“I do hope you’ll give them my best when you write them. And who knows? If all goes well for me this year, I’ll host a ball in their honor upon their return.” The twins were to have had their coming out the year before but when Selena’s husband had passed, they’d all observed a proper mourning period. While Selena’s morals were now questioned since she’d married within a few months of her husband’s death, having been a duchess for years, she knew how to project power. Her sisters weren’t going to suffer overly much because of her scandal. What was one scandal in a family that hadn’t any? Whereas Fancy’s family was one of naught but scandal—whether it revolved around the circumstances of their birth or the roads they’d traveled in life. Each had then brought scandal to the one they’d chosen to marry. Born in sin, raised in sin, it seemed they were all destined to die in sin. Every season marked them as sinners.

No matter that their mother read her Bible every day. Several times they’d tried to convince her to take on a maid-for-all-work at least, possibly a cook. But she refused anything that would make her life easier. Sometimes, Fancy wondered if her mum was punishing herself for some reason.

She’d been unable to object, however, when the lads had gutted the residence and rebuilt a warm and comforting abode within. Nor could she stop them from having coal delivered on a regular basis. Shop owners extended her mum all the credit she required because they knew the Trewlove siblings would make good on any debts owed. Fancy wasn’t yet in a position to make much difference, but when she married, she could carry a greater portion of her share. Perhaps she could even convince her mum to move in with her so she could spoil her, if she married a man who would be so generous. That was her goal, to find a man who would not only accept her but accept her family.

After the meal, when her siblings’ children had awakened from their nap, Fancy played with them, imagining it was likely she’d have her own child within the year. Lords were keen to gain their heir as soon as possible, and she was determined to be a good and dutiful wife. But when she thought of the boy she might deliver to her husband, she imagined him with dark hair and striking green eyes.