Let Love Find You by Johanna Lindsey

why she thought so, and she’d rather not talk about her encounter with him at his horse farm.
    Larissa giggled. “So? Nothing out of the ordinary in that, when so many nobles take up that interest. Horses, dogs, if it can race, it’s something they’ll bet on and get involved with!”
    “And who is Jacinda Brown?”
    “One of the debutantes this year, and a little too bold, if you ask me. She pretends to be more sophisticated than she can possibly be. But the latest on-dit is Viscount Altone, who will be making his very first appearance in London at tonight’s ball. They are saying he’s going to be the prime catch this year.”
    “Why?”
    “Well, he’s handsome and already titled. And his father’s a marquess, and rich.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “About what?”
    “That he’s handsome?”
    Larissa giggled again. “No, not sure a’tall, since I haven’t met him to verify that part. I’m just repeating what I heard yesterday. But there’s usually some truth to the gossip making the rounds.”
    “Or none a’tall. And I’ve never heard of him before—” Amanda stopped and suddenly grinned. “Or have I? His name wouldn’t be Kendall Goswick, would it?”
    Larissa shook her heard. “No, Robert Brigston is his name, but who’s Kendall Goswick?”
    “A charming young man I met a few days ago.”
    “Why haven’t I heard of him?”
    “I don’t think he’s been to London yet. He just came back from Ireland, where he went to buy a horse. He told me all about it.”
    And not much more, Amanda realized. That was all he’d talked about when they met. She groaned inwardly. She was probably going to have to forget about him—no, that hadn’t been determined yet.
    Amanda said, “But I’ve never heard of Robert Brigston before.”
    Larissa shrugged. “Neither had I, but that’s probably because his family lives in the north. Where was it?” She frowned, then brightened. “Essex, I think. No, it might’ve been Kent, or—never mind, it will give you something to ask him when you meet him, won’t it? But this is his first time in London, as far as anyone knows.”
    Amanda frowned. “Not fresh out of the schoolroom, is he? That would make him younger than I am!”
    Larissa made a face. “That’s quite possible, but he won’t know that. But perhaps he’s not. He could have been taking the tour of the Continent and only just returned. So many men do, before they start looking for a wife. But the moment I heard of him, I thought of you.”
    Amanda sighed. Every single one of her friends had expected her to marry before them. Every single one of them, after she was married or engaged, had taken a turn at matchmaking for her, with a cousin or a brother, even a young uncle! Or like Larissa, just by letting her know whom to keep an eye out for. She knew they were only trying to help, and she loved them for it. But it only reinforced her feeling that she couldn’t manage finding a husband for herself on her own. She was a failure. Soon she was going to be an old maid. Was she being a little too critical of herself?
    It was quite possible. After all, until she’d met Kendall Goswick, the only man these last two years who had sparked her interest even a little had been the Scotsman Duncan MacTavish, and he’d been engaged to Ophelia. They’d had an on-and-off engagement that had never progressed to marriage because he’d gone and fallen in love with Sabrina Lambert while heand Ophelia had been figuring out that they just didn’t suit. All the other men that Amanda had met hadn’t been interesting a’tall—no, that wasn’t quite right, either. Some had been handsome, such as John Trask and Farrell Exter. Quite a few had been funny, making her laugh a lot, such as Oliver Norse. Oliver had been so friendly that she was still friends with him. But not one had drawn her eyes to him repeatedly or tugged at her heartstrings.
    It was her fault! Was she too picky? Were her expectations too high? Well,