Chapter 1

Philippa Stanhope rolled her eyes as she watched a young couple glide past her. She imagined the giggling girl was hoping her partner, a stiff-looking young man with a shock of hair the color of carrots, would choose her as his future bride. The young girl’s feigned attempt at looking coy, combined with her incessant giggling, wasn’t working. Phil could see the boredom and disinterest in the young man’s dull eyes and forced smile. He was simply doing his duty, checking out the new crop of debutantes as if they were prized cows, searching for the best choice to take home to the waiting herd. This fresh-faced girl didn’t have a chance. Phil gave a sigh as the couple breezed by; her little mouth turned up at the corners in a smirk.

The St. James ball was the grandest event of theton social season. Each spring, its members waited eagerly for their coveted invitation to the glittering event. Among theton’s future brides, the possibility of a match during the great Marriage Mart was greatly enhanced during such a prestigious squeeze.

Visions of dances with suitable young men whirled through every young woman’s head. That is, except for Miss Philippa Stanhope. Sitting along the side of the enormous ballroom in one of the chairs reserved for wallflowers and their chaperones, Phil absently pushed one of the multiple pins back into her heavy sable hair and sighed again. She hadn’t wanted to come and only agreed to attend due to the insistence of her brothers. Once her obligatory dances with her brothers’ friends were accomplished, she had returned to her seat on the sidelines.

Crossing her right leg over her left, her right foot began moving under her rose silk ball gown. Watching the waltz being performed before her; her mind began to wander.One…Two…Three…One…Two…Three…One…Two…They musthave beeswax candles on the chandeliers. My brother tells methey are costly, but they don’t drip. Two…Three…One…Daffodils. I just love daffodils. The scientific name isnarcissus. There is also Lily-of-the-valley. The scientificname is …what is it…let me see… oh yes, Convallaria majalis…Three… One…Two…Three…What beautiful marble edgingaround the wood floor. I wonder if it is quarriedin great slabs or if it comes out as arock and must be chiseled and polished to achieve thislook.Two…Three.

“Philippa Stanhope! For heaven’s sake! Sit up straight!” Mrs. Darling had been chatting with a friend. Her sharp tongue and piercing blue eyes jolted Phil out of her reverie and she quickly straightened her spine to full capacity, revealing a toned and shapely figure that would be the envy of any girl in this sea of prospective brides. That is if anyone could see the beauty hidden under the slouch and boredom.

Phil slapped on a big smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, but that she hoped would appease her chaperone. She missed her longtime governess and companion, Miss Cleves, who had been called away to c