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“So was I,” Lily responded. “Wasn’t that the reason Lord Caldwell decided to propose to Miss Gwendolyn? What did he say was his reason again? Oh yes, he did not want someone so sickly as a wife.”

“I will not stand for this insult!” Lady Sarah cried. “I’m telling my mother.”

“I do hope so,” Lily said with a pitying look. “Perhaps she’ll get a better doctor to diagnose you. And you should put on your mask to hide your sickly pallor.”

She waited until Lady Sarah had scurried off to laugh, holding her belly as she did so.

Usually, Eveline would have found her laughter contagious, but she was unable to do so, considering she was still reeling from the conversation they just had.

“Join me in celebrating my victory, Evie.” Lily smiled, holding out a hand. Noticing her friend’s expression, she frowned. “What is it, Evie? Do not tell me you’re bothered by her comments. Normally, you would have returned her words with more ferocity. What has happened to you?”

“Should I not be bothered, Lily?” Eveline answered, sulking. “They’re not wrong in their assessment.”

“It is not indulging in sweets that gave you your figure, Evie,” Lily rebutted. “If it was, then you would resemble Lady Portsmouth.”

Even that joke wasn’t enough to get Eveline out of the somber mood she was in. In recent times, she had begun to fear for her own prospects, especially since Ava, her sister, had become even more irrational in her choice of suitors.

“Still, Lily,” she sighed. “I have begun to fear I shall remain unwed, and while I understand it is not exactly a fate worse than death, I… I really had hoped to have a love story that would be one for the books, you know. Something I would tell my future daughters and such. Is that too much to ask for?”

“In this vain society, where everyone’s worth is judged by superficial standards? Then yes.”

“Lily!” Eveline chided.

“You expect too much from a Society match,” Lily said with a frown.

“I know that, but still.” Eveline pouted. “I just want a burning romance, you know. The type where he cannot help but steal a kiss before we’re even wed. Something exciting.”

“You could just ask any gentleman, and he would be more than willing,” Lily suggested.

“That is an utterly scandalous suggestion, Lily,” Eveline scolded, her eyes darting around, hoping no one overheard them.

“No less scandalous than you wanting a kiss from someone who is not yet your husband.”

She shot her friend a look that caused her to roll her eyes.

“I understand what you mean, dear girl, but you must understand that there’s not much to pick from here. Reality is rather boring,” Lily explained. “You could just take a risk and ask a gentleman. Who knows? It just might give you the fairytale ending you seek.”

Eveline sighed and cast a glance around the room. Even if she decided to take her friend’s suggestion, which gentleman would do?

She spotted Lord Salsbury, who she danced with earlier, and cocked her head as she considered him. He was handsome and stood almost a head taller than everyone else, an earl with an estate in good condition, so he would not be marrying for a large dowry. He had a good sense of humor, going by the conversation they had while they danced, but he seemed too proper for her to consider him.

Who else was there?

Her eyes landed on her sister, Ava, who was making her way to the refreshments table, apparently looking for her, and panic flared in her chest. If Ava was seeking her out, it only meant she had found another potential suitor she wanted her to converse with.

While she appreciated her sister’s effort, Eveline did not really understand her reasoning behind the men she had attempted to introduce her to over the past week. There had been the polite Lord Worthingham, who was old enough to be her father, and then the touchy Lord Yardley, who had been unable to keep hishands to himself, and then Lord Keith, who was uninterested in her and was rudely vocal about it.

But none of that deterred her sister, who was more determined than ever to see her wed.

She understood her sister’s desperation, as it was the only thing Ava had lived for since their mother passed when they had been young. She knew Ava felt guilty sometimes that she wasn’t trying hard enough, but lately, Eveline only wanted to escape her matchmaking attempts.

“Lily, I need you to help me escape Ava,” Eveline hissed, going to hide behind her friend. “She has been introducing me to gentlemen all evening, and I am exhausted. I cannot endure another boring conversation in my current mood.”

“What shall I even say to her?” Lily asked.

“You can think of something. You’ve been friends with her for as long as I have.”

“It doesn’t mean I can just think of something so quickly.”