Page 1 of A Spinster to Reform the Duke
Chapter One
London, England
“Oh, Rebecca, I do not think I have ever known such excitement. I fear my heart may burst out of my corset.”
“Pray keep it in, sister, it may make quite a mess.” Rebecca’s jest pulled a laugh from her sister as they stepped into the ballroom. “Though I must say I do not know why you are so excited.”
“How can you not? It is my debut after all. How I have longed to go to such events as these! Oh my…” Eliza broke off, her voice fading away with awe as her eyes turned around the room.
Rebecca tried to summon the same kind of happiness that her sister had, but she found her body numb of any such warm feeling. Where the crystal candle-lit chandeliers, draped with mistletoe and wintry evergreen boughs brought a smile to her sister’s face, they left Rebecca empty.
“Have you ever seen such a beautiful room?” Eliza asked, gesturing not only to the decorations, but the myriad of guests that had gathered inside.
Rebecca’s eyes flitted across the guests. Many ladies were draped in the most fashionable of gowns, some even bearing cream turbans, the highest of fashionable statements, where others wore jewels and diamonds that glittered at their ears and throats like fallen stars from the sky.
“Do you not find it all a little false?” Rebecca asked with a sigh.
“False?” Eliza asked, crinkling her brow as she spoke.
“It reminds me of the theatre. Each person putting on an act, a character they wish people to see.”
“You think quite harshly of the world, Rebecca.”
“I have good reason to,” she muttered under her breath, speaking so low that Eliza couldn’t hear her.
“Will you be so downcast the whole night?” Eliza’s disappointed words made Rebecca turn her focus back to her sister. The dark blonde curls were set tightly around her face, framing the pretty features and green eyes perfectly. Seeing the smile fall from her sister’s face, the guilt bloomed within Rebecca.
“I would not dare be so,” Rebecca assured her sister. “I am here for you tonight.” She looped arms with Eliza once more and drew her forward, further into the room, following the same path she had seen their parents take a few minutes before. “I am determined your debut shall be a splendid one, and that you shall enjoy your time with thetonfar more than I enjoyed mine.”
“Dear sister, it is a ball,” Eliza said with a giggle. “You speak of it as if we are to go to war like soldiers.”
“With our fans as cutlass swords and our glares like musket shots? Hmm, I have to say I rather like the idea. One could send any unwanted suitor scuttling away in an instant,” Rebecca spoke quickly, putting on a jesting voice that pulled another laugh from her sister. Deep down though, Rebecca was not jesting.
It is true, I would feel safer here if I had such powers.
She tucked the dance card on her wrist further up her arm, hoping to hide it beneath her three-quarter sleeve. She rather suspected it was the only power she had that night, to deny dancing with anyone.
“You should have heard our mother talking earlier today of this ball,” Eliza gushed as they moved toward the drinks’ table. “She was so excited. She seems quite determined I shall find my future husband tonight.”
“So soon?” Rebecca choked on nothing at the words. She peered ahead through the crowd, searching out her mother’s face. Across the room, she found the same dark blue eyes that were in her own face, as they glistened with laughter. Amelia Felton, the Marchioness of Birkston, was a hopeless romantic. No matter what words of caution Rebecca had to offer, they never dissuaded her mother. “Our mother has a rather romantic view of life, Eliza. Do not be carried away by it.”
“How can I not be?” Eliza asked with a giggle. “Has our mother not led a happy life with our father? She met him at her debut after all.”
“Not all men you meet at your debut are angels,” Rebecca said wryly as they made their way through the crowd. “In my experience, demons can wear angels’ wings very well, until it suits them to tear them off their body and reveal who they really are. Just remember my warning. Be wary of any man that asks you to dance after hearing your name. He only has one motive in mind.”
“I think you need a drink,” Eliza said with a smile. “I’ll be sure to fill it halfway, then ask you if it is half full or half empty.”
“You will wish me to answer half full, I know it,” Rebecca teased her sister.
As they closed in on the drinks’ table, Eliza was so distracted, pointing at the finest of decorations that laced the table, she clearly didn’t see there was a body ahead of her. Rebecca saw it, all too easily. There was a rather tall man in her way, with dusky blond hair, and his head turned away.
“Eliza, be careful!” Rebecca tried to tug on her sister’s arm, stopping the inevitable collision, but it was too late.
Eliza collided with the stranger, toppling him at such an angle, that he half turned round, throwing the contents of glass away from him, straight onto the very spot where Rebecca stood.
She felt the splash of the champagne on her face, the bubbles stinging her eyes, before she looked down at her dress, realizing it had dampened the neckline and chest of her dress.
“God’s wounds! I am so sorry,” the man said quickly, fixing his eyes on her.
