliffe ever allowedthatto happen… I would be homeless once again.
I sat down at the breakfast table, and Cassandra entered, wisps of dark hair falling in cascades around her face. She was beautiful, with an angelic face, bright green eyes, and a perfect complexion.
She was also kind and thoughtful… unlike her grandmother.
“Good morning, Amelia. And grandmama.” Isabella said, winking at me, and then nodding solemnly at her grandmother. Lady Radcliffe was always moodiest in the mornings.
A servant suddenly entered, balancing a silver platter in one hand. A thick stack of letters was perched precariously on the plate, and the servant was trying hard not to topple them over.
“Hm.” Lady Radcliffe said, looking at the letters with disapproval.
This was Cassandra’s first season out in society. When we’d first arrived in London several months ago, there had been numerous invitations from men across the city who desired to woo her. She was beautiful, had an ample dowry, and her personality had been a mystery, owing to her sheltered upbringing in Cornwall… making her the perfect candidate for male attention.
Of course, Cassandra had been thrilled. She was desperate to escape the clutches of her overbearing grandmother and experience a taste of real society.
But Lady Radcliffe had quickly put a stop to the attention. She had forbidden Cassandra from attending most parties and had enacted strict rules for any suitor who desired to woo her. Not only did they have to be a titled Lord – or at least poised to inherit a title – they also had to meet Lady Radcliffe’s standards of decorum and pedigree. To the Ladyship, the ideal man was stoic, sober, and able to have a polite conversation about the weather and other un-controversial topics… but nothing more.
Unfortunately for Cassandra, Lady Radcliffe’s standards left few options. Furthermore, because she was forbidden from attending most parties or socializing in general, much of the ton developed the impression that Cassandra was frigid and rude, just like her grandmother. As the season passed, the invitations got fewer and fewer, until only one or two came a day.
Now, at the end of the season, there was only one eligible suitor left: Alfred Pembroke, the eldest son of the Viscount of Hampton. He was wealthy and first-in-line to the viscountcy, which checked several of Lady Radcliffe’s boxes. And as for decorum, he was too dull to have ever done anything scandalous. His interests consisted of hunting, eating, and… not much else.
To Cassandra, marrying Alfred Pembroke meant confining herself to a life of imprisonment and drudgery… the very same life she was dying to escape. Likewise, she detested him.
But her opinion meant almost nothing to Lady Radcliffe.
“Hm,” the old woman sniffed, sorting through the letters with narrowed eyes. “Nothing of consequen-ah.”
Cassandra glanced up at her grandmother, her eyes wary.
“What is it?”
Lady Radcliffe held up an embossed golden invitation.
