Thawing A Duke's Heart (Faces of Love Series #1) by Jessie Bennett Page B

season.”
    “Lady Merritt also goes every year. I believe her household is more in practice.”
    “Well, we would also go every year if your poor father’s health would allow it,” she said for the sake of her own ears. We all knew that my father was in perfect health, and that the only reason we didn’t go to town every season was our financial limitations.
    My father may have been the Earl of Withington in land and title, but he had all but squandered what was left of this meager estate by gambling in his youth. Because of this, we rarely left our country home for town, much to my mother’s disappointment. Our last season in town had been three years ago, when Julia had come out at age sixteen. Mother was certain that she was going to snag a Lord that first season due to her great beauty. She didn’t even care that it was in fact my second season out.
    I hadn’t minded, though. Neither Julia nor I had been much interested in finding a husband in our younger years. I suppose because Lady Withington had pushed the importance of marriage on us from birth, until it was old news to us by our coming out. Much to my mother’s frustration, Father had insisted that we take our time and pick a husband based on love if we so desired. He wanted to imprint on us that our misfortune should not be the cause for us to marry for money instead of happiness.
    I am not sure if there ever was love between my parents. These days all we saw was disinterest and frustration between the two of them. It had made me determined that if I did marry, it would be to someone I could love, or at the least stand to be around, for the whole of our lives. It didn’t matter much to me if we had title or fortune. I suppose it was because of all those novels I’d read, as my mother often told me, that I had such fanciful ideas in my head.
    The last to enter the dining hall was my youngest two sisters, Rebecca and Willamina. Apparently, Clarisse had waited outside long enough, because she came tromping in through Rebecca’s skirts as soon as she was able, nearly knocking Rebecca to the ground. Willamina was doing her best to stifle a giggle. She was still fourteen and very girlish even for that age. I loved her dearly for her still-intact innocence. Rebecca and I, on the other hand, had butted heads our entire life.
    “Your mongrel nearly broke my ankle, Mary,” she said as she glared in my direction before smoothing her skirts and sauntering to the table as if she was a grand duchess.
    “She just got excited is all,” I said as I patted Clarisse’s happy head. “It’s not as if you even fell or anything,” I added as I handed down my half-eaten toast to Clarisse.
    “Really, Mary!” Mother chimed in exasperation. “A well-bred lady does not feed a dog, and certainly not from one’s own breakfast table.”
    I mumbled an apology under my breath. Though both Rebecca and I matched my mother in looks, slim build, chestnut brown hair, and green eyes, I couldn’t be farther from their likeness as a queen from a servant. Rebecca and Mother, however, were two peas in a pod.
    Rebecca immediately sat next to Her Ladyship and began chatting insistently regarding her first season out. Mother, of course, was all too happy finally to have a doting daughter who desired all of her tips, tricks, and knowledge of how to snag a husband in your first season.
    “Julia may have the looks in the family,” my mother continued, “but you are certainly a beauty yourself. And since you are more willing to heed my counsel then your older sisters were,” she said this with a sharp bite in our direction. “I see no reason why you would not be married by the end of your first season. The second at the very longest.”
    “Ah, yes,” Julia whispered with a giggle. “If we had only headed Mother’s counsel, we would have been Duchesses by now for sure.” She nudged me in encouragement.
    “Yes, I believe her best advice was to drop our handkerchief before the