Chapter 1: Page 3
The carriage turned off the main road just then onto a
long lane that led to a magnificent old house.
Lord Kinneas shrugged. "From what I can gather, the
young lady is a neighbor of theirs. I believe she took a
kind interest in the earl while Squall was off to war. I
would not put it past the old fellow to have had a hand
in matchmaking for the two of them."
"His fiancée is someone Lord Leonhart has known all his
life, you mean?" The information surprised Selphie. "Then
perhaps it is not a love match after all."
No one could fall in love with a person they had known
all their lives. She was certain of that. For some time
now, she had been waiting and expecting to fall in love
— the kind of love she had heard extolled in poem and
play, song and story. She'd hoped that during her year
abroad she might meet someone special to whom she could
surrender her heart. There had been men who'd made that
organ flutter for an hour or two, but it had not taken
them long to fall short of her ideal. Though Kinneas might
think her a frivolous creature, she wanted more in a
husband than good looks and a flattering tongue.
She knew her family planned for her to marry Lord
Kinneas, but that was out of the question. Wealthy,
well bred, handsome and kind, he had been a fixture in
her life for as long as she could recall. How could one
fall in love with a fixture?
"I only hope Leonhart's fiancée is not after his
fortune," Irvine muttered.
He was so devoted to his family, what little he had.
That was one of the things Selphie liked best about him.
Though she feared he might let his strong sense of duty
spoil his own chance to fall in love. He had never shown
the least interest in her as a woman, yet he was vastly
attentive in a brotherly fashion. If she permitted it,
she feared he would drift into marriage with her to
fulfill a family obligation. Not an unpleasant one,
perhaps, but not the kind of romantic rapture she wished
for him…and for herself.
Perhaps if his cousin's engagement were a love match,
Irvine would see that he must not allow himself to settle
for less. If, on the other hand, Lord Leonhart and Miss
Heartilly had contracted an alliance on some other basis,
it might serve as a warning for what Irvine should avoid.
For her part, Selphie could not help hoping true love
might find her at Lord Leonhart's midsummer masque!
The carriage turned off the main road just then onto a
long lane that led to a magnificent old house.
Lord Kinneas shrugged. "From what I can gather, the
young lady is a neighbor of theirs. I believe she took a
kind interest in the earl while Squall was off to war. I
would not put it past the old fellow to have had a hand
in matchmaking for the two of them."
"His fiancée is someone Lord Leonhart has known all his
life, you mean?" The information surprised Selphie. "Then
perhaps it is not a love match after all."
No one could fall in love with a person they had known
all their lives. She was certain of that. For some time
now, she had been waiting and expecting to fall in love
— the kind of love she had heard extolled in poem and
play, song and story. She'd hoped that during her year
abroad she might meet someone special to whom she could
surrender her heart. There had been men who'd made that
organ flutter for an hour or two, but it had not taken
them long to fall short of her ideal. Though Kinneas might
think her a frivolous creature, she wanted more in a
husband than good looks and a flattering tongue.
She knew her family planned for her to marry Lord
Kinneas, but that was out of the question. Wealthy,
well bred, handsome and kind, he had been a fixture in
her life for as long as she could recall. How could one
fall in love with a fixture?
"I only hope Leonhart's fiancée is not after his
fortune," Irvine muttered.
He was so devoted to his family, what little he had.
That was one of the things Selphie liked best about him.
Though she feared he might let his strong sense of duty
spoil his own chance to fall in love. He had never shown
the least interest in her as a woman, yet he was vastly
attentive in a brotherly fashion. If she permitted it,
she feared he would drift into marriage with her to
fulfill a family obligation. Not an unpleasant one,
perhaps, but not the kind of romantic rapture she wished
for him…and for herself.
Perhaps if his cousin's engagement were a love match,
Irvine would see that he must not allow himself to settle
for less. If, on the other hand, Lord Leonhart and Miss
Heartilly had contracted an alliance on some other basis,
it might serve as a warning for what Irvine should avoid.
For her part, Selphie could not help hoping true love
might find her at Lord Leonhart's midsummer masque!
