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Chapter 1
Lyndon Estate, London, December 1814
“It has come to our attention that His Grace Simon, The Cursed Rake, was seen with a new companion once more. His risqué appearance was not missed by the ton, nor our Paper. Of course, it has been eight years since—”
“Please, stop reading that,” Eloise started. She buried her head down to her stitching once more, sighing.
Kate, her cousin, stared at her through the mirror and raised an eyebrow. Her maid continued to brush that blonde halo of hers, struggling to decorate it into a French hairdo. Eloise knew how much Kate loved gossip, how much she loved Rakes (with a capital ‘r’), and how much she loved to share every bit of the gossip columns with everyone around her. And frankly, Eloise just wasn’t interested today.
Gossip had surrounded her since the death of her parents when she was just the age of three. She had always been labeled ‘the estranged child’ and ‘the failed debutante’, so it wouldn’t be an overstatement to admit she despised anything printed on that rag.
The papers had predicted she wouldn’t find a suitor at her debut, and their predictions proved to be accurate. It didn’t matter that she was related to her aunt, the Viscountess, either.
“Oh, come on, dear cousin, I know you’re just as interested as the rest of the ton,” Kate said as she fixed the golden necklace. She straightened her gigantic, pink lace gown once more. She was far too overdressed for the ball, but that was typical of her—Kate loved to make an impression. “One cannot resist the attraction toward dangerous rakes and their enigmatic nature.”
“You must be speaking for Felicity—or yourself, really,” Eloise said. “I prefer intellectuals, kind men, anything but rakes.”
Kate winced as her lady’s maid pulled her hair upward. “I happen to know that many rakes are secretly intellectuals. They are certainly more exciting than James. You must admit; that man is a bore.”
Eloise’s cheeks flushed pink. She had met James a month ago, after a stroll through Hyde Park, alongside her Aunt and cousins. He had garnered the courage to walk up to her and introduce himself, allowing their brief meeting to turn into something more… Certainly not a betrothal or marriage, though she hoped for it soon. Eloise had found, at the age of five-and-twenty, James was struggling with marriage himself, something she could never put her finger on. The times they had spoken, he proved to be an intelligent, kind-hearted gentleman, but perhaps most importantly, he gave her his utmost attention, the kind of attention she had sorely missed for many years here.
She couldn’t help but compare him to the many rakes out there. They were the exact opposite of James, really. Rude, intolerable, dangerous. Perhaps James wasn’t the perfect Baron, but he was a charming man. Though, she was unsure if he harbored the same feelings for her.
“I don’t think I particularly care, nor do I think it matters. I’d rather be with a bore—not that James is one.”
“Oh, Eloise,” Kate said as she stood up from the dresser, her hair half-up, half-down. Her maid followed closely behind, unsure of what to do when Kate sat down beside Eloise. “Every woman in her right mind cares about who they are. Are you telling me you have never desired to kiss one?”
Eloise looked up from her stitching, pushing a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. She…well, no. To be frank, she had never even imagined kissing James, let alone someone else. She frequently heard how good it felt—particularly from Felicity—but she could never imagine it. She knew with time, she would fall deeply in love with James, and perhaps then, kissing wouldn’t seem so terrifying and unknown to her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever desired to kiss anyone,” Eloise confessed. “I mean, I think I want to kiss James...”
“Oh, cousin, you’re far too innocent. You deserve someone…well, someone enchanting, alluring, someone who will make you swoon,” Kate continued. “Do you know if James even likes you? Why hasn’t he asked for your hand in marriage yet anyway?”
“I—” Eloise interrupted herself, ignoring Kate’s last point. “Let’s talk about anything but this. Rakes make my blood boil with—”
“Desire?”
“Anger, Kate. If Aunt or Felicity heard you say this kind of stuff, you’d be in a lot of trouble.”
“Oh, all right.” Kate rolled her eyes as she went back to the mirror, her maid awkwardly following behind. “You should get ready too, mama will grow agitated if we delay again this year.”
Eloise sighed. “You’re right, I suppose. My gown is in my bedchamber, so wait here, please.”
“I wasn’t exactly planning on going anywhere looking like this, now, was I?”
Eloise silently chuckled, standing up from the four-poster, mahogany bed and walking to the door. She exited the room, walking down the long hallway.
Kate was the closest thing to a friend Eloise had. They could never spend too much time together, of course, since Kate was far too busy with her friends, preparations for balls and meeting suitors. And Eloise…well, she was far too busy with cleaning most of the time.
She opened the door to her room, revealing its small and modest size. It didn’t come close to Kate’s or Felicity’s. She had a small closet with a few clothes, a spare bed right out of the staff quarters and no windows. That was perhaps her biggest complaint—the lack of windows made it difficult to stay inside the room for too long. But it remained her safe place nonetheless.
Her maid, a young woman of eighteen years, waited patiently by the dresser. She had placed the gown on the bed, a blue, A-line dress with golden embroidery Eloise had added herself. Eloise had spent hours choosing the fabric, the color and the design despite her aunt’s vocal disagreement. Blue was James’ favorite color, as she had quickly found out, and the golden touches only made it appear all the more remarkable.
“My Lady,” her maid curtseyed. “Lady Lyndon has requested you to wear the corset with the padding. I apologize, I know you don’t like it, but I—”
“It’s all right, Letitia.” Eloise smiled. “I understand.”
The young maid nodded, smiling. She inched closer to Eloise, helping her undress and slowly started adding the layers of clothing. It first started with the chemise. This time, it was muslin instead of the silk Eloise preferred, but it mattered not; she was far too excited for the dress itself.
