Available from Signet Eclipse. *New York Times bestselling author Celeste Bradley It was a perfectly enjoyable evening until the incident. Lady Cecily Francis smiled graciously at the young man escorting her off the floor, accepted a glass of champagne from a passing footman with a tray, and excused herself, pleading the need to sit down for a few minutes. Her feet were starting to hurt, as she’d been steadily engaged for every dance. Besieged was a more appropriate way to put it, and while she was flattered at all the attention, she was not embracing her first season with a high level of enthusiasm. Cecily thought the ballroom too crowded, the din of hundreds of conversations much too loud, and the air too close. But, as it had been pointed out to her time and again by well-meaning aunts, cousins, and various other members of the family, including her father, a young woman did not snare a husband by languishing in the country. She spotted her sister standing and chatting with a group of young ladies and made her way toward them, not a particularly easy task in the milling throng.
