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CHAPTER1
“Alice, I have never heard such nonsense. Your debut will take place as arranged. How could you want to delay? Most girls your age cannot wait to debut!”
Simon paced the room, hands clasped tightly behind his back and, as usual, giving no chance for anyone else to get a word in. Lazy sunlight slanted into the drawing room through tall windows. It was golden and cast a comforting warmth against the skin that it touched. Alice gazed out through the window at the grounds of Lindley Manor, enjoying the way the afternoon light transformed the surroundings.
“Well?” Simon demanded.
Alice looked around. “Had you finished talking, dear brother? I do apologize but I am never sure when you are about to…”
“I mean to say. The opportunity to be the…the belle of the ball. In front of the Ton. Why, every Hathway lady has debuted on her eighteenth birthday. I just do not understand this desire to delay.”
Alice sighed, pushing back straight black hair from her ice-blue eyes. Simon shared those characteristics, as did their sister Ruth, who sat by the fire, sipping tea, and resting a hand on her stomach, swollen with child.
“May I please speak, Simon?” Alice said in an imploring voice that was disconnected from her fierce eyes.
“Of course. I am not stopping you from speaking,” Simon said.
As Alice opened her mouth though, he was off again.
“Mother would be turning in her grave. So would grandmother. Do you actually want to be married?”
Alice ground her teeth, folded her arms, and sat back on the chaise, glowering at her older brother. She had known this was how the news would go.
And I thought I was actually being so practical. Simon tries to hide it from me but I know there are some money worries. The cost of a debut needn’t be a burden. Why can’t we just postpone?
There was another reason, of course, one she could not admit to, nor Simon nor her elder sister, Ruth. The tradition in the Hathway family was that the women of the family were debuted at eighteen and married before they were eighteen years and six months. But, Alice did not want to marry. At least not that soon. There was so much of the world to see, so many adventures to experience. Why rush into things? But to say that to Simon would be akin to slapping his face.
“I am just trying to be sensible. A debut is an expensive business, is it not?” Alice said in a tone of perfect reason.
Simon narrowed his eyes, spinning on his heel. “What of it?”
“Well, are there not more important things for the family to be spending its money on than…”
“Than seeing you safely wed to a good match?” Ruth said. “No, dear Alice, there is not.”
“The Hathway women have always debuted early and married. It is why such excellent matches have been made over the generations,” Simon said. “Your debut will take place as planned. That is an end to the discussion.”
There was a finality in Simon’s voice that Alice recognized. When that steel crept in, the discussion truly was over. It was a trait he had learned from their father. Richard Hathway had been an amiable man and a loving father. But, there was no question that his word was law in Lindley and when it came time to make this clear, a stern look and a steely tone was how it was communicated.
Alice bit back a further response when confronted with that same look in the eyes of her brother.
It will do me no good. He has made up his mind. If Ruth agreed or was even neutral, I could, perhaps, talk Simon around. But they present a united front and I cannot break through it alone.
She knew which battles to fight and which to avoid. Alice smiled sweetly, looking up at Simon demurely and nodding.
“You’re right of course, Simon.”
Simon nodded, the stern look melting away to leave only the same genial expression that Alice was so fond of seeing in their father.
“Excellent. I’m glad we’ve finally resolved that. Ruth and I were discussing renting a house in town for this purpose. There is a townhouse available near Regent’s Park that would serve the purpose admirably. Just the right degree of grandeur without being ostentatious. We are one of England’s noble families after all, albeit not at the apex of that society.”
“I know the house. You would love it, Alice. Louis XIV chandeliers and oak panels on the walls. The gardens are simply lovely too. A fine setting for your introduction to the ton.”
“Oh, I had assumed my coming out would be here at Lindley. I had no idea you were planning to hold it in London,” Alice said.
She felt a thrill of excitement at the idea. There was so much to see and explore in London, a city that her father had made his second home but to which he had not allowed his children to visit. That had made it a place of mystery for young Alice.
“Yes, I think it will send a positive message to society about the status of our family,” Simon said, turning to the window. “In order to secure you the best match, we must present our best face to the world.”
