Read To All the Rakes I've Loved Before (A Honeycote Novella) for Free Online

said it aloud. Was that really all she’d done in the past year and a half?
    “An idea came to me during the coach ride over,” Olivia announced.
    Oh no. Olivia’s ideas were rarely of the tame variety.
    Rose smiled warmly. “I thought it splendid.”
    Amelia breathed a little easier. “What was that?”
    “Since your mother is in Bath for a few more days, why not attend the Norrington ball with Rose and me? Owen and Anabelle will be there too. You’ve never had the chance to meet our new sister-in-law, and we just know you’d adore her.”
    “And she would adore you as well,” Rose added.
    “The ball’s tomorrow night, and we promise you’ll have a lovely time.”
    “I couldn’t possibly.” Amelia couldn’t. And not just because she had a secret house guest. The mere thought of mingling with dukes and duchesses made her palms sweat and her belly clench. The last ball she attended had ended with her sprawled on the floor, humiliated and alone.
    “Why ever not?” asked Olivia incredulously.
    Amelia reached for the easiest possible excuse. “I have nothing to wear. I haven’t bought anything new since… well, for a couple of seasons. I’ve yet to have my old gowns taken in.” She threw up her hands. “So, you see? Even if I desperately wanted to go, which I’m not certain I do…”
    “You may wear one of my gowns.”
    “Or mine,” offered Rose.
    “And if the dress requires minor alterations, Anabelle is wickedly skilled with a needle.”
    The duchess? Amelia had read something about this in the papers but couldn’t quite believe it.
    “That’s kind of you,” Amelia said, meaning it. She’d always wished she had a sister, but never more so than now. Even though she didn’t know Rose and Olivia very well, she trusted them. Not enough to tell them that she was hiding a gentleman upstairs. But surely enough to admit the reason behind her aversion to balls. “The truth is, I don’t like going out in society. The bad experience I had at Greystone Park put me off balls.” There was no need for Amelia to elaborate on “bad experience.” Though her cousins hadn’t been at Greystone to witness it, her figurative and literal fall was the stuff of legends.
    Rose frowned. “I’d quite forgotten. That must have been awful.”
    “But it was years ago,” Olivia exclaimed. “Get back on the horse, and all that.”
    Amelia sighed. “What would be the point?”
    Olivia was incredulous. “To dance, for one.”
    “Dancing.” Amelia groaned. “It’s so awkward, is it not? Standing about, hoping a gentleman will take notice of you, and then hoping that the gentleman who does take notice of you won’t have horrid breath or let his hands wander where they shouldn’t? No. No, thank you.”
    “But if you never go to balls or parties, how will you meet a gentleman?” Olivia asked.
    Well, sometimes they showed up on one’s doorstep. But Amelia couldn’t say that, of course.
    “I’ve no intention of marrying.” The words rushed out of her before she’d realized she was going to say them, but she was glad she had. It was liberating.
    Olivia and Rose gasped.
    “The idea of marriage holds no appeal for me.” Amelia rose and wandered to a cabinet that displayed a bronze tripod sculpture. The feet were lion’s paws, and above them, three nude men carrying swords charged into battle. The physiques were quite impressive and… detailed. She’d always wondered—
    But curiosity about the male form was hardly a reason to marry.
    “Maybe if you found the right gentleman,” Rose suggested.
    “No. I prefer to be single,” Amelia said firmly. “There are many advantages to remaining so.”
    Olivia looked skeptical. “Such as?”
    Amelia tried to recall the many diary entries she’d written on the subject. “A single woman can pursue her own interests without seeking permission from a demanding or jealous husband.”
    Olivia inclined her head, conceding the point.
    “You’ve given this serious