Chapter 1

London, England

December 1813

Neighbors, servants, and passersby to Ten Yardley Court could—and had—long attested that the din emitted by the familial household of the Earl and Countess of Abington was enough to rival a raucous affair at Vauxhall and the most competitive, closest horse match held at Ascot, combined.

Then again, such was to be expected of a noble family consisting of three sons and three daughters born of Scottish origin, and the hapless mother and father desperately attempting to be heard over their unruly offspring.

It was why all had breathed a collective sigh of relief when that same family had announced plans to vacate their London townhouse and retire to the country until long overdue renovations to their home had been completed.

It was also why those sighs of relief had fast turned to groans of regret as the timeline of work had been shifted to the winter months, when all of London went quiet and the peers retired to their respective country seats.

The noise this particular evening was even more resounding than on most others. Which was saying a good deal indeed about the McQuoid household.

Or perhaps it was just that Lady Myrtle McQuoid, gone four years and returned only two days from Mrs. Belden’s Finishing School, had been removed from her family for so long that she’d forgotten how voices swelled as her kin competed to be heard, and how booming laughter or high-pitched whines of annoyance rose above the blur of the chatter.

At that moment, Myrtle stood on the landing above the foyer and assessed the bustling activity below.

Servants scurried about with trunks and valises atop their broad shoulders, making a march to the wide, double front doors that hung open. Her younger siblings—a nine-year-old sister, Fleur, and a ten-year-old brother, Quillon—rushed about, giggling, as they hid from Myrtle’s young cousins, also aged ten, who now visited for the Christmastide Season.

As they did every Christmastide Season.

They, along with the rest of their many siblings and parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Smith, Myrtle’s aunt and uncle.

And just as at every family gathering before it, Myrtle’s eldest sister, Cassia, broke off and paired herself with cousins Meghan and Linnie. Fleur and Quillon joined up with near-in-age twin cousins Andromena and Oleander. While Myrtle’s eldest brothers, Dallin, the future earl, and Arran, rode and played billiards or did—as they referred to them—all the gentlemanly things with their male cousins, Brone and Campbell. Or, at least, Arran took part when he was not traveling.

Through it all, Myrtle remained alone. Invisible.