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chosen, as it had Lindsay in contact with many other men. Twirling and smiling at each partner, Lindsay felt as if she were floating on air.
    The bright blue walls and intricately laid wood floor swirled about her, mixing with the golden light from the chandelier and numerous candelabras. Looking up at the ceiling’s intricately carved molding and angelic mural, Lindsay felt that this must surely be how it felt to dance in heaven.
    Soon, she had two more signatures on her dance card. Lindsay did not see Aiden, once he returned her to her grandmother’s side, but she often dreamt of him in the weeks to follow.
    Dr. Evers had been right. Once Aiden had broken the ice, more young men, mostly second and third sons, found Lindsay’s face and dowry enough incentive to pay her some attention. None courted her exclusively. However, Lindsay survived her first season without being black listed or dubbed a total pariah.
    Thus, she and her grandmother left for the Beaumont estate feeling as if there was hope for her yet. In Lindsay’s young heart lay a secret seed of desire, one that she had been watering with fancy and sunning with daydreams. In her maiden’s fancy, she fully expected Aiden Evers to return to her side, to sweep her off of her feet and carry her away from her uncomfortable home in Warwick.
     
     

Chapter Three- A House Party
    Warwick, England
    Summer, 1777
    “Men know that women are an overmatch for them, and therefore they choose the weakest or most ignorant. If they did not think so, they never could be afraid of women knowing as much as themselves.”
     
    ~Samuel Johnson, 18th Century Man of Letters
     
    “A house party is in order, I believe,” the Baronet, Stuart Beaumont, declared at breakfast the day following the family’s return to Hartford Glen.
    One glimpse at her short and portly grandfather told Lindsay that her grandmother had explained the series of events resulting in her current lack of suitors. A situation that might have been a less pressing concern for a young woman with brothers as heirs, was of imminent concern to the eldest daughter of a knight with no sons. With her mother’s condition making possible matches scarce, the pressure was two fold. Lindsay must produce an heir and do so without losing her senses.
    To ensure that the family reputation for mental instability was thwarted before her sister’s come out, she must search diligently and quickly for a spouse. If Lindsay could marry and produce a child with no ill effects, Leah would likely have a plethora of suitors from which to choose.
    “A party will bring our long time family friends and acquaintances,” Stuart Beaumont continued grandly. “Let us show their young men what jewels our granddaughters and this estate really are.”
    A party! And with Doctor Evers a certain invite, Aiden may well be in attendance! Lindsay’s face broke into a broad grin. By the end of the day, her cheeks ached from smiling. Here, away from London, she would be seen in her own element and judged sane. She could be observed and found worthy of another’s love.
    “Aiden,” she whispered often to herself, as she imagined how the scenic countryside might offer them countless opportunities to interact, to touch, and to fall in love.
    The month rolled by, filled with preparations, invitations, and reverie. An impressive collection of gowns were commissioned for the four days of festivities. Lindsay must look the part of an engaging future hostess.
    At last, the twelfth day of September arrived bringing with it the much anticipated guests. Twenty-eight, in all, arrived. Their neighbors on both sides, the Donovans and the Merewethers came first. The Donovans, an older couple, came with their fifteen year old niece, Sarah.
    The Merewethers arrived with two grown sons and four daughters ranging in age from ten to twenty. The sons announced that they would return home overnight to see to the running of their own estate.
    In from town came the