Page 1 of An Offer for a Spinster
Prologue
Twelve Months Previously, the Dunleigh Estate
The door slammed hard, making Katherine flinch.
It was a fine day outside, sunshine streaming over the well-manicured grounds. Today was Saturday morning, and the Duke of Dunleigh always went riding on Saturday mornings.
Unfortunately for his children.
Katherine, pleading a headache, had shut herself up in the library. Her brothers would never have gotten away with such a trick, but the Duke didn’t much care whether his daughter rode well or not. Ladies should, after all, confine themselves to carriages, in his opinion.
William, the oldest of the four, came storming in, disheveled and with a smear of mud on one cheek.
“I can’t stand it a minute more, Kat,” he gasped, breathless. “I can’tstandit.”
He was dressed for riding, the knees of his riding breeches muddied and torn, and was drawing in deep, shuddering breaths, like he might burst into tears at any moment.
Katherine closed her book with a snap, hurrying over to him.
“Oh, Will, I’m so sorry. Did that wretched horse try to kick you again?”
“Try? It succeeded. I know why he got that horse for me, Kat. He wants me tomasterit, but it’s an impossible creature. I’m just so tired.”
Katherine nibbled her lower lip, rubbing her brother’s arm consolingly. She glanced out of the window, where she could now see figures moving around in a specially-build horse paddock out the front. There was the Duke himself, ofcourse, tall, broad-shouldered, and no doubt grim-faced. The third Willoughby boy, the youngest of all four, was Alexander, hunched over in the corner of the paddock. It stood to reason that he would stay. Anything to secure their father’s approval.
The second eldest of them all, Henry, was not here. He had gone on a Grand Tour, which was a great source of contention between the siblings. As a merewoman, Katherine would never have been permitted to go travelling. She doubted she would even be allowed to go on a local countryside walk without a handful of attendants. William had requested to go – just for a few months – and his request had been denied. He was, as the Duke had said, the eldest son, the heir, and had greater things on his mind thantravel.
Henry’s request, however, had been granted. The Duchess, who liked Henry the best out of them all, had been somewhat melancholy since he was gone. Apparently her other three children were a poor substitution.
Aside from the family, there was a knot of grooms, shifting nervously from foot to foot, eyeing the horse.
The horse in question was a fine creature, with a jet-black, glossy coat, a smooth black mane, massive hooves, and a well-arched neck. It was the largest horse Katherine had ever seen, as well as the most bad-tempered.
The horse was supposed to be William’s new mount, which was all kinds of unfair.
“You must tell him you don’t want to ride that horse.” Kat said firmly. “It’s going to break your neck if you keep trying. I don’t thinkanyonecan ride that bad-tempered creature.”
William gave an angry snort, and shook his head. “Can you imagine what will happen if I do that? No, thank you, Kat. I don’t care to be so thoroughly humiliated by my own father. It’ll be his tale of choice at every dinner and party we throw, told round and round all the clubs and made more ridiculous untilI’m described as a crying wretch in the corner.” He broke off, throwing himself into a chair. “It’s no use. He won’t rest until I’m on that wretched horse.”
Katherine sighed, turning back to the window. The Duke, her father, was standing to face the house now, fists on his hips, glowering up at her. He could surely see her in the window, and she automatically drew back.
The Willoughby siblings all resembled each other, famously so. They all had the same olive-tinged skin, the same hazel-green eyes – brown in some lights – and the same delicate chestnut locks. They were good-looking, all of them, and that always made things a little easier in Society.
The world loved pretty people, regardless of what was beneath the handsome exterior.
The Duke, for instance, was a remarkably handsome man, despite his age. And as such, there were people who still believed that he was a fair, generous, and good man, and a decent husband and father to boot.
“Listen, Will…” Katherine began, but was interrupted by the door creaking open.
Their mother stood there, and William dutifully bounced to his feet.
The poor Duchess of Dunleigh, Lady Mary Willoughby, was quite a faded woman. She’d been beautiful once, with rich blonde curls and a perfect porcelain skin, but time had not been kind to her. Even the light colour she’d had in her cheeks was long gone, and not one of her children resembled her. They all looked exactly like their father, much to their horror.
She folded her hands before her and looked severely at them both.
“Your Papa is summoning you, William,” she said, in the light, tentative tones of a woman mostly used to staying silent. “He wants you to have another go at Midnight.”
“If I try and ride that horse again, it’ll break my neck,” William said curtly. “Father knows it.”
