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“Society has already shunned me,” Cordelia muttered. “Will you do the same, Irene?”

Her sister remained quiet again, as if she listened to the distant birdsong and the gentle breeze that brushed by them. Eventually she reached, giving Cordelia’s cold hand a firm squeeze before she turned back towards the doors leading into Darkenhill Manor.

“If you’re not careful, dear sister, I’m afraid you’ll be all alone sooner rather than later.”

Before Cordelia could reply or question her sister’s cryptic nature, Irene walked back into the Manor, shutting the doors behind her. Cordelia looked over the fields once more, watching the stablehand move in and out of the wooden stables to the east. Even though she had yet to meet her husband to be, to know the life that had been placed upon her lap, Cordelia couldn’t help but feel as though she were sinking. In that instant, she was oddly jealous of a flock of wild birds, imagining what it would be like to fly free of the place that so often held her back.

“If only,” she murmured as the geese disappeared over the horizon.

CHAPTER1

Cordelia lingered outside of the church. Not many people were in attendance at her wedding. It was an affair with incredibly short notice, just under a week from when her Father told her she would be wed. Only her immediate family attended, and she hadn’t seen anyone enter for the groom’s side. It was looking to become an incredibly grim ceremony after all.

Out from the church came Irene, looking as perfect as she always did. The church was within London, and passerby eyed Irene with smiles and polite bows. Irene’s gentle smile never once left her face, not until her gaze fell upon Cordelia.

“We are all waiting on you, sister.”

Cordelia frowned. “Let them wait. This is the rest of my life.”

“You are far too dramatic. Acting as though this is something no other woman your age does.”

Cordelia pulled at the thread in her gloves nervously. “This is incredibly fast, Irene.”

“Sometimes, that is just how it plays out.”

“Can you tell me that my anxieties are nothing more than a fluke, then?”

Irene sighed, finally giving her a small smile. “You are right, Cordelia. The speed of this marriage is something no Lady wants. I feel for you.”

Cordelia bit back a bitter laugh. The words felt hollow, even if Irene didn’t mean for them to be. In the end, Cordelia was expected to march down that aisle with nothing but a pleased smile on her face. She was the reason behind the scandal, according to her father, and it was her responsibility to see it right before it took too much of a hold on their family name. But she had never been someone to easily succumb to the confines of aristocratic society.

“Tell me about the Duke.”

Irene raised a brow. “I know little about him.”

“I have known you all my life, Irene. I think I can tell when you fib or skate by the truth by now,” Cordelia muttered with an arched brow. “You know as much as I that rumors circle the Ton about the Duke of Solshire.”

“Why ask if you already know?”

Cordelia glanced over at her. “I ask for my eldest sister’s support in the next stages of my life,” she said. “Just because I know there are rumors doesn’t mean I know them well.” Taking in a deep breath, Cordelia calmed the raging nerves that threatened to make her burst with anger. The last thing she needed was to drive her sister further away with her rageful tongue. “Do this for me, won’t you, Irene?”

Irene held her hands in front of her and looked around. “Will you go in once I tell you?”

Cordelia nodded. “I promise.”

“His name is Michael Rayson,” Irene said in a quiet voice. “The late Duke of Solshire passed away only recently. The Duke himself is said to be,” she paused, leaning closer to Cordelia’s ear, “A beast, for a lack of better terms.”

“Abeast?” Cordelia repeated. “Father has signed me off to abeast?”

“Calm down,” Irene snapped. “You said you’d go in once I told you!”

Cordelia looked away, trying to peer into the opened church doors but only seeing shadows and silhouettes. “This is ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous or not,” Irene said, grabbing a hold of her wrist, “You promised to go in, Cordelia. Do not -”

“Make another scandal for my family to deal with? Is that what you were going to say?”

Irene sighed. “Do this one thing, Cordelia. Irregardless of the Duke and his beastly ways. Do this for your family, won’t you?”