One Wicked Season

II. Childhood Friends

"Do you want me to—"

"No. You should focus your efforts on your family. This is a delicate time for all of you. I still have time, I believe."

"What do you mean?"

Tori cleared her throat and stepped closer to her friend. "Lucas Rowe asked for my hand."

Margaret's face crumpled with revulsion. "Surely you are not considering it."

"Clarice refused."

"But surely you are not considering him!" her friend repeated.

She looked away. "Tori, think clearly. He is Clarice's nephew. You will never escape her clutches if you marry into her family."

"But I will have my dowry."

"Not if Lucas Rowe controls it," Margaret hissed. "You may still get your mother's settlement money."

"If Mr Frasier will allow it. Clarice goes to his office every Wednesday and we both know why."

Margaret sighed. "If your dowry is the only way for you to save the estate, then you need to find someone who will allow you to have control over your finances. Lucas Rowe is not that person."

"Maggie, I do not have a line of suitors outside the door."

Her friend frowned at her. "Who says one needs a line outside the door? You get out the door, Tori." Leaning closer, her friend added under her breath, "All you need is a good Wickhurst Season and a man who will help you save your father's estate."

***

Levi found himself lost in a crowd he had once loved and charmed. Not many years ago, he lived for their attention, their praises, and desperate attempts to be close to him.

But now, Levi was making certain not to make eye contact with any of the mamas or their daughters. The Everards may now be in the midst of a scandal, but they were still without a doubt among the most affluent families, not just in Wickhurst but in the entire Town.

Marrying one of the five Everard brothers would be deemed a miracle, as what most mamas would say. Well, they ought to make that four now that Benedict was getting leg-shackled.

One thing was certain for Levi: he would be the next subject of desire for the marriage mart as the second eldest Everard.

And he could almost feel the war coming his way. Like a lone soldier in the middle of a battlefield, hearing the sounds of hooves as the Wickhurst Season loomed from a distance.

But Levi did not need a wife. He was here to support his fool of a brother and his chosen bride and pray for their family's name to be finally out of the Herald's front pages.

His sisters were yet to be married, and their names had to be unmarred as much as possible. He refused to see them marry a gentleman not up to scratch. Their father would crawl out of his grave if that were to happen.

But trouble came when from the corner of his eye he saw a familiar middle-aged woman dragging her daughter in his direction. It was instinct, seconded by an urgent desire to have just one Everard wedding this year, that made Levi turn on his heel to find a comrade.

He remembered his father talking about this when they were younger. The man, God bless his soul, had taught his sons how to expertly avoid the desperate mothers and scandals, having spent years doing the same before he met his wife, the Great Alice Everard. But it seemed mothers and scandals had mastered their arts along the years, Levi thought as he looked around the ballroom.