Chapter 1

Charlotte Hall stood stiffly in front of the mirror, glaring at the pale blue dress she’d been forced to wear by her aunt. She’d spent her childhood roaming the moors of her parents’ estate near Manchester and the carefree life she had enjoyed there did not agree with pale blue satin and royal lace.

“Unseemly my.. – “and enough with the language, your parents have spoilt you enough and I will not tolerate any more displays of disobedience”

Why is it, Charlotte wondered, that whenever Aunty Chell is angry she becomes – for once – vaguely articulate?

Aunt Chell is – as Charlotte’s father aptly described once – a money craven media whore. It was a wonder she was able to keep Charlotte’s presence in London a secret for as long a she did.

Charlotte was the sole daughter of Count and Countess Hall, an extremely recluse and wealthy couple who, according to the gossipers in London, live in a mansion that no one has ever seen somewhere near Manchester. It was not true, offcourse, many villagers and a few privileged friends had spent time there. But what was truth to rich women with too much time and not enough brains.

Charlotte, until this point, had never been outside her parents estate. She had liked it that way, the manor had everything she needed, an extensive library, a peaceful garden, excellent stables and a small lake perfect for swimming.

And though both Charlotte and her parents were quite happy with the arrangement her aunt had whined and complained until her parents had agreed to send her into town. Charlotte could still hear her arguments now.

“But Richard please, it isn’t natural, she needs to have friends her own age. What will society think of me, not looking after my own niece, showing her the ropes – as it were. Carry is 20, she should be married by now” – insert at this moment Charlotte’s badly concealed horror – “come now Rosamond, do the right thing for your daughter, send her to London, to the ton, I will have her married in no time, see if I don’t”

And so, two months later, Charlotte arrived in London and had spent the last two weeks locked in her room waiting for the dreadful moment when she would be introduced into society, lace and all.