THE MARRIAGE CHALLENGE | The Shortys 2026

AN UNFORTUNATE ENCOUNTER

Leon Beaumont had never intended to become respectable.

Respectability, in his experience, was an unfortunate condition generally accompanied by tedious conversations, early mornings, and an alarming interest in estate management. His brother had suffered from all three since becoming Duke of Ravenshire, although Alexander had become considerably more tolerable after marrying Arabella.

Leon suspected this was the most troubling development of all.

Marriage had changed Alexander.

Not entirely, of course. His brother still possessed the irritating habit of believing himself correct about almost everything, but he laughed now. Occasionally. And when Arabella was nearby, he looked at her as though the rest of the room had become considerably less important.

Leon had spent the better part of the previous year making fun of him for it.

Unfortunately, he had also begun to wonder whether there might be something to it.

Which was why he now stood in Lady Agatha's ballroom, surrounded by unmarried ladies and their considerably more determined mothers, wondering precisely where his life had gone wrong.

The Season had begun only a week earlier, and Leon had already regretted attending three balls.

'You appear uncomfortable.'

Leon turned to find Arabella standing beside him, one hand resting lightly against the curve of her stomach. Alexander stood at her side with the particular expression of a man excessively concerned with whether his wife had eaten enough.

'I am uncomfortable.'

Arabella smiled. 'How unfortunate.'

'Lady Hervey has already introduced me to two daughters.'

'Only two?'

Leon looked at her.

'You are enjoying this.'

'Immensely.'

Alexander glanced toward the ballroom.

'You could leave.'

'And disappoint Mother?'

'You have disappointed Mother before.'

'Frequently,' Arabella added.

Leon placed a hand over his heart.

'It is comforting to know that my family thinks so highly of me.'

Lady Agatha's annual ball was filled with London's most eligible unmarried ladies. Silk gowns swept across the polished floor beneath glittering chandeliers while mothers watched their daughters with the determined expressions of generals preparing for battle.

Leon had once found such occasions entertaining. He attended them without the slightest intention of finding a wife, danced when he pleased, flirted when it amused him, and generally left before anyone could suggest serious intentions.

This year was different.

Unfortunately.

His reputation had certainly not improved since the previous Season.

There had been the married woman, whose husband possessed both a temper and enough influence to ensure the matter spread rapidly through London. Then there had been another incident involving several servants and circumstances Leon preferred not to discuss.

The details had become increasingly exaggerated with every telling.

At this point, Leon was fairly certain half of London believed he had personally destroyed several marriages and escaped through the window of a country estate.