The Four Seasons

Below, in giant caves turned into cities, with the earth reshaped into villages and sloped into roads, the Townspeople—gentries, middle class, and service people alike—all had but one goal: live and survive the four seasons.

It did not mean sunshine and rain, or fallen leaves and snow. The elements aboveground would shy away from the dangerous seasons belowground because in the Town, the four seasons meant war .

Every quarter of the year was a bloodbath, a desperate battle for status and marriage.

The soldiers? Manipulative mamas, desperate daughters, and reluctant gentlemen.

Their weapon, you may ask? Dowries, gowns (and the lack thereof), seduction, and the most powerful of all: scandal .

Delicious, horrifying, and sometimes even deadly scandals.

Many hopefuls prayed to find a love match during the Sheills Season, which fell between July to September. Despite its boring and uneventful balls and entertainments, it always promised the most romantic pairings in the Town.

But the aforementioned season was merely a slow march to the least exciting season of all. Hosted in the most devout town, the Granville Season was the most restrictive: Gowns could never have a neckline lower than the collarbones; no ladies should walk around balls without gloves; and social distance was limited to five feet—anything shorter would end in marriage under the condemning nose of a pious man. Only the most desperate and boldest dared challenge the last quarter of the year, and may their brave souls rest in peace until eternal damnation, Amen.

Hope would rise again by the first quarter of the year, from January to March, with the Willowfair Season . While political vengeance over the results of last year’s Granville Season was being planned amongst the Houses of Lords and Commons, the mamas and their daughters happily discarded their dreadful gowns from the previous season. They, the true brave soldiers, plotted courtships and marriages in painful detail, from the jewels over their heads down to the silks around their feet (good soles for the endless dancing much preferred, thank you very much). For the worthy, a Willowfair Season would prove magical if one could perfectly concoct the perfect dose of naughty and nice.

But no one—and not a single man or woman would contest—could ever come to par with the most-awaited and scandalous Wickhurst Season . Far more extravagant than the others, this was the occasion of brimming townsends for overflowing necklines, because a lady should never attend the Wickhurst Season dressed in anything less or—in the case of necklines— more than that of their contenders. Gloves were as thin as they could be so that a man could never deny the warmth of a virgin’s touch; dresses were as light as the modistes could make them, because should a man be numb enough to miss the warm touch, he surely could not be so utterly blind not to notice the luscious curves.

It was the season of many debutantes’ dreams. And for many gentlemen, it was a hunting ground for doubled dowries (thin gloves and light dresses were not always the best weapons for those who could not employ them well).

While the Town Leaders convened with both Houses for the second round of the political game of the year, the rest of the Town’s polite society would be in their best armors, wicked and discreetly scandalous as one should be (if they could help it).

Scandalous, passionate, and furious marriages during the second quarter of the year were not uncommon, and rightfully so because for many, Wickhurst was the ultimate entertainment.

After all, who would not want to bear witness to a delicious scandal?

And even more so if the said scandal involved an Everard?

I. Wickhurst

When the scandal blew, it signaled the opening of the Wickhurst Season. And of course, an Everard was in the heart of it all.

The eldest of the eight children, Benedict Everard, Lord of Devonshire, announced his engagement to his sisters’ governess, Agatha Blair. It would have been an easy one to deal with for the affluent family, but Agatha’s questionable reputation was making it a challenge.

This time, the Everards had to come together for their eldest and his fiancée because there was a fair chance they may not survive this one.

What this meant for Lady Victoria Ashdown, however, was the absence of her best friend Margaret. As the oldest daughter of the Everards, it was Margaret’s duty to be in constant company of their mother who could be as unpredictable as the rest of her own children.

I am afraid she will do something if I leave her side, Tori, was the worry her friend relayed in her letter yesterday. Please pray that things will return to how they were. And pray for a bigger scandal this Wickhurst Season. It shall be the only one that can save us all. Should I expect you at the engagement ball?

With Margaret preoccupied with family matters, this meant that Tori was alone to crawl under her father’s old bed in search of a missing document.

“Milady!” Sarah, her maid, hissed from the side of the bed, right cheek inches away from the floor.

Flat on her back, Tori rolled her head to the side. “Well?” she asked under her breath. Her fingers were absently continuing their search, feeling the underside of the giant bed above her.

“She’s leaving, milady.”

“And?”

Sarah checked to make sure they were alone and conspiratorially whispered, “We heard little, but we heard enough.”

“And?”

“You were right, milady. It was Lucas Rowe.”

Tori’s jaw tightened.

Rolling her head straight, she stared at the dark and dusty paneling above her.

“Did you find anything, milady?”

“We are rich of cobwebs, Sarah,” she murmured with a sigh. Giving up, Tori slid out from under the bed and scrambled to her feet and let Sarah help dust her morning dress down.

“I will order a bath for you, milady,” the maid said, carefully picking a silky line of cobweb from Tori’s dark blond hair.

“It is Wednesday, is it not?” she asked, turning on her heels to rush to the window. Below, her stepmother’s carriage was waiting in the driveway.

“Yes, milady.”

Tori stepped back from the window and looked around her father’s old room. His scent was slowly being replaced by the drafty smell of dust.

Sarah opened a drawer to do her own search, but they both knew there was nothing there. They had searched this room thrice.

Tori’s gaze wandered back to the bed.

It had been three years since August Ashdown passed away, but it had been nineteen long years since Tori first witnessed her father spend the rest of his young life there, slowly wasting away until he finally gave in.

Since she was nine, she would sit here, right where the window was, in a chair that was still sitting in one corner. It was the best angle to watch him because his face would not be too pale. With the light from the window, his eyes seemed alive then.

It was easy to see whenever he was happy, for his gray eyes would glimmer and squint just a little. But whenever he stared at her as though trying to talk, it hurt.

Betty, the chambermaid, drew her back to the present by poking her head into the room to whisper, “She has left, milady. But we are uncertain for how long. Mr Anton is standing guard. James and Ed are already inside.”

Tori left the room with Sarah and the two of them went to the study, where Anton, the butler, was standing guard.

“Thank you, Anton,” she said to the butler before they disappeared into her stepmother’s study.

They had searched the room twice before and both times had been fruitless. Today was merely a desperate attempt. They combed every corner for hours with the help of two footmen. By the time they gave up, Tori knew they would never find the copy anywhere in the manor.

“She must have hidden it somewhere else,” Tori said.

“She must know you have the loyalty of some of us, milady,” Sarah agreed.

Running her fingers through her hair, Tori sighed. She was tired. Too tired, in fact. She looked around the study with a bitter smile. This was where her father spent most of his time before the accident. She would hide from her governess here, and her father would pretend to have not seen her whenever the woman would come looking. Then he would throw her a wink from where she was hiding behind the door, and they would both muffle their laughter once the governess closed it.

Again, that was too long ago. And soon, this room, and everything else in the manor, would be gone—taken away.

They slipped out of the room, thanked Anton and the two footmen, and returned to her bedchamber where Sarah helped her change. “Tell me about Lucas,” she said to Sarah. “What did he want?”

“As you suspected, milady, he wants to marry you.”

It was not even surprising. She was not too ignorant not to notice.

Lucas had always been more than just a gentleman around her. He always paid attention whenever she talked, always angling toward her to listen with interest. Most often, when he was around, he would always ask how she was faring. He was the first to jump to his feet whenever she needed something.

But then, that was how her stepmother also was before her father’s accident. Clarice treated her like her own child, cared for her like she bore her into this world.

That was nineteen years ago. Merely a week after her father fell from his horse and began his slow journey to death, Clarice took Tori to the Everards and would have forgotten she was there if Lady Alice did not send a note five days later telling her that Tori was missing her father.

Since then, Tori was a mere nuisance Clarice easily disposed to their ever-welcoming neighbors, the Everards, while she went on with her life, living it as if she was a rich widow while her husband wasted in his bed, a prisoner with no need for chains.

Then victory came to the woman three years ago when finally, Lord August Ashdown peacefully died in his sleep with the solicitor’s announcement that they were yet to find the closest heir to the title. They had been searching since then, and it seemed futile.

August Ashdown had but one brother and the man had long perished. Not one male relative could be found, much to Clarice’s satisfaction. What Tori found—or discovered—however, was the gambling debt August Ashdown left behind, one that her stepmother had been trying to evade for years, but one that was coming soon to haunt.

And just this year, Lucas Rowe, Clarice’s nephew from a distant cousin, slowly injected himself into their life. And now he wanted to marry Tori.

“What did she say?” Tori asked.

“She refused,” said Sarah.

“Of course, she would. She would have to let go of my dowry. What did Lucas say?”

“Not much, but he said he shall give Clarice a week to think about it.”

“She will never allow it. The wench has too much to lose,” Tori growled under her breath. She rarely spit out any form of expletives, but Clarice was always a good excuse to be coarse. Pacing and worrying her lip, Tori murmured, “We have to find the papers fast, Sarah.”

The two of them froze and held their breath when they heard muffled footsteps outside.

“I cannot lose the manor and Papa’s collections,” she continued in a lower tone, even when the footsteps faded away. She did not have to lower her voice because Clarice was not home, but it had become a habit. There was a war in the Ashdown household, and it had been going on for years. Some servants may be loyal to Tori, but most were devoted to the one who had control of the money.

“Did you tell Lady Margaret, milady?” Sarah whispered back, brown eyes fretful.

She resumed her pacing. “How could I ask for her help? She is facing an enormous scandal with her family.”

Sarah’s gaze followed her movement. “Are you going to try talking to Mr Frasier again?”

Tori gritted her teeth. “No,” she said. “I think I have to play a different game, Sarah.”

“What, milady?”

“I have to marry.”

Sarah blinked rapidly. “B-but you dislike Lucas Rowe, milady!”

“I have to get my dowry, Sarah. If we cannot find the documents, my dowry is the only chance I have in saving the estate.”

---

Levi Everard did not look back as his carriage rolled away from his Standbury estate.

He did not say goodbye to the disappearing crops on both sides of the road as they were slowly replaced by the dreary sloping walls of earth.

It felt like a forewarning. He was leaving behind the only place that had been his solace for the past two years for what seemed like a promising road to doom.

Benedict, the besotted fool, had decided he had been such a proper gentleman all his life, so he took it to himself to create a scandal. Who would have thought that the Benedict Everard could stir such scandal?

If Levi was not coming home to Wickhurst to ensure their mother’s sanity, he would have carried with him a crown for their big brother. Benedict deserved to be honored for his daring act. Marrying a governess after he ditched his fiancée! Good Lord!

There was no way around it, he thought. As one great Lady Alice Everard said in her letter to him, one she delicately penned to summon guilt and loyalty, they must face this scandal with pride and stubbornness.

As one family, she wrote. For I fear I will not live long should one of my children suffer the wrath of society. I am but one woman, Levi. I would find no need for support if I have your father by my side. He is no longer with us, but he left me eight children. Eight, my dear boy. I only see seven here in Wickhurst. One is in trouble and the other is missing.

He grimaced, remembering his mother’s words. Ah, the adorable scheming witch. Why did he have to fall for it every bloody time? She still had the power to always say the right words and make them heed her requests.

And he was doing exactly what she wanted.

He was traveling back home to Wickhurst.

Or was it home?

For now, it was, but only because his family was there.

Pulling the sleeves of his coat down over his wrists, Levi sighed.

II. Childhood Friends

The rich town of Wickhurst began its day just like any other. Servants hurried down the streets to procure necessary things, shop owners opened their shops and exchanged gossips with the servants who then went home to deliver a slightly unique version of the story to the scullery maids and whoever else would listen. The scullery maids then told the chambermaids who told their mistresses, who then told their husbands, sisters, and whoever else would listen.

That very morning, from the time Wickhurst woke up to the moment breakfast was served and the fresh copy of The Town Herald was laid on the table, everyone around the table had an inkling of its contents.

The stories delivered by everyone were all the same: The Everard Engagement Ball and Lady Alice Everard, by far the strangest mother anyone in Wickhurst had seen, was an ecstatic host.

One would think she would be the first to throw Agatha Blair out of the estate, but no! She welcomed the chit with open arms and planned a large engagement ball for the woman and Benedict, inviting not just the richest people in Wickhurst but also the sought-after personalities from other towns.

“But then we should know better. Alice Everard had always been different,” whispered the mothers to their daughters and husbands. “Them Everards are lucky they are rich.”

“If the Haverstons or the Theobalds did not come, these self-absorbed, righteous polite society of Wickhurst would not be here,” Clarice murmured beside Tori.

She gave her stepmother a sideway glance and smiled away a snort. The lady just perfectly described herself. “I must admit I thought you would not come, Clarice,”

She always found it wrong to call the woman stepmother because Clarice was too young. The woman was merely ten years older than her. And more beautiful, as a matter-of-fact. With her black hair, blue eyes and fair skin, Clarice had higher chances of stealing attention than Tori ever could. And of course, there were the expensive gowns the woman enjoyed the most.

“Whyever would I not?”

“The Everards are still in a deep scandal, after all.”

Clarice’s eyes widened. “I cannot believe you would think of me in such a manner, Victoria. Of course, I would attend even if no one would!” the woman hissed under her breath. “The Everards are not just our neighbors—they are dear friends! You are Margaret’s best friend, or have you forgotten that? And whatever scandal might come to them, they are still undeniably the Everards. The rest of them may marry a scullery maid and they will still survive society. With their mines and fine jewels, everyone would soon forget this scandal.”

“Of course,” Tori wryly murmured under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Oh, I see Margaret,” she said instead, already sauntering away.

“You cannot walk away without—”

“I am nearly officially a spinster, Clarice, I do not think I will need a chaperone,” she said over her shoulder, itching to get away from the woman.

From afar, she saw Margaret Everard standing alone, looking around the ballroom as if in search of someone.

Tori stole her stepmother one last look before rushing toward her friend.

“She is preparing to leave the estate,” she murmured even before Margaret noticed her presence. “We are losing it soon. I am losing it soon.”

Margaret’s emerald green eyes blinked at her in confusion, but not for long as understanding dawned on the woman. “You have not found the documents?”

“No. It is nowhere in the manor.”

“Then you should go directly to the solicitor.”

“She has Mr Frasier under her control,” she murmured, nonchalantly looking about.

“Do you want me to—”

“No. You should focus your efforts on your family. This is a delicate time for all of you. I still have time, I believe.”

“What do you mean?”

Tori cleared her throat and stepped closer to her friend. “Lucas Rowe asked for my hand.”

Margaret’s face crumpled with revulsion. “Surely you are not considering it.”

“Clarice refused.”

“But surely you are not considering him!” her friend repeated.

She looked away. “Tori, think clearly. He is Clarice’s nephew. You will never escape her clutches if you marry into her family.”

“But I will have my dowry.”

“Not if Lucas Rowe controls it,” Margaret hissed. “You may still get your mother’s settlement money.”

“If Mr Frasier will allow it. Clarice goes to his office every Wednesday and we both know why.”

Margaret sighed. “If your dowry is the only way for you to save the estate, then you need to find someone who will allow you to have control over your finances. Lucas Rowe is not that person.”

“Maggie, I do not have a line of suitors outside the door.”

Her friend frowned at her. “Who says one needs a line outside the door? You get out the door, Tori.” Leaning closer, her friend added under her breath, “All you need is a good Wickhurst Season and a man who will help you save your father’s estate.”

---

Levi found himself lost in a crowd he had once loved and charmed. Not many years ago, he lived for their attention, their praises, and desperate attempts to be close to him.

But now, Levi was making certain not to make eye contact with any of the mamas or their daughters. The Everards may now be in the midst of a scandal, but they were still without a doubt among the most affluent families, not just in Wickhurst but in the entire Town.

Marrying one of the five Everard brothers would be deemed a miracle, as what most mamas would say. Well, they ought to make that four now that Benedict was getting leg-shackled.

One thing was certain for Levi: he would be the next subject of desire for the marriage mart as the second eldest Everard.

And he could almost feel the war coming his way. Like a lone soldier in the middle of a battlefield, hearing the sounds of hooves as the Wickhurst Season loomed from a distance.

But Levi did not need a wife. He was here to support his fool of a brother and his chosen bride and pray for their family’s name to be finally out of the Herald’s front pages.

His sisters were yet to be married, and their names had to be unmarred as much as possible. He refused to see them marry a gentleman not up to scratch. Their father would crawl out of his grave if that were to happen.

But trouble came when from the corner of his eye he saw a familiar middle-aged woman dragging her daughter in his direction. It was instinct, seconded by an urgent desire to have just one Everard wedding this year, that made Levi turn on his heel to find a comrade.

He remembered his father talking about this when they were younger. The man, God bless his soul, had taught his sons how to expertly avoid the desperate mothers and scandals, having spent years doing the same before he met his wife, the Great Alice Everard. But it seemed mothers and scandals had mastered their arts along the years, Levi thought as he looked around the ballroom.

His eyes spotted Margaret.

“Go to your mother, son. She’s always the best weapon you can have,” he remembered his father’s words. Well, their mother was nowhere near, but Margaret would do.

“The solicitors are coming next month. It would only be a matter of time before we have to pack and leave.” Levi slowed his steps, realizing Margaret was not alone. His sister was talking to a woman with blond hair whose back was turned to him.

Perhaps he should really find his mother. Or one of his brothers. But where were the bloody bastards?

He looked over his shoulder. The mama was still dragging her weapon clad in a blue dress across the ballroom. He could already see the next scene: the mother would present the said weapon to him and find a way—and they always did—to force Levi to ask for a dance.

“We should think of a good plan. You are not to do anything rash, do you understand?” Margaret’s hissing voice said.

“Well, I am uncertain your plan will work either, Maggie.”

Levi did not want to intrude, for the woman sounded anxious, but his situation seemed more urgent and desperate. He jumped in front of his sister, beside the blond woman, without a ready greeting in mind.

Margaret spun her head toward him, and so did the woman she was talking to.

For a moment, Levi forgot about the mama and her daughter as his green eyes met the most interesting gray globes he had ever seen. Or were they blue? No, they were definitely gray.

Or maybe they are blue.

“Levi, where are your manners?” he vaguely heard his sister ask, tone irked.

Lost in the deep, gray-blue waters, he answered in his mind as his thoughts swam in the same gray-blue depths. They blinked, displaying long lashes that perfectly curved and whispered a caress on her skin.

“Levi,” the soft voice said as she curtsied.

He tried to clear his throat. That was a hasty curtsy, one given to someone they were too familiar with or deemed less important.

His eyes blinked a few times, confused. Somehow, he knew he should recognize her.

Her hair was not blond at all. Not completely. It had a touch of light brown and he would gladly explore them with his fingers should he be given the chance. Mayhap then he could add another moment to study the actual color of her eyes while doing so.

Looking back into them, he realized they were staring at him with a great deal of recognition and familiarity. Then he blinked. Did she just call him Levi?

He frowned. When a faint smile curved her full lips, Levi slowly realized he might know her after all.

Tearing his gaze from the woman, he turned to his scowling sister. “She is Tori, is she not?”

His sister’s scowl deepened as the lady beside him chuckled. A soft one. A very delicate chuckle that sent a shiver through him.

“Still the comical one, are you not, Levi?” Tori asked, her voice now clear and terribly familiar.

The enchanting feeling, the bit of desire he felt just moments ago, instantly dissipated into thin air as his guess was confirmed. And then the disappointment.

Victoria Ashdown! He had been momentarily charmed by a woman who was practically his sister!

Bloody tarnation, where had he been all these years?

“You look quite speechless, my lord,” Tori said with a jesting tone. “Have I grown too striking in the last three years?”

It had been three years since he saw her? How was that possible when he practically grew up with her?

He had been traveling around the Town for a year before he settled in Standbury two years ago, therefore he had not seen her for that long. But surely, it was not possible for a human to drastically change from a sickly frame to one that was worth—

He should not finish that thought.

Tori . She was Tori, he reminded himself.

The feeling of familiarity returned, melting away his body’s initial response to the woman. “Good God, Tori, you look like a proper woman!”

“Levi!” Margaret hissed, slapping his arm.

Tori chuckled. Good Lord, even her laughter was enchanting. Unbelievably familiar and enchanting.

Again, Levi cleared his throat. “My apologies, ladies,” he said instead, “but I greatly need your company.”

“Our company?” Margaret asked.

“To scare away another or two,” he explained under his breath.

Tori moved beside him to make a slight turn and see who he might refer to. Her bare arm, the part not covered by her gloves, touched his clothed one.

Levi immediately shook off the instant reaction. He had been too long without a woman, that’s all it was, he reasoned.

Victoria Ashdown was practically his sister.

For God’s sake, he had seen her in naught but her flimsy nightdresses when she had to stay the many nights with Margaret since she was nine and he was fourteen! He saw her running about playing with him and his brothers. On some occasions, he made her cry. Or was that Nick?

No matter, she was his sister’s best friend. And he would never mess around with one of his sisters’ friends. That was not just done.

Yes, that was right. She was practically his sister!

Yet she was also the same woman who admitted she fancied him.

Again, he mentally shook his head. She had said that merely as a joke. Victoria Ashdown had always loved to jest on trivial things, often oddly.

Levi always believed her humor was different, and anyone who laughed at them would be considered a person of high intellect. She was one who would lace her jokes with a sarcastic, dry tone, but also artfully that would leave one irrevocably confused.

That time she confessed she fancied him was also the time she called Benedict funny, Levi reminded himself.

Not a soul had believed her, he the most of all.

“I believe your predators have made a retreat, my lord,” Tori said beside him. “And I see the twins from across the room, talking with the Haverstons. You might wish to have them as your comrades.”

“She meant to say you are free to go because we are discussing a very sensitive topic,” Margaret said to Levi when he did not move.

He arched an eyebrow. “You mean to say you spinsters are—”

“You may not call us such,” Tori snapped. “We have two more years to be officially on the shelf.”

“Two years is not that long,” he said, stepping back with a smile as the two ladies turned to him with a scowl.

“But not too short for things to change,” she snapped back in her familiar haughty way.

His gaze held by hers, he smiled. “Indeed,” he replied. “Always my pleasure to irate you so, ladies,” he said, retreating with a mocking grand bow. “Just like the old times, eh?” He winked before turning about to search for the evil twins.

Ah, there they are , he mentally said, spotting the two black-haired vixens.

Making his way toward his youngest siblings, Levi wondered what sensitive topic Margaret and Tori were discussing. Tori seemed distressed.

With a silent scoff, Levi decided it was not his place to meddle. He continued on his way toward the two youngest Everards.

They saw him and their emerald green eyes lit up.

“Levi!”

“My little darling devils!” he greeted.

III. Wicked Stepmother

Any meal with Lady Clarice Ashdown could be compared to attending church service with a vicar who did not know the core of his teachings. The woman would say one thing in front of many people and say another the moment she turned her back.

The latter began the moment Tori sat down and lifted her fork.

“I hope you are keeping your distance from the Everards, Victoria.”

Margaret and the rest of the Everards had to face yet another scandal mere days after the ball. And this time, it was more serious than the last. The road to the first Everard wedding was proving to be a challenge because this time it involved the Men of Courts.

The family was not just facing a scandal anymore. This time they had to deal with a crime accused on Benedict’s fiancée.

Victoria was quite familiar with Agatha Blair. As the governess of the two youngest Everards, the woman had by far been amongst the best. She had joined Margaret and Tori in many quiet afternoons reading books, discussing subjects that ladies of their age and intellect were interested in. In fact, Tori considered Agatha a friend. And to see the accusations thrown at the woman, and to witness people believe the said accusations, nearly pushed Tori to march down to Everard House and protect the woman. But she had her own struggles at home.

She frowned at Clarice. The woman was dressed for another night out.

Tori could not entirely blame the woman’s capricious nature, for her father should have known the woman he was marrying when he met her. After Tori’s mother died when she was but five, August Ashdown thought Tori needed a mother.

He could have picked a better and older woman. Clarice had never physically maltreated her, but the woman had never seen her as anyone but a competition either—a competition to her husband’s attention and most definitely his wealth. Tori knew they were nearly at the last of their townsends, but Clarice would still act as though she owned every cobblestone she walked on.

“You have said merely days ago, Clarice, that the Everards are dear friends,” she wryly commented on the woman’s statement.

“I know, dear, but you also know that there are quite a number of people who are wary of them at the moment. With this big scandal about the governess being a witch, I do not want you to suffer the same fate.”

“You should have worried about my attachment to the Everards before you practically dropped me in their doorsteps every chance you could after Papa’s accident.”

A flicker of annoyance crossed Clarice’s eyes. “But that was before, Victoria. You are a grown woman now. By God, you are nearly a spinster! You ought to think more for yourself than hang around the Everards. It would have been neat if one of those brothers offered for you, but I do not see that happening.”

She had long given up understanding what Clarice really wanted for her. Not many years ago, she had a line of suitors willing to give her their names, but it was Clarice who had so frequently told her not to accept, having seen too many flaws on the gentlemen, until the day came that all of them ceased to come.

At some point, she truly believed Clarice wanted the best for her. Oh, how wrong she had been.

“Now, you ought to spend more time with Lucas. He has been meaning to talk to you, but you are not always home when he comes around.”

“I do not see why I would need to be present whenever he is,” Tori said, feigning ignorance. Clarice may appear calm and graceful most days, but years of living under the same roof as the woman had opened Tori to the many facets of Clarice Ashdown.

At her words, Clarice set her fork down and eyed her evenly with a smile. “He wishes to marry you.”

“And you are going to say no, yes?” she asked, matching her stepmother’s sly smile before she chewed on a piece of roasted beef.

“You will be a fool not to accept. He is from the good side of the family, he is handsome, and he will take care of you.”

Tori stiffened, stunned. She watched her stepmother nonchalantly chew her food, looking utterly innocent.

Something caused the woman to change her mind.

Buying time, Tori carefully forked her food and fed herself. As she chewed, her mind reeled. She tried to think like Margaret. What would her friend do? What would Margaret say?

They want your dowry . She clearly heard her friend’s voice in her head.

“You must mean take care of my dowry. He will be a tad richer than he is now,” she nonchalantly said, studying Clarice’s reaction. She saw nothing, which meant something where her stepmother was concerned.

“Lucas will manage your accounts far better than you possibly could. You know naught but stitch and make calls for tea with your friends. A man like Lucas is more than capable of assuring that you do not burn every townsend your father had set aside for you.”

Tori knew that this moment was important. She was in a game where Clarice was at an advantage and she had to play this right. Something had made Clarice change her mind, and now the woman was willing to marry Tori off to Lucas. Had she reached an agreement with the man Tori was not aware of?

“I wish to marry someone of my choosing.”

Clarice frowned at her with amusement, one that bordered on condescending. “There is no one to choose from, Victoria. Have you gone blind?” Then she looked from left to right. “I do not see suitors waiting in the parlor!”

“And if I find one?”

Clarice regarded her with narrowed and suspicious eyes, but the smile remained. “You are almost on the shelf, darling. You will marry Lucas before he changes his mind.”

“Forgive me, Clarice, but I refuse the match.”

Clarice’s chuckle was airy and nasal. Her shoulder shook as the sound of her amusement rescinded into a sigh of equal pity and mirth. “Darling, I cannot have you under my care forever.”

“Why? Because I am becoming a burden? An extra mouth to feed?”

The woman’s eyes dramatically widened in horror. “Victoria! You cannot speak of such a horrible thing!”

“Forgive me,” she apologized, wiping her lips with the napkin.

Her stepmother let out a dramatic sigh. “You always do this, you know. You come up with the most insane accusations to appear the victim when things do not go your way.”

“And are you trying to avoid my questions because they are true?” she retorted, her smile hurting her face. “Or because you are hiding something from me?” She ignored the growing lump in her throat and focused on the matter at hand.

“Hiding something? Whatever do you mean, Victoria?”

Tori counted in her head, heart pounding in her ears as she did so. Once she said the words, there would be no turning back. “My mother’s settlement money, of course. The one I should get once I turn thirty.”

The effect was rewarding. Clarice’s face froze along with the knife in her hand. Then it was gone in a blink. “There is no settlement money left from your mother. Wherever did you get that insane idea?”

Again, she counted to ten. “Father’s diary, of course.” Clarice grew paler. With a satisfied smile, Tori added, “I am quite certain my father’s good solicitor can provide me with more accurate information as to the amount I am entitled to get and where I can get them. Or be kind enough to tell me that there is indeed no such amount.” Clarice suddenly looked ashen. Tori shrugged. “I tried sending Mr Frasier a letter of inquiry. I’m quite certain he can answer my questions, but he seems too busy.” Clarice scoffed, but one could not miss the look of panic in her eyes.

Tori reached for her wine and slowly sipped. Then she swallowed, eyes on her stepmother’s. “But sometimes I wonder how busy a solicitor truly is. Certainly, Mr Frasier can spare me his time. After all, he welcomes you in his office every Wednesday, does he not?”

The victory she felt at that point would have been enough, really, because Clarice was as livid as she had ever allowed herself to be in front of Tori. “You have been spying on me, Victoria?”

Victoria feigned horror. “I would never do such a thing, Clarice. I know your visits to Mr Frasier are purely business .” The woman’s eyes flickered to the servants standing at one side of the dining room. Tori could tell that the woman was piecing everything together. But before she could, Tori added, “I will not pursue my inquiries with Mr Frasier if you will grant me the freedom to choose—of find—a husband.”

Her stepmother snapped her head back at her from across the table, face flushed with contained fury and panic.

“You can have my mother’s settlement money all to yourself once I get a match of my own choosing. I will leave with naught but my dowry.” She let the silence linger just long enough to ask, “And the dowry is still untouched, yes?”

“Of course it is!” Clarice shrilled.

“Of course. I am certain Mr Frasier is taking care of everything,” said Tori, breaking into a bigger smile. “I see no reason I would need more. After you squandered everything else, I believe you will need my mother’s money the most.”

Clarice’s jaw tightened. “Your mother’s dowry was not even enough for herself, darling. Do not delude yourself that she had any left for you.”

“And I do not see any reason you cannot give me the freedom to choose my match.”

The woman’s laughter sounded forced, but it still sent a chill down Tori’s spine. “Darling, you are under my care. What makes you think I cannot choose the husband for you?”

Tori sighed. “Perhaps I should visit Mr Frasier after all. You and he may be friends , but law binds him to accommodate me. If my mother’s settlement money is indeed in existence, of course.”

“ If it is, you will get it when you reach your thirtieth birthday.“

Clarice was correct, of course, but two years was too long. The estate would be out of their hands by then. She needed to get her hands on her dowry soon .

“Then it shall be yours. If you allow me to choose my own husband.”

Clarice’s face twitched.

“I do not need to visit Mr Frasier. I will not claim my mother’s settlement money. You can have it all to yourself.”

She could almost feel her stepmother’s ire echo around the room, crawling across the floor to slither up her legs and into her skin. Tori held on. Her hand fisted under the table, nails digging into her palm because she had no one—or anything—to hold on to for strength.

“You have a month,” Clarice’s crisp voice came to her like a dream—or a nightmare. She could not tell for certain, for it felt like both.

“No, I want the entire Wickhurst Season.”

Clarice laughed, but the mirth did not reach her eyes. “Very well. I am not saying your mother’s settlement money is real, dear, but I would love to see you try and fail.” Recovering with a shrug, Clarice’s hand moved, and she sliced the meat on her plate. “And once you do, I do not want to hear anything about missing settlements.”

“Of course.”

“And no more threats of visiting Mr Frasier. That poor man is too busy to entertain your embarrassing inquiries.”

“Yes, of course.”

“And you will marry Lucas.”

Tori’s jaw tightened.

“Victoria?” Clarice asked, brows arched. “Are we clear? If you cannot find yourself a husband by the end of the Wickhurst Season, you will marry Lucas. The villa I bought is only large enough for myself.”

“Yes,” she bit out.

The confidence was back on her stepmother’s face. “I’m willing to give you a chance to make a choice since you seem to enjoy deluding yourself that you can actually make one. Perhaps you can find a fine gentleman at the Everard wedding. I heard they invited most of the polite society. That is, if your friends ever survive this horrid scandal.”

Tori could not swallow her food, the reality of her bold agreement with Clarice settling in.

Later, she sat at the same chair by the window in her father’s old bedchamber, lost in her own thoughts.

Did she make the right move? Was Clarice right?

Could she, Victoria Ashdown, truly find a match this season?

Good Lord, it was the Wickhurst Season! Where everyone would be in their best gowns and jewelries; where all gentlemen would expect substantial dowries.

She barely had any of those.

IV. Wedding Plans

Finally, the day came. The Everards surpassed another storm intact, stronger than ever.

Agatha was finally cleared of all accusations against her.

There were still those who were wary, but as typical of the Everards, they did not care because scandal or not, the wedding happened just in time for the start of the Wickhurst Season.

Clarice could not attend, claiming she was not feeling well. Typical of Clarice to always play safe in such social games, Tori thought as she sat in the pew behind Lady Alice and her daughters.

Everyone else present, save for the family and those who cared for the wedding, was ogling the Everard brothers sitting opposite their mother and sisters.

One, however, was missing.

Tori turned and frowned when Levi sat beside her, pulling the sleeves of his coat down his wrists while he craned his neck, looking for—or hiding from—someone. Or everyone.

“Should you not be sitting with your brothers?” she whispered, turning her head back to the altar where the eldest of the Everards was being wed. Benedict was secretly referred to as the beast because of the scars on his face. Tori had to admit that the man could be quite intimidating, even for her. Today, however, the beast was far from terrifying because of the look in his eyes as he stared down at his bride. No one could tell how the romance between the two started, but perhaps love was indeed a mysterious thing.

“Have you not seen the flock of mothers and their daughters around us?” Levi answered under his breath, his eyes directed at the alter as well. “To stand or sit or be anywhere near my unmarried brothers, most especially now that the scandal passed, would equate to suicide.”

She let out a small scoff, covering it with a fake cough when a few heads turned. Margaret, who was sitting beside Lady Alice in front, looked over her shoulder and threw her brother a scalding look.

“It was her!” Levi pointed at Tori.

“Hush!” she hissed, inching away from him.

He slid closer, as if she could shield him from everyone else. She considered sliding farther away, but Lord Forshaw was to her left and she would hate to spend the entire ceremony dizzy with the man’s unique smell.

“But don’t you think marriage might be good after all?” she asked him. “One look at your brother and his bride will give anyone hope.”

“My, Tori, do not tell me you are thinking of announcing your betrothal soon?” he inquired, slightly turning his head to look at her from the corner of his eye.

Tori blinked. “Well, yes, as a matter of fact.”

He was obviously startled by her response. “You are?”

“Yes.”

“To whom?” Was it doubt or challenge she heard in his voice?

“If my stepmother wins, it will be with a man she can control and fool. If I win, it would be with someone I chose.”

Levi frowned, and this time his whole body shifted and he faced her fully. Tearing her eyes off Benedict and Agatha, she stole him a look.

Tori had to be reminded once more that she was talking to the most handsome of the Everard brothers—in her opinion, of course. He was slightly larger than Benedict and while his eldest brother’s face was filled with scars, his was… well, glorious.

No man ought to have such face, really. The sharp edges of his face, and those dazzling emerald eyes that seemed to always glimmer with wickedness, promised disaster. Even after many years of having been around him growing up, and even after seeing him charming his way around the Town before he disappeared from Wickhurst three years ago, Tori found herself startled and transfixed by his beauty still.

Surely, every man must think life was unfair to all but Levi Everard. He had everything—the wealth and the looks.

But he was also a reserved man. He had always been, she thought. Having been around the Everards helped Tori figure out the family’s quirks. Levi Everard, in her opinion, was the most private.

Yes, Benedict may seem more mysterious, but that was only because of his scars and his icy demeanor. Another brother, Maxwell, was perhaps the most stoic, and rarely spoke, but he did not evoke the same mysterious air Tori often felt around Levi.

He was a different matter. He could fool everyone into thinking he was the most charming man around—and he truly was. But she saw how his smiles could easily wane when no one was about. He wore a mask, and it had been on him for so long that it was a part of him now, a second skin that was always at the ready whenever he needed it to smile for him.

But even if she claimed she knew him well, she did not truly know him deeply enough. No, not anymore, at the very least. They were past the age of games and tricks, of banters and teasing. He became a man and she… well, she too had changed.

Therefore, it was easy to say that somehow, along the way, their friendship had come to a pause and never truly grew with them. Tori could not help but think that she had lost a friend.

Or a part of that friend. She still considered him one. Or at least she tried to pretend he was, and that she was still as comfortable around him as she was years ago.

“And who are these grooms you are talking about?” She vaguely heard his question.

Clearing her throat, and drawing her thoughts back to the moment, Tori looked at the couple being wed and back at Levi. “The first one is still the man I do not wish to think about. The second can be anyone.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“It means I am yet to catch the man.”

“What? Trap him in marriage?”

“No, manipulate him into a marriage with me.”

His face contorted with disbelief. That look flashed images of the many days she spent with him and his family. He would always have that look whenever she said something, because he was always the first one to doubt her words and consider the fact that she may be jesting. Most often he would be right. “You are insane, Tori.”

“Hush!” Margaret hissed at the two of them over her shoulder, but her scolding stare was directed at her older brother.

“It was her!” Levi pointed at Tori again.

This time, Lady Alice turned and gave Levi a blank stare. Tori had seen that stare too many times in the past, and had gotten her fair share of it as well, to know it was nowhere near blank .

Levi scoffed in disbelief and slid lower in his seat to avoid the attention of the guests around them.

“Either you are jesting,” he whispered beside her, not willing to let the matter go, “or you are insane.”

Tori lifted her shoulders. “Mayhap, yes. Insane, I mean, because I am not jesting.” She looked on at Benedict Everard and Agatha Blair, both soon to share one name. The couple had been through the worst. Next was nothing but a blissful life.

Tori vowed she would have the same and her stepmother better be ready, for she was not losing this game.

---

“Are you aware of Tori’s plan to find a husband?” Levi asked Margaret later at the wedding ball.

His sister’s expression did not change. She was good at it. Growing up with five brothers taught her well, Levi thought. “You cannot imagine the number of ladies looking for a husband every season, brother. Tori is no exception.”

He followed her gaze and joined her in watching Tori dance with a gentleman. “Who is that man?”

“Mr Rodney Walker,” she said. “He owns five shops.”

“And what does he sell?”

“Chocolates.”

He frowned at the gentleman. “Business does not seem to be doing well then. Look at him grimace.” As Margaret glared, he added, “Either that or Tori is a terrible dancer.” The dance was ending, and he did not miss the look of relief from both dancers. “It must be the latter.”

“What is the matter with you?” Margaret asked, now clearly irked. “You keep pestering Tori.”

“I always pestered Tori, Maggie.”

“When we were children, yes. And then you decided to be a gentleman and a good friend for a good number of years. But now you seem to be regressing!”

He blinked in confusion. “Maggie, I am merely jesting.”

“You are mocking,” she snapped. Then she turned to him and looked him up and down. “And since you are already here, why don’t you ask Tori for a dance? Find out if she is a terrible dancer.”

He blinked. “No, thank you. My feet are still healing after those times the two of you stepped on them while learning the waltz. And that was what—ten years ago?”

“You can simply say no, Levi,” Tori’s voice said.

He made a sharp turn, and his eyes locked with hers. She did not look angry. She looked stunning. In fact, her eyes seemed to be laughing in amusement as well.

“Mr Walker walked away?” he inquired.

“With his two good feet unharmed,” she replied with meaning. Then her eyes traveled down to his feet. “I am sorry about your feet, my lord. I meant to cripple them, not make them suffer for years.”

The laughter slowly rumbled in his chest before it eventually exploded. Without thinking, Levi lifted his fist and playfully jabbed it against Tori’s arm.

“Levi!” Margaret scolded.

“What?” he laughingly asked. Then, realizing what he had done, said, “Good Lord, forgive me, Tori. I forgot you easily lose your balance.”

Over Margaret’s frustrated scolding, Tori laughed. Then she playfully pushed him away, gloved palm over his chest. To his surprise, he slightly stumbled back. “It is fine, my lord, I have gone quite strong over the years.”

He forced out a laugh, gritted his teeth when he saw the challenge in her beautiful blue-gray eyes. Because he would not let her have the last move, he stepped closer, but Margaret slipped between them and hissed, “Stop it, the two of you. Goodness, we are no longer in the playroom!”

“Well, I can definitely say I did not start it,” said Tori, nonchalantly turning away. Then she stiffened. Margaret saw what caught her friend’s attention and scoffed in disbelief.

Spotting the subject of their ire, he frowned. It was Lady Clarice Ashdown, sashaying around the ballroom with her friends.

“She must have gotten word that the Everards are indeed back in the good graces of polite society,” he heard Tori say under her breath.

“There you are!” a familiar voice boomed behind them. Levi turned and found his younger brother rushing toward him. “Max and Nick are looking for you. They are in the gaming rooms.”

“I will follow shortly—”

Ralph stepped closer and whispered, “Mother is looking for you. She is with friends.”

Their mother being with her friends meant women and their unmarried daughters or nieces. “Then we have to dash,” he said to his brother and then to Margaret and Tori, “Enjoy the ball, ladies,” before quickly turning around with Ralph in tow.

As he evaded the crowd, squeezing through skirts and tailcoats, Levi looked over his shoulder. Margaret and Tori were moving, their faces grim.

He shook his head. Whatever the pair was up to, he should not concern himself.

Until they did something stupid, of course , he added to himself.

---

One week in Wickhurst was enough for Levi. The most scandalous social season just started, and he did not want to prolong his stay.

He spent his last night in Wickhurst with the rest of his brothers at Grey’s, drinking and playing cards, and could not remember how they all ended up in Nicholas’ villa. But it was always the case, since the residence of the fourth Everard son was closest to the gentleman’s club.

By morning, Levi was ready to leave. “With Benedict gone this particular season, you should stay,” said Maxwell. “You are the second eldest.”

“And you are the third. Therefore, in my absence, you are the eldest,” he wryly replied. “You can handle the twins.”

Ysabella and Emma were not really twins. Emma, the youngest, was born the same year as Ysabella. The two practically grew up together as one wicked pair. They had always been known as the twins for as long as the family could remember.

Maxwell shook his head. “Do not blame me should one of them get into trouble this season.”

“They might end up on a bloody tree again,” said Ralph, munching his food.

Levi turned to their youngest brother. “You watch over the twins this season.”

Ralph’s eyes widened. “But you just said Maxwell will do it. Why me!”

“Because you need to take responsibilities, brother,” he said, throwing his napkin on the table. “Where’s Nick?”

“Passed out,” Ralph said, motioning his head in the direction of the parlor. “You should stay, Levi. You do not know what the two devils can do. I swear to you, they are the worst!”

“I see them every Christmas. I know they are the worst.”

“But they are angels during Christmas!” Ralph motioned to Maxwell. “Maxwell can handle them.”

“I have other responsibilities,” said Maxwell.

“You do naught but stare into space, Max!”

“I think.”

Ralph looked dumbfounded. “I do not think—”

“That is precisely why at least one of us has to think ,” Maxwell droned, his eyes looking bored. “Finish your meal and go home. The twins have to go to their fittings.”

Ralph groaned.

Levi scoffed in amusement. At five and twenty, Ralph needed more responsibilities. The twins would be a good practice.

He stood, righting the sleeves of his shirt. When he looked up, he caught Maxwell staring at his hands. His observant brother made no comment when he looked up and met Levi’s gaze. “Safe trip, brother. I heard bandit attacks are higher this season.”

Levi nodded and as he passed Ralph, slapped the man’s shoulder. “Take care of the twins. For now, no scandal for you, Ralph. Nothing like the one two years ago. Focus on the sisters.”

“It was not even true! Gossip, that’s all it was!”

Levi walked out of the room and poked his head into the parlor to check on his other brother. Nicholas was on the chaise, sleeping with half of his body about to fall on the floor. As he rushed to the front doors, he heard Ralph still talking. “This is too bloody unfair. They have five brothers. Why does it have to be me?”

“Shut up,” he heard Maxwell reprimand.

Later, inside his carriage, he looked out into the busy streets of Wickhurst.

He did not know why Victoria Ashdown’s face flashed in his mind. At the wedding, she seemed determined to find a match this Wickhurst Season.

Going by her choice of dance partners, he was doubtful of her success.

Even so, he wondered if he would find a married Victoria Ashdown the next time he returned to Wickhurst.

V. Tea

Just when he thought he was no longer needed by the family, Levi received another letter from his mother merely a week after his arrival in Standbury.

Your brother and Agatha are on their way back to Wickhurst from their honeymoon, his mother wrote. As my second eldest, I wish you will be here with us. The gossip, if you must know, is still quite fresh. And the twins will need more brothers to guard them. It is the Wickhurst Season, son. Your sisters are being preyed upon!

The letter turned dramatic as he read that he considered ignoring it.

The said letter was followed by another, and this time it was from Ralph:

I am dying, Levi. They are untamed beasts, I tell you! Untamed! Yesterday, at Mrs Camila’s tea party, Ysabella found a way into the kitchen. She was looking for pies! Pies! And she was with Mrs Beagle, the cat who just returned after a month-long disappearance. Emma was found in the library, which was supposed to be locked. And that was where Ysabella intended to deliver the pies before I caught her. Have I never told the lot of you before that they are expert lock pickers? No one believed me! I have claimed many years ago that they practiced on my door every night. And yet you all believed their claim that it was just a ghost. Now here we are, being haunted by living devils who—

Levi did not bother to read further because Maxwell also sent him a note that read, Ralph is being dramatic. Do not come home if he sends word.

He intended to heed Maxwell’s much more favorable letter, but then the letter from the twins came:

Do not believe Ralph. He is being dramatic. We have been doing naught but behave with utmost grace! Mrs Camila did not make it known that no one should enter that library, and she surely did not find it scandalous that we did. I swear no pies were stolen. There was none to begin with! We would rather you do not mind Ralph.

And there is no need to tell Benedict!

We hope you are faring well in Standbury, our dearest and most favorite brother.

See you on Christmas!

The letter sent him packing again because graceful and behave could never survive together in a sentence when it concerned the twins. With Benedict arriving with his new wife while the scandal was still fresh, he could not let the twins be involved in another that might ruin their future.

For the love of God, they were eighteen this year. Mayhap it was time they behaved like it!

However, just mere hours after he arrived in Wickhurst to find the twins and sit them down for a thorough talking, Margaret trapped him inside the parlor with tea and biscuits. And before he could wonder why, Tori slipped into the room and firmly shut the door.

The clicking of the lock made him close his eyes with a groan.

This had happened too many times in the past. If there was another pair that Levi was wary of, it was Margaret and her best friend. They had always thought he was the best comrade—from chaperone services to learning how to dance and even giving answers to questions regarding intimate matters that only men had knowledge of.

“Whatever the two of you are scheming, I shall not be a part of it. I am here to survive the family dinner, talk to the twins, and save Ralph’s life before Benedict realizes things are getting out of control once more,” he said, opening his eyes. Tori had settled on the settee across from him, looking distraught.,

But how could she look like that and yet be too bloody enchanting?

Or had he been blind three years ago, and she had always been so?

“What is he talking about?” Tori asked Margaret. “We are only having tea.”

“I have not the faintest idea,” Margaret replied, feigning innocence. “Now, Tori, tell me more about the cryptic letter you sent me.”

Levi frowned at the two of them. “I do not even know what in the devil you two are talking about,” he said dryly. “But I honestly feel trapped. I know the you are planning something that involves me.”

Margaret ignored the darting look he threw her and said, “Tori said she needs my help, brother. And since you are here, you may also lend a hand.”

“Just weeks ago, you practically pushed me away because you were discussing a sensitive topic. I wonder what changed now.”

“Then are you saying that Tori’s problem does not concern you at all? As her old friend?” his sister asked.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Tori shifted in her seat and said, “Very well, I should be very honest. My situation is very dire.” Levi could not help but notice how her light blue dress hugged her body, or how it allowed for some parts of it to show in a very interesting way. “My stepmother intends for me to marry her nephew to get my inheritance.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed, their conversation during the wedding coming back to him. Was this what she was talking about?

Margaret’s eyes dramatically widened. “Your stepmother wants you to marry her nephew for your inheritance?” his sister asked, sounding aghast. “But she cannot do that!”

Of course, Margaret was being theatrical. Levi knew she was already aware of the situation. This act was all for him.

“Oh, she can,” said Tori in an equally dramatic fashion, stealing him a glance. “She can because she is my legal guardian until I am thirty. She can and she will.”

Levi frowned. Something was not right here.

“And if you choose to marry someone else?” asked Margaret.

“She cannot stop it. But I must find a husband before the engagement is announced. She has not said a word to me, but I am certain it is to happen soon.”

Levi’s frown deepened as he transferred his gaze from Margaret to Tori and back again.

“We have to help her,” Margaret uttered after a while.

Ah, there it was. His purpose.

“I do not see how I can help. Are you suggesting I find her a husband?”

“Well, yes, of course!” Margaret said.

“As you may have failed to notice, Margaret, I have been absent from Wickhurst for quite a long time. I barely know anyone every time I step into Grey’s.”

“But your friends are still in town and most of them bachelors still. Gather them around and find Tori a husband.”

He had to admit he did not expect this. Mayhap he expected they ask him to help drive the carriage should Tori decide to run away with a lover, but to find her a husband? She had been to countless seasons and had not found one. How could she find one now ?

Levi did not want to be involved. All he wanted to do was survive the Everard dinner, ensure that Ysabella and Emma would behave this social season, and return to Standbury by the morrow.

But he was also aware that Margaret and Tori would merely do something more drastic should he refuse them. They must have another plan if they could not get what they wanted from him.

He clasped his hands together and impatiently sighed.

His friends, some of them married now, were naught but useless bastards, he thought before he answered, “I am sorry, Tori, but you are past the marrying age.” He personally thought her age did not matter, but for the perfect polite society, her age would be a concern.

Tori straightened in her chair. “And I would rather stay a spinster than marry my stepmother’s nephew. You have seen him around Wickhurst, Margaret. You tell your brother what he is like.”

“Horrible, disgusting form of a human being,” Margaret said with spite, clearly exaggerating.

Levi let out a heavy sigh. What else could he say to ensure he would walk out of this parlor alive and free of more obligations?

Considering he was facing Margaret and Tori, there was merely one option so he said, “I shall try to help, but I cannot promise anything. Most eligible bachelors prefer a younger wife.” He was utterly glad he was talking to Victoria Ashdown and not some sensitive chit who would instantly cry at his choice of words.

Tori haughtily lifted her chin. “Then I shall find someone who will accept someone at eight and twenty. We do not have to live like other couples.”

Levi slumped in his seat with a groan of frustration. “You are looking for a knight in shining armor, Tori, not a husband.”

“Are they not the same?”

He scowled at her. “No.”

“Well, so be it,” she haughtily said. “I am looking for a man who could take me away from my stepmother’s care before she spends all my fortune. He does not have to be wealthy. In fact, I would rather we find someone who is drowning in debt. My dowry alone is enough to entice anyone.”

“And yet you are unmarried,” Levi stated dryly.

“Because I was not given the chance to say yes before,” Tori snapped back, her sharp tone indicating he had touched a nerve.

“Stop the useless banter, the two of you. We ought to find a solution to your problem, Tori,” Margaret reprimanded. “We do not have time to spare with the two of you fighting like Ralph and the twins.”

Because I was never given the chance to say yes before…

Tori’s words echoed in his head. Had no one truly ever asked her? How many men in Wickhurst had been plagued by blindness and sense since he left?

He chewed the inside of his cheek. He truly wanted to go home by the morrow.

“Very well,” he finally said, albeit reluctantly. “If you seek a husband, we shall find you one.”

Tori smiled and his breath was almost stolen from him. Had she always had a glow about her when she smiled?

Mentally shaking his head, he added, “But answer something for me, Tori. Why are you afraid to marry this nephew?”

“We already told you he is—”

“Yes, I know. And I also know that you are concerned about your inheritance. Are we talking about your dowry?”

Her eyes flickered to the left before she blinked at him. “Yes, of course.”

He frowned. “Whoever your husband will be, Tori, he will still have full authority over your dowry.”

“Not if I find someone who will be generous and lenient enough to allow me the liberty over my finances.”

“We have to help her,” Margaret repeated, looking at him sternly. “You have to help her.”

His frown deepened. “I am not marrying you, Tori.”

Margaret and Tori shared an incredulous look. Tori then scowled at him, clearly offended by his statement. “Well, I am not marrying you either, Levi. Thank you for the kind offer!”

“I merely wanted to make that one thing clear should either of you entertain the idea.”

Tori let out an incredulous scoff and asked, “Then you will help me?”

“I said I shall try . While I am here. I am not staying long to watch the two of you make a fool of yourselves,” he said, pointing his fingers at them.

Margaret glanced to Tori who had turned stiff as stone.

Levi sighed with frustration. There was clearly something they were not telling him.

“You do not have to prolong your stay here,” Tori coldly said. “I did not mean to ask it from you.”

“But of course, he can, Tori. It would be much preferable if he did—” Margaret started, but her friend lifted a hand to say, “I do not wish him to witness my desperate attempts, as he would call it, to find a husband, Maggie. I am afraid it would greatly discomfort him seeing me make a fool of myself.”

Levi groaned. “I did not mean—”

“You only need to introduce Tori to prospects, Levi,” said Margaret, stealing Tori a wary look. “Then you may go home to Standbury. A ball or two should be enough.”

“No, Margaret,” said Tori, brow arched. “I only need one thing from him and then he can go home. Truly, I do not need much of his help.”

“No, I can help but only—” Levi was talking while Margaret said, “But, Tori, Levi can—”

“I only need a list, Levi,” Tori said over their words.

Levi paused. Baffled, he asked, “List?”

Tori’s brows cocked high; her shoulders pulled back. She was trying too hard to be confident, he thought, wondering how much of it was real. “Yes. I need a list of all eligible candidates.”

“Bloody hell, Tori, you are not out shopping. Why would you need a bloody list?”

Tori merely smiled—not even a real one—and stood. “That is all I am asking from you, my lord. As a friend, of course,” she said. Turning to Margaret, she added, “I hope you all enjoy your family dinner.”

The door firmly closed behind her as she left, and Levi gawked at Margaret. “What in the devil just happened? What did I do wrong now?”

Margaret sighed and shook her head. “You told her she is desperate.”

“I did not!”

“You might as well have said it by how you said things!”

He scoffed in disbelief. “Forgive me, Maggie, but she does sound and look desperate.”

“Not for the reasons you think,” his sister snapped. “I was truly hoping you can be of help.”

“I said I shall try, did I not?”

“Then give her what she wants.”

“You mean give her a bloody list.”

“Yes.”

“Maggie, what is truly going on? Surely this is not just about her stepmother forcing her to marry a man—”

“Levi, I cannot tell you everything.”

“Perhaps I should know what the bloody hell is really going on.”

Margaret shrugged. “There is nothing much you need to know. Tori’s stepmother wants her money, but Tori wants it for herself because she deserves it. I am helping her find a husband who can give her more freedom over her finances. That is all. And you will help by giving us a list.”

“Are you aware that you just narrowed our prospects to none? I do not know anyone who will allow his wife to play around with her own dowry.”

“There are far better men than Clarice’s nephew, Levi, I am sure.”

“But—”

His sister resignedly interrupted, “If you cannot give us a list—and that is all she is asking from you, then perhaps you should just free yourself of this scheme, as you would call it. We can always find help elsewhere.”

VI. Friends and Acquaintances

Levi paced around his bedchamber, one of the twenty-five in the Everard House; his hands on his hips, his head bent.

A list.

How the bloody hell could he come up with a list of gentlemen for Tori?

He could hear Standbury calling him home.

But he couldn’t, not when his sister and her friend were determined to make a fool of themselves that would most definitely lead to detrimental consequences.

A groan that almost sounded like a growl escaped his throat as he rushed out the door.

He found Margaret reading a letter in her small study that was connected to her bedchamber. Only Levi and the other brothers knew why she needed one. As a member of the League of Founders, it was paramount that she had her own space to write secret missives to secret individuals. Their mother and the twins might think she was spending most of her time locked in the study knitting or sewing flowers on cloths, but they were wrong. If they only knew what Margaret was up to.

And even though they knew what she was part of, Levi and his brothers had very little knowledge of what she was truly involved in. When she joined the League three years ago, they respected her decision warily because of many reasons. For one, she did not ask for their permission.

The League was involved in many dangerous missions, and most of them involved matters the government of the Town could not—or refused—to handle themselves. But apparently, his sister was not too busy because she was taking an entirely different mission, one that involved husband hunting for a friend.

“Can you not ask Nick or Max to do it instead?” he asked, closing the door behind him.

Margaret gently folded the paper in her hands, slowly relaxing her serious mien. A smile crept up her face. “No, brother.”

“Why me? I did not decide to go back to Wickhurst for this. We just had a lovely, chaotic dinner. My estate is waiting for me. I need to go home. Nick and Max can help you.”

Margaret sighed. “Max makes many people uncomfortable with his cynical air. And should he ever allow himself be bothered, he would grab the first man he sees without consideration just to get the task done. And Nick will merely spend most of his time chasing skirts. Those two are useless. And do not think we never tried to ask them.”

“You did?”

“Of course!”

“And they refused?”

“Adamantly.”

He blinked in surprise. He understood why his brothers refused, but for them to have not considered helping at all was quite unbelievable. “They did not even offer a suggestion?”

“Of course, they did,” Margaret said, looking at him. “You.”

He gritted his teeth.

“They said it is about time you take on responsibilities after escaping most of them for three years. And I agree. For one, you left the twins to Ralph, of all people, and I have to step in to help him if you must know.”

Levi rubbed his hands on his face. Then an idea came to him. “The twins! They have matched many couples from servants up. Should I remind you of their recent project in the names of our very own Ben and Agatha?”

Margaret shook her head, strays of black hair swaying at both sides of her face as she did so. “The twins are too romantic and idealistic. Tori does not need romance. She needs a husband.”

“And when are marriage and romance a separate matter? Was I too far gone from society to have missed it?”

“You know very well most marriages do not have romance, and you know very much about romance not leading to marriages.” He stiffened because he saw a flash of something cross his sister’s eyes.

“I do not see why I have to do this. I have been away from Wickhurst for too long. For God’s sake, Maggie, I have been rumored to have gone insane and banished by you all three years ago!”

Margaret’s smile did not waver. That was a foolish rumor and the family simply laughed it off three Christmas dinners ago. “But you still have your charm. You do still have your friends and those friends have other friends.” Margaret waved her hand. “Do make the list, will you?”

“I am not even certain whether the people I once associated with are now married, deceased, or became criminals!”

“I will chaperone the twins to a ball two nights from now with Ralph. You should come with us,” his sister said, dismissing his statement with a slight roll of her eyes.

“I thought you only needed a list?”

“You might as well go. You are not leaving Wickhurst today or on the morrow, are you?”

“No, but I intend to leave within the week. The moment I deem it safe to escape mother.”

“Then there you have it. You should come with us. And you said so yourself, you need to talk to the twins. You might as well see if they heed your orders at this ball. And while there, meet your friends. Get reacquainted. Be a charmer. And get us names.”

He scoffed.

“And it might also help her a little if you dance with her.”

“Dance with Tori?”

“Have you forgotten to dance?”

“Why would I dance with Tori?”

“Because you will want people to notice her. Levi Everard is at the Wickhurst Season, and the first thing he does is dance with Victoria Ashdown ,” Margaret said, waving a hand in the air. “Women would gossip about it, the men would hear it and they would all turn their heads and look for Tori, and then at Tori.” Margaret’s eyes glinted as she continued to explain. “Now, do you know why it is necessary?”

Levi pursed his lips.

“She is my best friend, Levi. And she is your friend as well. It is our duty to help her. If her stepmother wins, it will be on our conscience. She is alone, Levi. She has no one else.”

Alone .

He had been alone for three bloody years and he knew what it felt like. No, perhaps not. He had been alone because he chose it, and all along he had a family to go back to. The twins’ weekly letters to Standbury were enough proof of that.

“You are indebted to me, Margaret,” he finally conceded.

Margaret’s smile widened. “Gladly. Now, off you go. If mother looks for me, do tell her I am painting.”

He stared at his sister dryly. “You do not paint.”

Margaret had unfolded the letter in her hands. “Oh, but I do. In secret, of course.”

“Of course,” Levi muttered, turning to leave.

“And the list, Levi!” she called after him.

---

“Have we heard it correctly that you are going to help Tori find a husband?” Ysabella asked Levi as they stood in one corner of the ballroom.

“Will you, Levi?” Emma added.

He stared at the twins dryly. Good God, they looked so much alike they could be real twins. Like the rest of their siblings, Ysabella and Emma had black hair and emerald green eyes. And at the moment, they glimmered with wickedness. As though they were thinking of something dangerous that he was not privy to.

“And you have been pressing your ears on doors again,” he said. “Have we not had our talk , ladies?”

Ignoring his words, the twins continued prying. “Why can you not marry her instead?” Emma asked. “You ought to be married by now, and she ought to have married many years ago. You know her well and the family knows her well. She is practically family!”

“Precisely the point, sisters,” he gritted out. “She is family. The very thought of me marrying Tori is almost disgusting. It is close to both of you suggesting I marry Margaret. Now, stop with your evil thoughts and focus on the ball. Do you not have dances? And where is Ralph?”

“In the gaming rooms, of course. Now that you are here, he is quite happy to be free of us,” said Ysabella, lifting her hand as he reached for the dance card around her wrist. “I do have three dances.”

Levi frowned down at the list. “You are not dancing with the Matill boy, Ysa,” he ordered.

“Why not? He seems nice.”

“Because I do not like the sound of his name. Feign an ankle injury the very moment he claims his dance.”

“But he is to be my third dance!” Ysabella insisted, stomping her foot.

“Then two will simply do,” Levi said before he turned to Emma. “Let me look at your list.” He pulled at Emma’s hand and found the card empty. “Good.”

“Thank you,” Emma said with a smile.

“You are worse than Ben,” Ysabella whined. “Or Ralph, really.”

“Thank you. To be considered your new greatest enemy is an honor.” He nodded at his sister’s dance card. “You can dance with the other two on the list save for the Matill bloke.”

Ysabella raised her chin. “You are no fun, Levi. You have been once, but not anymore.”

Yes, he was fun once. He was the charming, golden Everard boy. His mother had always thought so. He smiled at Ysabella. “People change.”

“Does that mean you may change your mind about Tori?” Emma hopefully asked.

“No. And I know that look,” he sternly said. “Do not make me one of your victims, you little devils. I will have none of it.”

The twins shrugged and turned to face the crowd in the middle of the ballroom.

The dancing was about to start.

Ysabella looked eager to join the fray. Emma, on the other hand, seemed to only be in attendance because it was interesting.

Levi looked around for any sign of his other brothers.

Where in the bloody hell had the other Everards gone to?

---

She saw him approach, and she did not move. Not even to acknowledge his presence when he stood beside her, clearing his throat.

Tori continued to ignore him.

He cleared his throat again.

“I thought you said you are going home to Standbury, my lord,” she said, eyes on the dancing couples.

“I was, but mother demanded I stay the week.”

“Good. I’d hate to think it is because of me.”

He was growing uncomfortable and she bit off a smile. Tori was glad that he was still the same in that regard. Not that she enjoyed seeing him in such state, of course. She was glad because she could still see signs of the old Levi she was familiar with. The thought was comforting. “I am sorry for how I said things the last we met, Tori. I did not mean to hurt you.”

“I am at the phase of my life where things rarely hurt, Levi,” she said, eyes jumping from one dancing pair to the next. “You did not hurt my feelings, so rest easy, my lord.”

He tore his eyes from Ysabella who was dancing with a young gentleman. He was now looking at Emma who stood a few yards away with their fifth brother, Ralph, obviously bickering over something trivial.

From the corner of Tori’s eye, she could see Margaret approach.

“Did Margaret tell you to ask me for a dance? You need not. We should leave your poor feet in painful peace,” she murmured under her breath, breaking the awkward silence between them.

It was always that way since they were children. Whenever they fought, someone would attempt to erase the tension. And they would both pretend nothing had happened until they forgot about the squabble.

But before Levi could utter a reply, Margaret reached them and hastily whispered, “It is time to take Tori for a dance.”

“Now?” He sounded wary that Tori wanted to melt in embarrassment, but she maintained her calm by squaring her shoulders.

“Yes, now. I see Emma and Ralph about to tear each other’s head off.” Without another word, Margaret sashayed toward their younger siblings, leaving them alone with Tori.

“We do not have to dance,” Tori hastily said. “However, if it does not hurt your feet , we may go around the room so you can introduce me to your acquaintances.”

But to her surprise, his hand appeared before her, palm up.

She frowned at it.

“Would you like to dance, Tori?” his voice, now filled with amusement, asked. She looked up at him to find that the same amusement was painted over his face. A smiling Levi Everard would always be radiant. However, Tori could not help but wonder if the smile was real. “I am certain my feet can manage,” he added, brows arched in a way that was familiar to her. He was trying to make peace, but he was embarrassed about it, so he laced his words with a teasing tone.

With a sigh, she took his hand and allowed him to guide her near the dancing. Ysabella and her partner passed them. “One dance for each gentleman, Ysa, nothing more,” she heard Levi say to his sister, ignoring Ysabella’s scowl as her partner whirled her away.

“Smile, Tori, or people would think you were forced to do this,” He whispered to her as they waited for the current dance to finish.

She forced a smile, aware of the curious gazes around them.

But this was the Wickhurst Season, Tori corrected in her mind. People were not just curious.

---

Levi did not find it hard to believe he would be dancing with Victoria Ashdown. He had done so many times in the past, but they were exclusively inside the Everard House parlor where he used to practice with her and Margaret before their debut.

This dance, however, was different. One, it had not even started yet. Two, it already felt different. Three, it was a good sort of different. Her body was too close he could feel her warmth seep through his clothes. And good Lord, he was just holding her hand, waiting for their dance.

To distract himself, he glanced around the room. Ysabella was smiling at her dance partner as the dance ended. The young man looked like he was maintaining the proper distance. Emma was standing in one corner, hiding behind Ralph who was trying to appear intimidating in front of a gentleman who may be trying to ask their sister for a dance. Margaret was standing close by, done with her duty to maintain order between Emma and Ralph, her eyes flickering around the room like it always did, observing, watching—spying.

As the music ended and another was starting, everyone was in a rush, most of them men out to claim their dances. Levi guided Tori to the middle of the floor and gathered her in his arms among other dancers.

Then he looked down at her. And frowned. “You ought to work on your smile. It makes one think you are dancing with someone with swords for arms,” he said, looking over her dark blond hair to inspect the room.

As Margaret had correctly guessed, people were noticing him and Tori. He could see a few women turning their heads to their direction with bewilderment and… excitement? Whatever it was, it was more than just curiosity.

Levi Everard dancing must mean he was willing to dance more tonight, the ladies must think.

But he was not interested in the women. He was more concerned about the men. And surely, there were quite a few who looked on with interest, some of them he vaguely knew.

“What are you doing?” Tori whispered, her warm breath brushing against his neck. Was he holding her too close?

“Eyeing prospective bachelors. I cannot find anyone I’m familiar with,” he said, taking a step to the side, absently following the rhythm of the music. “Are we not dancing to a waltz?” he asked, confused when he realized three more couples to form a tiny circle.

“We are dancing the quadrille, you oaf,” Tori groaned. “Never mind about your acquaintances. I will only need a good list. Margaret and I can take care of the rest.”

“Tell me again why you cannot marry your stepmother’s nephew?” The music began. “Where are you going?” he asked when Tori left his side to dance with the other four ladies. Ah, drat it. The bloody quadrille!

“Do not remind me of that man. He is the worst,” she said as she returned to his side. She pushed him toward the middle of the circle to dance with the four gentlemen.

“He would not be if you had only chosen one from your previous suitors many years ago,” he hastily said as he took her hand to pull her toward him.

“How did you know about them?” she asked, and he sensed her eyes were on him.

Levi made a mistake of looking down at those blue-gray eyes.

“Levi, how did you know about my suitors?”

He blinked, forcing his mind to remember the answer. “The letters,” he nearly snapped in answer, twirling her around. When she frowned, obviously confused, he explained, “The twins sent weekly letters to Standbury, and they were all filled with stories. I thought I had escaped the Herald, but they made certain I did not. They still do, in fact.”

Understanding cleared her eyes. “Ah, so you must have also heard that they all went away—my suitors.”

“Before you could say yes?” he asked.

She shrugged, and he guided her toward another couple to take the hand of another young lady who was gaping at him. He offered an awkward smile.

“M-my lord, good evening!” the lady stammered.

“Good evening,” he said.

It took a few more painful steps to finally have Tori for himself again.

“Or did you send them away?” he asked her.

Her eyes would not meet his. “They just disappeared.”

His brows cocked high. “And why is that?” Now that he was not looking at her eyes, he was studying the rest of her face and he wondered why he never noticed the small pinpoint mark at the end of her left eyebrow before.

Again, the dance steps interrupted his study.

“I do not know as well, but I have my suspicions,” she said when they met again.

“Your stepmother.”

“Yes, Clarice.”

“And what could she have done to scare your suitors away?”

“I cannot tell. She can come up with anything, really. She told some of them about my father’s debts.”

“Who told you this?”

“The servants, of course.”

“Servants pick up gossips all the time, Tori, and most often than not they are incorrect.”

“But I have known my maid for many years. She would not give me false gossips.”

“They are gossips for a reason.”

Annoyance crossed Tori’s features as she snapped, “Then you are saying the suitors disappeared because of me.”

“No, of course not,” he immediately said. Another round of changing partners and Levi found himself eagerly waiting to get her back.

Her gray eyes—no, blue… no, they were definitely gray—met his green ones. “If you refuse to believe my stepmother to be the cause of my absent suitors, surely you’re thinking that the problem must be me.”

“I did not mean to say—” he stopped, frustrated at himself. He took a deep breath and let the dance distract them for a moment. They exchanged partners again, and Levi used the opportunity to formulate a good response. When Tori was returned to him, her gloved hand connected with his and as they both turned to the sound of music, he carefully said, “I mean to say that you may have merely been a victim of someone’s lies—ow!” He failed to finish his statement because her foot stepped on his.

“My apologies,” she murmured. Then she added, “But they were not lies. My father left a significant amount of debt,” before she had to walk back to dance with the other three ladies.

“—but it does not mean to say that it was your stepmother’s doing. Surely she would not want your family’s debt to be public knowledge,” he continued before taking his turn in the center.

“And who else would benefit from it?” She twirled around and was taken by another dancer. Levi almost groaned. They should have chosen the other dance.

“Well, how would I know?”

“Precisely, my lord, because you know very little about my life.” He opened his mouth but Tori took a deep breath and added, “I no longer wish to discuss this. I should be grateful you are doing this for me. That should be enough. So thank you, Levi.”

“Ow!” was his reply. “My foot is not the bloody floor, Tori!” he hissed.

She winced. “Sorry,” she said.

He sighed, quite bothered because he did not know everything. “We should focus on dancing before you kill my foot,” he said instead. “Also, I see quite a few gentlemen looking at you.”

“They are?” she made a move to turn her head, stepping on his foot again. “Apologies, apologies!” she repeatedly said as he scowled at her with a hiss.

When she made another attempt to look around, he stopped her, saying, “Do not stare, you fool. Pretend as though you do not care. Men will take it as a challenge.”

She danced with the other ladies. He danced with the other men, one foot seriously sore.

It was getting devastatingly frustrating, Levi thought, before they were reunited once more.

“I do not wish for them to feel there is a challenge. If possible, I want it to be easy,” she said when he took her hand.

Levi shook his head. “Then they will easily lose interest. Trust me on this, Tori. Simply pretend you are having a great night dancing and killing the foot of a good, charming friend who has chosen to dance with you because you are worth his time.”

Tori gave a quick snort before a proper smile crossed her lips. “You truly are a charmer, Levi. I wonder why you even disappeared for too long. You could have saved me many years ago by breaking many maiden’s hearts. Do you not agree, Lady Mabil?” she asked the middle-aged woman they had been dancing with.

“What was that again, dear?” asked the woman.

“Ah, never mind. The music is delightful, is it not?” Tori replied.

“What was that, dear?” Lady Mabil shouted as her partner led her back toward him.

Tori pursed her lips to hide a grin.

Levi laughed, this time a genuine one. From the corner of the room, he saw a familiar figure staring at them with amusement, eyes focused on Tori.

Bloody tarnation.

The ballroom was not spared of his old friends, after all. In fact, he just spotted the most dangerous one.

William Wakefield.

VII. The List

William Wakefield was already waiting for them, in all his rakish and handsome glory, by the time the equally infuriating dance was over. His friend’s blue eyes had never left Tori, and it took Levi one glance to know what the cad was thinking.

And he could not permit it.

“Go over to Margaret,” he whispered to Tori, but Wakefield was as fast as one of his mother’s stallions.

“Levi!” Wakefield was all smiles as he approached, but his eyes were on his target. He felt Tori go still beside him. “I am afraid I cannot wait for an introduction from you, so let me do it myself.” He turned his lean form to face Tori and bowed, “William Hayward, Lord of Wakefield. It will be my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Victoria.”

“You know me?”

Levi gritted his teeth at Tori’s obvious happy ignorance. Of course, the bloody bastard knew her name. Levi would wager Wakefield had learned it not ten minutes ago.

“Ah, yes,” he said, smiling at Wakefield. “Tori, meet William Wakefield, the biggest rakehell in town.”

Wakefield’s eyes snapped toward him before he focused his attention back on Tori. “That is the common misconception of my poor, innocent reputation, my lady.”

“Tori, I see Margaret is looking for you,” Levi said through his teeth, eyes on Wakefield, filled with warning.

“What do you mean? She is talking to the twins and Ralph,” Tori replied, looking around with an innocent frown.

He gave her a tiny push, which she finally took as a sign that her presence was no longer wanted. She gave Wakefield a shy curtsy before sauntering away.

Wakefield glared at Levi. “We meet again after many months. Or is it years? When was the last time we saw each other? Was it when we went hunting down south? But no matter. What I mean to say is that after a long time of not seeing each other, the first thing you do is deprive me of the company of a beautiful woman. Where are your manners?”

There was a playful glint in Wakefield’s blue eyes. Levi could never blame the many women who had cried for the bastard. He was handsome, his blond hair perfect for his rough features. His blue eyes appeared gentle under thick eyebrows, giving him an overall confident mien. He was also a dandy, always dressed in naught but the latest fashionable articles.

If wealth was to be considered, William Wakefield was a perfect candidate. But he would never be a good husband. He saw women as a passing fancy. Should they ever give anything to him, they must expect nothing in return but his time in bed. Levi never saw the man keeping a mistress for more than a year.

“You stay away from her, Wakefield,” Levi warned.

Wakefield’s brows cocked high. “Are you by chance planning to offer for her? Or is she already yours? Has my mother neglected to share more Everard gossips?”

Levi’s eyes narrowed. “No, but she is looking for a husband, not a lover.”

“A husband…” Wakefield said, his voice trailing in consideration. “I wonder why? She has remained unmarried for years, has she not?”

“And you know so much about her now because?”

Wakefield laughed and gave him a friendly slap. “I knew of Victoria Ashdown for years, Levi. She is amongst the list of women I vowed never to touch, but the said list has also been put aside for future consideration. I am afraid my mother is now amongst those who pester.”

“Do not do anything that would cause you our friendship, Wakefield. Stay away from Victoria.”

Wakefield looked over Levi’s shoulder to where Tori was, eyes filled with longing and disappointment. He sighed and stared back at Levi. “Very well. For now.”

“Forever.”

“For now, my friend. Now, tell me why you never answered my letters. Never saw you at any Theobald Ball either. Are you hiding some macabre things in Standbury? If not for your brother’s scandal, I am certain you would not have come home.”

“I enjoy Standbury.”

“When do I get to visit? I have been asking your brothers. They refuse to give me the direction to your lair.”

“You are not welcome there, Wakefield. Do not even try.”

Wakefield blinked. “Why?”

Because there are demons there, he replied in his mind before saying aloud, “It is not a place for your weekend parties and scandalous activities.”

Wakefield laughed. “You must have been away for too long then,” he said, shaking his head, “I have not been as rakish as I was three years ago, my friend. I am a changed man.”

“I highly doubt that,” Levi replied, remembering all the years he witnessed Wakefield go around town with different women. Often, he and some of their other friends had to wonder how many bastards Wakefield all over the Town itself.

“But I have. You ask my dear mother and she would vow that I am a changed man.”

Levi scoffed. “Your mother still believes you drink milk before bedtime, you bastard.”

Wakefield feigned a dramatic sigh. “I am afraid so. She still believes to this day that compared to my brother, I am an angel.”

“You mean the one sent down from heaven to hell,” he retorted. “Where is the gaming room?”

His friend’s face lit up. “Now, that is the right question. Come, my old friend, your throne in the gaming room has been waiting. Should we go to Grey’s instead? I’m certain your brothers are also there. Well, at least Nick and Maxwell will be.”

Ah, Grey’s. His forever home before Standbury. “Perhaps later,” he murmured.

---

Thinking with his head clouded with spirit was utterly impossible, much more so when he was thinking of names of every bloody bastard that might willingly take Victoria Ashdown for a wife.

His brothers spent the night with him, drinking in their mother’s parlor after a long night at Grey’s with Wakefield. Benedict had retired after Agatha found them endlessly laughing over a fallen book. Ralph was too foxed he fell asleep on the carpet. Nicholas and Maxwell rolled him out of the parlor like a log before they hauled him up the stairs.

None came back, leaving Levi to think of Tori and how she looked gloriously wonderful earlier. He had never really told her, never felt the need to give praises, but now that he was foxed he wished he did.

That light blue gown was not the best in the room, but it hugged the right places. In fact, it was too simple that one was forced to look up and find the beauty wearing it.

But he never told the twins or Margaret they looked glorious in their gowns. Why would he treat Tori otherwise?

Now, back to the list. He needed to make one.

He groaned, eyes shut tight. Who would take a beautiful woman with a streak of dry humor—one often left unappreciated—for a wife? Not to add that she was eight and twenty, and very much a virgin. No man older would want to bother with a virgin. Unless he found Tori a well-bred, righteous gentleman if they were ever around.

Mayhap he needed sleep, he thought. Total darkness and sleep crept in fast.

He would make the dratted list on the morrow.

---

“What happened to all of you?” asked Tori when she saw the five Everard brothers drinking tea in the parlor. Their eyes looked tired, their faces puffy and pale with a look of someone who had just been served mild poison.

“They almost emptied their father’s entire collection of brandy bottles last night,” Benedict’s wife, Agatha, said in a disapproving tone. Wearing a pair of spectacles, she was sitting beside Margaret and the pair appeared to have been having a word with the brothers when Tori came in.

“I am fine,” Benedict said, straightening in his seat with a soft grunt. No, he did not appear fine. His scarred face looked like it could use a few extra hours in bed.

“Well, of course, you are. Agatha dragged you out of the parlor before you drowned yourself,” Margaret snapped. “Mother will have a fit once she found out about the brandies.”

Ralph scoffed. “Maggie, half of the bottles in that collection are just pure water.”

The two ladies gasped in horror. Margaret threw her book in the general direction of her brothers. Two or three of them lifted their legs to dodge it.

Tori looked past Nicholas, Maxwell, and Ralph to assess Levi’s state. Apart from the swollen eyes, he seemed mildly fine.

“You finish your tea and do not let mother see all of you before supper,” Margaret ordered. “Levi, get off your arse. Tori is here.”

“And?” Levi asked, his voice croaky.

“And I believe you have something I need.” Her tone was filled with meaning.

Levi groaned, rubbing his face with his hands as he leaned back in his chair. “It is currently in my head.”

“And?”

“I have not gotten to the dreadful task of writing it down.”

“If you did not sleep in the parlor, you might have found a pen,” Margaret said.

“Write what down?” Maxwell asked, opening one eye.

“Get up,” Margaret said, pulling Levi off his chair. “And write the bloody list down.”

“What list?” Ralph asked.

“Not your bloody business,” Levi muttered, wobbly walking closer to Tori. “Upstairs,” he told her, dragging his feet out of the parlor without another word.

They encountered the twins upstairs, walking toward them with their black cat, Mrs Beagle. “Where is everybody?” Emma asked.

“Parlor,” said Levi, pulling Tori along with him.

The twins looked at their hands. Even Mrs Beagle turned her head in Ysabella’s arms to stare. “And where are you going with Tori?” Ysabella asked.

“Not your bloody business,” Levi snapped at his sisters.

“We have business to discuss,” she said in a milder tone, throwing the twins a smile of apology for their obviously vexed and slightly foxed brother. The twins shrugged and went on their way. “You are angry,” she said to Levi as he opened a door and led her inside. She looked around and gasped. “And we are in your bedchamber.”

The last she remembered being here was when she and Margaret were ten or eleven, playing hide and seek. Levi and Nicholas ended up locking them inside until Lady Alice found them howling in tears.

Levi did not answer and went straight to a small table by the bed and picked up a dipping pen.

Tori swallowed and closed the door. The list ought to be kept private, she reasoned. Walking closer to where he was, she began, “Do make certain they are eligible. And your handwriting legible.”

“Do not talk for a while, Tori. My head is quite ready to explode as we speak,” he murmured wryly, tone laced with annoyance.

“You drank that much?” she asked, sitting on his bed, feeling comfortable. His head was bent over the paper as he wrote, his black hair falling over his forehead, and her heart started to hammer.

The anticipation for the list was apparently a serious matter. Or mayhap it was the fact that she was in his bedchamber and he was here—Levi Everard, home in Wickhurst. In his bedchamber. With her.

“You do realize that you will have to introduce me to those gentlemen in the list, yes? Margaret said so last night.”

“Hmm,” he muttered.

“And you also—”

“Be quiet, Tori,” he warned.

Tori bit her lips in anticipation, summoning patience.

---

The twins waited until they heard the sound of the door closing. They shared a look before Emma hurried down the stairs while Ysabella went straight outside Levi’s door with Mrs Beagle in her arms.

“Hush, Mrs Beagle,” she said to the fat cat when it mewled.

Emma returned not two minutes later, catching her breath with a triumphant smile on her face. She held up her hand to show Ysabella the set of keys.

“Do it,” Ysabella ordered.

“I took it. You do it,” Emma said.

“I am holding Mrs Beagle!” Ysabella hissed back.

Emma rolled her eyes, pressed her ear against the door for a moment, and looked for the right key, searching through the faded labels. She found the right one and inserted it through the keyhole. Ysabella flinched at the sound, and Emma jumped back in alarm.

Nevertheless, they were successful. They were used to picking locks, and the excitement of doing the opposite was exhilarating.

Ysabella beamed at her sister and buried her face in Mrs Beagle’s black furs.

They turned and stopped dead when they bumped against Benedict.

Oh, for the love of all that was holy, why did it have to be the beast!

Benedict’s eyes narrowed down at them before they turned to Levi’s closed—now locked—door, to the set of keys in Emma’s hand and back at them. “You better not be seen with the keys,” were his exact words before he walked past between them.

The twins gawked at his back and then at each other. “Oh, praise Agatha for taming the beast!” Ysabella breathed out in relief.

“Or he might still be foxed,” said Emma with a chuckle, pulling her sister away and down the stairs. “We have keys to hide, Ysa,” she added. “And then perhaps we can join the other siblings in the parlor for tea.”

---

Levi finally stopped scribbling. He replaced his dipping pen in its holder and stood up.

When he turned to face Tori, she was sitting on his bed.

His bed.

And she looked as though she belonged there.

The thought horrified him, and he immediately brushed it off with a shake of his head.

Sister. She was a sister. A friend and a sister.

“Well?” she asked, standing to her feet. The lighter streaks in her hair morphed in the light passing through his windows. They now appeared to be white and glowing as she moved.

He blinked and reached out his hand. She took the careful steps toward him.

Good Lord, she looked blinding.

There was something in the picture of Tori walking toward him, his bed behind her, that made his heart leap.

Her fingertips lightly brushed his hand when she reached for the paper.

His eyes studied her face as she began to read.

“Hmm,” she said when she was finally done.

“I have spent hours squeezing my brain for that list, Tori, and all I get is a sound not even close to a syllable.”

“I do not recognize all, save for two,” she said, face blank.

“You do not?” he asked. “Not vaguely, even?”

“Yes,” she said, now staring at him dryly. “ Save for two .“

He shrugged, stepping aside to walk to his bed. Now that it was within reach, he felt tired.

“Levi, why did you include Maxwell and Nicholas!” Tori finally erupted behind him.

“Because they are eligible bachelors,” he murmured, falling into the bed. Ah, his head ached. And other parts of him were stirring awake at the thought of Tori in his bedchamber.

No, that was not right. Other parts of him were stirring with the thought of a woman in his bedchamber. There, a better and more acceptable statement.

“We are done here, Tori. Remove yourself from my chamber. We may be friends and you may be considered family here, but you are still a woman and we do not wish for the servants to start wagging their tongues.”

“But you included two of your brothers in the list!” she cried out, ignoring his last remark about the servants.

“Feel lucky I did not include myself,” he replied dryly.

“Clarence Chattoway, Robert Wittlock, Jordan Archibald, Nathaniel Halbard, Cage Harland, Maxwell Everard, Nicholas Everard…” she read as he buried his face in the pillow. “Have you gone insane? I do not know the first five on this bloody list and those that I know are your brothers!”

“One of those five will do. The last two are merely collaterals.” His voice was muffled by the pillow.

“Collaterals? Levi—”

Levi had had enough and rolled on his back to glare at her from the bed. “Was it not you who insisted on that bloody list? Now that you have it, you are complaining. You have not even met the five you claim to not know. And by the by, thank you to me for making that list.”

She tightly closed her mouth before speaking. “Then perhaps I should prepare to meet them.”

“Meet them?”

“Of course. That is the point of this list. For Margaret and I to target them.”

“Target them how?”

“Surely one or two of them will attend,” she murmured more to herself than him.

Levi pushed himself up in bed to fix her a narrowed gaze. “Attend what?”

She gave him a half-hearted smile. “The Theobald weekend party.”

VIII. Dresses for Dresses

“The Theobalds hold one of the largest parties each year during the Wickhurst Season and it is attended by most of the polite society. And they last for an entire weekend, an excellent opportunity for me,” she said.

“I know what the bloody Theobald party is all about, Tori. I also know it bears fruit to many scandals.”

“I know that, Levi.” She had attended a few herself until she had grown tired of it three years ago. It was too crowded, with too many activities she could barely wrap her head around, and there were just too many games going on. Too many and too farfetched, in fact, that once she did not know she was part of the game until she was told she lost.

But this time she had to come.

“It will be easy to get an invitation,” she said. “Margaret can easily gain one for me. Lady Theobald is good friends with your mother.” Then she drew in a deep breath. “But it will be a challenge to escape Clarice,” she murmured. “She may sabotage my plans.”

“And why would she do that?” he asked with a frown.

She blinked away. “Because she knows I do not wish to marry Lucas.”

The feeling that she was not being completely honest with him was there again. Yet he had no right to demand everything from her. Instead, he said, “The Theobald Ball is amongst the largest in the Town, Tori. You’ve attended some yourself. You know very well that it is easy to get lost .”

A conspiratorial smile crept up her face. “Yes, of course, I also know that.”

Levi sighed and said, “Now, remove yourself from my chamber.”

“Pulling me here in the first place,” she huffed, turning around to walk to the door, “when there are other rooms in the manor—” Tori paused when the knob refused to turn. “Did you, by any chance, lock the door?” she asked.

“You closed it yourself,” he said, his voice muffled by the pillow. “Must be jammed. Try one more time.”

“Well, it must be completely jammed because it is not turning.” She tried knocking on the door, hoping to catch someone’s attention from outside.

“Don’t do that, you fool! You’ll catch the attention of the servants. Or worse, my mother,” Levi said, jumping off the bed to rush to her side. He reached for the knob and frowned when it did not turn.

“I told you, it is locked.” She placed her hands on her hips and fixed him a hard look. “Now, how do you suppose we get out?”

“Bloody tarnation,” he cursed through his teeth, giving the knob another turn. “It is jammed.”

Tori frowned. “I don’t see the Everard House having poor maintenance.”

“You are suggesting someone locked us in? Then, who do you think would be—” he paused, his gaze connecting with hers. “The twins,” they both concluded at once.

“I’ll bloody murder them,” he gritted out, stalking to the window.

“Where are you going?” she asked when he climbed on it. When he did not offer a reply, Tori scoffed. “Levi, you may think you’re clever to jump through the window, but I do not.”

“If you plan to spend the entire day locked with me in my chamber, you are not welcome. I will not stay here with you for another five minutes. We shall be in the gossip section of the Herald by morning should any of the servants discover us. I will not be like the Barton bloke.”

“Barton?”

“The one caught in the same room with his sister’s friend. That Barton bloke. Two years ago.”

“How did you know—”

“I told you. The twins send me weekly missives.”

“Levi, they found him in bed with the woman.”

“In his bedchamber , yes.”

“ Naked ,“ she added.

That painted a very vivid picture in his head. To distract himself, he looked down and groaned. “It is going to be quite a fall.”

“You must be a fool to think you can survive it!” Tori said, suddenly beside him.

Startled, he shouted, “You nearly caused me to fall, you idiot!”

Tori blinked up at him. “I’m sorry, but it seems the idiot here is the one standing on the windowsill!” she hissed.

“Step aside,” he ordered.

“Levi, your sister and I had spent hours in this very bedchamber when you locked us in many years ago.”

“It was Nick’s idea.”

“We considered jumping out, but we were not as crazy to actually have done it,” she continued, not hearing him. “I would not be here trying to save your life now if we did.” She peered down through the window. “ That is a big fall.“

“Not if I can land perfectly.”

She frowned. “Who do you think you are? Mrs Beagle?”

“I will not die.”

“Of course, you will not. You will simply walk out of the garden with your limbs dangling by the skin.”

He studied the ground below, and Tori could only shake her head with incredulity. She stepped back and stared at him expectantly.

He looked over his shoulder at her. “What are you looking at me like that for?”

She shrugged. “I am waiting for you to jump, Mr Barton. “

“It’s a big leap. I might die.”

“I already told you that, yet you are still standing there. So, why should I care?”

He growled at her.

Tori rolled her eyes and went to his desk. She took a blank piece of paper and started writing.

“Tori, I am standing on the windowsill, about to jump to my death, and you find it the perfect time to write?”

“I’m writing a eulogy should you choose to be a complete idiot and jump,” she muttered under her breath. “Although writing a good adulation will be very hard indeed, most particularly for dead fools,” she nonchalantly added. Done writing, she cocked her brows at him. “But you are not a complete idiot, yes? You will not jump.”

Levi sighed. “I was hoping there would be a way to climb down, not jump, pinhead,” he said, jumping from the windowsill and back on the floor.

“Oaf,” she snapped back.

“Cretin,” he retorted.

“Nitwit,” she scowled as she walked to the door with the paper.

“What are you doing?”

“Since it is prohibited to knock and cause a ruckus because you refuse to be the next Barton, I am hoping someone would come by and pick up this note.” She slipped it through the gap in the floor and straightened.

“A servant could pick that up, you idiot!”

“That is why I wrote your name! No one has to know I’m here with you.”

His eyes narrowed into slits as she walked to his bed and sat down. She folded her hands on her lap and fixed a patient smile on her face.

“Blast it,” Levi uttered and paced before her.

They both waited in silence.

---

Jefferson, the butler, was walking down the hallway when he chanced upon the note.

I am locked inside.

–Levi

It took the butler longer than necessary to find the duplicate copies of the keys, for he could not find the set kept by the housekeeper. Without informing the rest of the family, the old butler unlocked Levi’s door. He wore a dubious look on his face when Levi said, “It is safe. It’s Jefferson,” and he saw Lady Victoria rush out of the room after the furious Levi who screamed for the twins.

Knowing full well the two particular individuals responsible for the incident, Jefferson disappeared into the kitchen. Moments later, he realized the kitchen was not far enough, for he heard the shouting from the parlor.

“You are both eighteen! Act like proper ladies!” a furious voice of a man roared, causing the cook to jump and the maids to shake their heads.

“What have they done this time?” asked Charlotte, the housekeeper.

“They locked Lord Levi inside his chamber,” Silas, Lord Benedict’s valet who seemed to always know things before anyone else did, offered as he munched on a pie. “With Lady Victoria inside. Saw Lady Emma steal the keys earlier.”

Before Jefferson could warn the servants not to share that information with anyone else, they heard Lady Alice shrill at the top of her lungs, “You took Tori inside your chamber?”

Lady Victoria’s voice, which tried to appease everyone, was drowned by a series of moans from the other brothers, the twin’s insistence that they were innocent, and finally Benedict’s authoritative voice, saying, “Stop it, all of you. My God, I want to go back to Devonshire.”

“Ysabella, Emma, come with me,” Benedict’s wife, Agatha said.

“Well, at the very least she can put those two to their proper place, having been once their governess,” Jefferson heard Charlotte murmur under her breath. He had to agree, for if there was anyone who could put words into the minds of the twins, it might very well be Agatha.

“Oh, Margaret, what do I do with those two? And bring out the keys, the two of you!” Lady Alice Everard’s voice called out. “And you, Levi, give me a proper and acceptable explanation why you were with Tori inside your bedchamber! Oh, good Lord, your father should not have left me alone with the lot of you. Levi, where are you going? Max, get your brother!”

“I am just pouring myself a drink, mother, as this seems to turn out to be a fantastic day.”

“No sarcasm, Levi. You are talking to the woman who invented it!” Lady Alice said. “Now, explain to me why you dragged Tori into your bedchamber.”

Hushed whispers followed as Levi answered his mother, and silence reigned from then on.

Jefferson sighed and shook his head. The servants continued their work with a sigh. Charlotte left to search for her keys, warning the others in the kitchen not to gossip about the incident.

The storm had passed.

Well, mayhap it was just a drizzle for another storm.

No one could truly tell, Jefferson thought. With the masters of the household, a storm was always underway.

---

Before the week ended and Levi was due to leave, Margaret dragged him to the modiste with the twins. Ralph had apparently escaped the responsibility by saying he had an important acquaintance to meet.

“He must be with a mistress,” said Ysabella. “I told you, Em, he is keeping one.”

“Hush,” Margaret reprimanded. “Do not discuss such topics outside.”

Levi sighed, looking around Madame Vernice’s shop, feeling out of place. Reassuring himself that he had done enough of his duty as a brother to the twins and a friend to Tori, he thought he could be patient for another two days.

“Then perhaps we should talk about the Theobald, Maggie,” said Ysabella, turning in the settee to take their sister’s hands in hers. “Please help us convince mother that attending the Theobald will not be too damaging.”

“It is not the party mother is fretful about, Ysa,” Margaret said. “It is the pair of you.”

“But—”

“The Theobald party, ladies, is only for those who can survive it,” Madame Vernice’s voice interrupted. The woman narrowed her eyes at the twins and wagged her finger. “But for young ladies such as yourselves, you must stay away. You need more practice before you can enjoy the party.”

Emma and Ysabella turned to Levi. “Levi, you tell them. We already spent hours talking about being proper. We learned our lesson, did we not?” asked Ysabella.

“I am not the one to decide,” he said. “Go ask Ben.”

The two of them groaned. “Ben does what mother tells him,” Emma said. “He only pretends he has full authority.”

“Then the matter is settled. The Great Alice Everard had spoken. You are not attending this year.”

“Samuel said there are interesting games this year,” said Emma.

“A treasure hunt, I heard,” said Ysabella. “I can already see myself winning it. But apparently, we are to be trapped in Wickhurst.”

“Now, now, do not be sad, my darlings,” said Madame Vernice, pulling Ysabella out of the settee. “Come and see the gowns I prepared for you. You will love them. And who needs to go to the Theobald party when the party is right here?”

Ysabella pulled Emma along with her. Madame Vernice looked over her shoulder at Margaret, pausing as she did so. “By the by, Lady Margaret, please do tell your dear friend Lady Victoria that her maid can come by on the morrow. My note must not have reached her.”

Hearing Tori’s name, Levi straightened in his seat. “She is preparing for the Theobald then, is she?” he asked Margaret. “Getting more gowns, I see.”

“Oh, well,” said Madame Vernice, face crumpling in discomfort. “Not quite.”

“Not quite? Why? Are there any problems with her gowns?”

“Oh, no, milady. They were quite in pristine condition. I was hesitant to take them, but she insisted.”

Levi saw the confusion in Margaret’s face. “Insisted?”

Madame Vernice blinked and frowned. “Why, her old gowns, of course.”

“Her old gowns?”

“She needs new gowns for this season. She was short of a few townsends and offered her older gowns instead.”

“Madame Vernice, I believe this neckline will not pass our brothers’ judgement,” Ysabella said behind Madame Vernice.

The modiste whirled around. “Which brother, dear?”

“Ralph.”

“And Nick,” added Ysabella.

“Well, let us simply tell your brothers there is a wide shortage of fabric this season!”

Levi was frowning not because her sister’s gowns were lacking of fabric. He was frowning because of what he and Margaret just discovered. “Maggie, is there something happening with Tori that I am not aware of?” he asked.

“Of course, there is. But I cannot tell you,” his sister replied with a brush of her hand. She looked bothered by the information shared by the modiste.

“Why is she selling gowns for new ones?”

“As you have heard, she was short of payment.”

Levi crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat. He never took Tori as someone who would bother with new gowns if she could not afford it. In fact, he was used to seeing her wearing the same dresses now and then.

She was desperate to succeed this season. That fact was already established. He just never thought it was to this extent.

Bloody hell, what else was she willing to do to find a husband?

IX. Theobald Hunt

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X. Hidden Treasures

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XI. Tight Plans

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XII. One Breathless Ball

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XIII. Wittlock for Luck

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XIV. Nancy in the Library

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XV. Hasty Proposal

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XVI. Brave

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XVII. An Afternoon at the Park

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XVIII. On the Way to a Ball

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XIX. Faro and Friends

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XX. The Prize

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XXI. A Lady Alone

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XXII. Claims and Promises

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XXIII. An Everardly Rescue

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XXIV. Missing Pair

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XXV. At the Heart of the Village

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XXVI. Merry Meriweather

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XXVII. Standbury

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XXIII. Drops

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XXIX. Rainy Waltz

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XXX. The Shameful Departure

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XXXI. On the Way to Wickhurst

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XXXII. At the Walkelin Ball

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XXXIII. Banned

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XXXIV. The Attack in Ashdown

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XXXV. The Runaway Bride

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XXXVI. Tiny Town

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XXXVII. An Unlikely Welcome

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XXXVIII. Agreements

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XXXIX. Announcements

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XL. Saved

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Esta historia pertenece al programa de Historias Pagadas, una selección exclusiva de historias con las que apoyas a escritores de Wattpad. Da click aquí para seguir leyendo en la aplicación.

Author’s Note

You have just read the edited version of this book.

You may notice differences in the coming books should you decide to continue to the next one, which will also be edited, and you will receive notifications of when I post them.

Like in this edit, the additional details regarding the Town will be incorporated into the rest as well. And yes, there will also be scene changes and also new ones.

Scroll to the next chapter for the full list of the entire Town Series!

Cheers!

J.D. Ruiz (greenwriter)

https://yonder.onelink.me/6vpb/46a0c21e

This story is now available on YONDER, your next-generation reading app from the Wattpad family! Check out the link below or download YONDER from your app store!

The Town Series

THE HAVERSTON FAMILY SERIES

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I. The Lady Who Left

It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed.

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Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn’t love. But what happens if the very man she’s betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out? Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town’s secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her?Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires.

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II. The Lady Who Stayed

The Town is notorious to those who are different, but one woman is determined to earn her keep.

THE WOMAN WHO CHOSE TO STAY…

Mary Angel Featherton has never been a part of society. She has no title attached to her name and she most definitely has none but one friend. But she is filthy rich.

After her father’s sudden death he left her his entire fortune and his two thriving businesses. Inheriting the two most famous gentlemen clubs caused quite a scandal for Mary for how could a woman run such a scandalous place? With her only friend, Cressida, leaving the Town to go after her dreams, Mary is left behind with no one to turn to.

In a society where status and wealth are more important than character and capabilities, Mary finds herself desperate and even more alone as things get a tad difficult to deal with. Someone is after her wealth and the only solution is to find herself a husband, one who can give her his name for protection. And she has to do it FAST.

THE RAKE WHO LIVES THERE…

Lord Adrien Haverston is a rake caught in his own trap after a seduction goes wrong. He finds himself an unwilling husband to Mary Featherton. With her comes her secrets, one of which he will find he can never forgive.

A MYSTERY…

Love, trust, and marriage will be tested as Mary holds on to her secrets and Adrien fights his consuming desires.

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I

II. The Lady Who Sinned

A terrible sacrifice turns into a scandal that causes one woman to live everything behind, only to return for vengeance—or is it love?

THE LADY WHO SINNED…

Lady Belinda Kate Carrington has always been secretly hated by other ladies, but they try to get to her good side to avoid her vicious wrath. The thing they all wish happens one fateful night: Lady Belinda finally finds herself completely ruined. The scandal too great to be ignored, her family disowns her. Banished from the place she has only known, away from all the glittering jewels and fancy gowns, Belinda finds herself alone in a completely different world.

THE MAN WHO TAKES HER BACK…

Five years later, McKenzie Haverston finds Belinda and returns her to Willowfair. Things start to take a turn when Belinda decides to take revenge on everyone who shunned her. Judging her like everyone else, McKenzie finds it hard to believe Belinda when she claims a killer is out to get her.

A TRUTH NO ONE BELIEVED…

As their feelings start to show, so does the truth. Why was she banished? Is Belinda Carrington truly the lady who sinned, or is she simply an angel who has been living in hell?

THE EVERARD FAMILY SERIES

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I. To Bewitch a Beast

“Deliciously captivating! It’s the perfect amount of laughs, love and drama. You won’t be able to put this book down!” - Grace K @ HQ.

When Agatha becomes the Everard’s governess, she’s grateful for a way to escape her dark past. That is until her growing feelings for the mysterious Lord of the house begin to present an even greater risk.

The Everard’s are one of the most esteemed families in Wickhurst. And Benedict, the Lord of Devonshire and the eldest of the clan, is as mysterious and brooding as anyone The Town has ever seen. His face is marked with scars, and no one dares to speak on how he got them. Known to all as ‘the beast,’ the townsfolk tremble in his wake. But little does he know that he is about to meet his match in Agatha Blair, his sisters’ new governess. Agatha is witty, smart and gives him a run for his money when he tries to peel back the layers of who she really is. She truly intrigues him more than any woman he has met but she is a governess and he is a Lord. The Town would shun the union of two people from different stations and any romance between them is surely a recipe for social disaster! But what can they do when the burning hot feelings refuse to relent? And when Benedict uncovers that Agatha is hiding a secret far more dangerous than anything he could have imagined, will love save the day and will Agatha finally tame the beast?

[Now a Hachette Audiobook!]

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II. One Wicked Season

You just read it.

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III. Sleeping Engagement

SHE HAS A MISSION…

To be the only female member of the secretive League of Founders is challenging, but Margaret Everard has proven herself worthy. The League has become her life. Gone is the frail, naive girl who had her heart broken, replaced by the strong woman in a world of men who make it their mission to protect the Town. Now, Margaret finds herself face to face with the most difficult task yet: spy on the man suspected of murder, the same man who once broke her heart.

HE RETURNS WITH A SECRET…

Cole Devitt left Wickhurst an angry, vengeful man. He left not merely the friend who caused his sister’s death, but also the sister of that same whom he had long ago vowed to marry. Now, he returns as the new Head of the Men of Courts of Wickhurst to continue an unfinished work, one that reeks of conspiracy. But being in Wickhurst means an encounter or two with the woman he once chose to leave for hate.

ONCE LOVERS…

Will their individual mission bring them together at last, or will it merely prove to them that their love is really never meant to be?Still set in the fictional place of the Town, this third story of the Everard Family Series follows the journey of a strong woman and her quest to find a killer and perhaps, the closure to a love never forgotten.

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IV. A Lady’s Guide to Courtship

SHE IS DETERMINED…

The town of Wickhurst sees Ysabella Everard as a spoiled, rich young girl. What Ysa believes on the other hand is that she will someday get the man of her dreams and that is no other than the elusive rake William Hayward, the Lord of Wakefield. He also happens to be her brother’s friend and the man she had been secretly writing letters to for years as Lady Weis, letters that started in a foolish wager with a friend. But one problem is at hand: he does not know she is Lady Weis, the woman he has fallen in love with, in letters.

HE AVOIDS HER AT ALL COST…

Wakefield has many rules, but one stands out the most: never dally with a friend’s sister or relative, most particularly Ysabella Everard. As the sister of his friend, she is not to be touched at all costs. She has never been on his list from day one and he is quite determined to keep it that way. But years of her obsessive chasing and his desperate attempts to avoid it have not tired the woman at all. She has suitors she ought to focus her attention on and Wakefield cannot understand what she sees in him to waste her precious time over. He cannot be with her for many reasons and one of them was the fact that he was utterly in love, for the first time in his life, with one woman: Lady Weis.

THE CHASE BEGINS…

Her chase for the man she loves continues. His chase for the identity of the woman he is willing to sacrifice everything for begins. It is merely a matter of time for the truth to be revealed and how they face it has great potential for yet another Wickhurst scandal.

Still set in the fictional place of the Town, this fourth book in the Everard Family series follows one heroine who is determined to win her game and her love for the man who might very well be her first ever failure.

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V. His Lady in Breeches

SHE IS A BASTARD…

Maxine Theobald hid from the rest of society to protect her father’s name. But as she grows tired of her role-playing games every year during the famous Theobald weekend parties, she starts to question how she has been living her life. She starts to wonder about the other part of her that she was deprived of–her mother and why she left her.

A DISGUISE…

Having finally found the courage to search for the one thing that she believes can help her understand her true nature, Maxine cuts her hair, puts on her breeches, and runs away from the only home she has ever known. She travels to the affluent town of Wickhurst and found herself employed as the valet of the famous rake Nicholas Everard, a game she will later find to be quite dangerous.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT…

Maxine set out into an adventure with none but one goal, yet found herself stumbling upon an unlikely find for the search of something else–romance.

Still set in the fictional place of the Town, this fifth book in the Everard Family series follows one heroine who has chosen to defy the norm and her own fears in an attempt to understand her own nature, the first step to a discovery of not just about her lineage, but of love so unexpectedly, irritatingly and undeniably powerful.

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VI. Remember Then

SHE IS DIFFERENT…

Sophia owes her life to none but one man: Marcus Durley. After saving her from hell, he took her to Rock’oles, the most affluent and sophisticated brothel in the Town, where women are given more freedom, a far cry from the brothel slum Marcus rescued her from. But unlike the others, her role is not to service men in bed, instead, she serves them to serve Marcus. She does what Marcus wants for she knows of his secrets and shares his pains. He has always been the only true man in her life.

A PLAN…

Marcus is part of the illegal slave trade in the Town and Sophia is helping him achieve his true goals with loyalty and trust. The Town Guards, particularly Ralph Everard, has been making things difficult. But Marcus has a plan and Sophia is a willing participant.

UNTIL HE CAME ALONG…

Nicholas has always been curious about the mysterious woman behind one of the most wanted chambers inside Rock’oles and he is not the only one who tried to get an invite and failed. The woman only allows entry to selected gentlemen, men who make his Town Guard brother, Ralph, raise a brow in suspicion. Nicholas is urged to court an invite into the mysterious woman’s chamber with the belief that she is the key to solving the slavery case. And as if by some miracle she welcomes him into her dark, quiet world. He is there to spy on her, but the more he learns of her secrets, the more he discovers things that put his playful, tender, and seductive reputation to its greatest test thus far.

Still set in the fictional place of the Town, this sixth book in the Everard Family series follows two people determined to protect those they value most. And in their quest to help those they love to escape failure, they find themselves a victim of their own plans and of the undeniable passion and love that will never ebb even after the certain tragedy of which they are heading to.

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VII. Masterful Trickery

THE BANDIT…

She merely meant to steal and get away with it. She did not mean to find a dying woman and be chased for it. She merely meant to help.She did not mean to be dressed in a gown and be a target for murder.

THE GUARD…

He was tasked to chase them.He was not expected to work with them.He merely meant to pay for an oddly professional service.He was not expecting it to be complicated and sexually dangerous.

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VIII. Mysterious Seduction

SHE IS CONFLICTED…

Emma Everard has said yes to marrying Samuel Theobald, a dear friend of hers. Emma cannot find a single fault in her decision, but she also has trouble recognizing if it is the correct one, especially when someone else comes along to pique her interest, both intellectually and physically, as he exposes her into a completely different world in the Town she has never seen before.

HE WANTS IT ALL…

Samuel Theobald has always been in love with the beautiful, intelligent and opinionated Emma Everard. And now that she has said yes, he cannot be happier. The Town loves him for his bold articles and he revels at the freedom the pen provides, but trouble and intrigue will soon make him face choices that may change the course of his career forever.

THE INTRUDER…

For Wynne Hastings, getting close to Emma Everard is beyond knowing more about his friend’s future wife. He is on a mission to shake the Everards and those they protect. Wynne is quite willing to do anything to get closer to Emma and the secrets of the Everards, even if it meant seducing her and losing his best friend. But there is one thing Wynne does not know: Emma Everard is on to him and she is ready.

THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL…

In the end, it is a battle of good and evil; of wits and tricks; and of loyalty, ambition and love. Still set in the fictional place of the Town, this final book in the Everard Family series follows one man obsessed to push society to fight while struggling to keep those he loves, another man who slowly falls for the wrong woman his family wants to ruin, and the heroine who happens to be in the middle of a silent, brewing war against herself, the man she adores, and the one she is fighting not to love.

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Prequel: The Enchantment of Lady Ice

THE LADY ICE…

She is not the most charming. In fact, she is too cold, too frank, and too flat.Worse, the only home she has known all her life has been taken away from her and she has to find a way to keep it. Upon her mother’s strong suggestion, she has to at least try to seduce the next Lord of Langworthy.

THE CURSED FRIEND…

He is charming and rich. He is handsome and smart. Women wanted him.If only he was not cursed.For now, having everything leaves him with nothing to do but be the friend to help the future Lord of Langworthy escape from Lady Ice.

When these two completely opposite individuals cross paths, sparks fly.