How to Marry an Earl (A Cinderella Society 1)

“To the devil with them. I mean it,” he insisted when she opened her mouth to reply. “I’ve seen too much in the last few years. I’m finally free now and I won’t sell my freedom to the gossipmongers and the bullies. And I won’t let you do it either.”

“If only it were that simple.” But he had a point. Hadn’t she thought the same?

Although, Conall hadn’t written to her. He wasn’t exactly here professing his love.

Of course, she had told everyone their engagement was a sham.

“Do you love him, Percy?”

She nodded without hesitation. Not only was Henry the person she could always be honest with, but the truth of it rushed out of her before she could stop it. “Of course, I love him.”

“Then be brave,” Henry said.

“I don’t feel brave.”

“You were brave enough to chase down a traitor in order to free him. But you’re not brave enough to tell him you love him?”

When he put it like that, it was ridiculous.

It was anothertwo days before the festival was over and Persephone could finally leave for London. She shared a carriage with Priya, Tamsin, and Meg. Tamsin had wheedled a luncheon basket and a bottle of champagne for the trip.

“We deserve it,” she insisted when Priya questioned the wisdom of delicate flutes in a bumpy carriage. Persephone took a glass gratefully. She hadn’t thought she’d be this nervous.

“To the Cinderella Society,” Tamsin announced, lifting her glass. “Anyway, we foiled a dastardly plot, didn’t we? We deserve champagne.”

“To the Cinderella Society,” they chorused back, clinking glasses. The carriage wheel found a pothole and champagne sloshed over the rims. They laughed.

“We were able to help clear Henry’s name and save Conall because no one takes us seriously,” Tamsin added. “Think of what we could accomplish with that.”

Meg raised her eyebrows. “Such as?”

“Fairweather is hardly the first or the last gentleman to use a lady, or two, for his own nefarious purposes. We are overrun with such men. They use us because they can get away with it.”

They all knew what she was thinking: the mysterious man Priya never spoke of but who had been the reason behind her surprise marriage to a much older man, the way Tamsin’s family neglected her because she was not the male heir, Meg’s uncle who had inherited her family estate but declined to pay Meg the annuity she was owed. The choice Persephone had made to ruin herself in order to free herself.

“Not any more. If we can take on a bloody traitor to the crown, fortune hunters and libertines should pose no challenge at all.”

“A tiny taste of violence and she’s unstoppable,” Priya murmured.

“But she’s not wrong,” Persephone added. “If we can help, shouldn’t we? If I hadn’t had your help, and Conall’s, I might not be here today.”

“Don’t say that,” Tamsin shivered.

“It’s true. And lots of women aren’t as lucky as I am.”

“Not yet,” Meg put in. “Give us time.”

“Where are we?”Persephone asked, hours later. She hadn’t been to Tamsin’s family townhouse in more than two years, but she knew Mayfair when she saw it. The streets outside were far too crowded. “Is this Piccadilly?”

“It is,” Priya confirmed. “And if we’re going to be a proper Society, we’re going to need someone with a bit more clout.”

Tamsin opened the door.

“Someone like a marchioness,” Meg added, shoving Persephone bodily out of the carriage. The door slammed shut.

The carriage pulled away.

“But…”