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PROLOGUE

On the sixth of April, in the year 1812--precisely two days before her sixteenth birthday--Penelope Featherington fell inlove

It was, in a word, thrilling The world shook Her heart leaped TheAnd, she was able to tell herself withsoerton--felt precisely the same way

Oh, not the love part He certainly didn't fall in love with her in 1812 (and not in 1813, 1814, 1815, or--oh, blast, not in all the years1816-1822, either, and certainly not in 1823, when he was out of the country the whole time, anyway) But his earth shook, his heart leaped, and Penelope kneithout a shadow of a doubt that his breath was taken away as well For a good ten seconds

Falling off a horse tended to do that to a man

It happened thus:

She'd been out for a walk in Hyde Park with her mother and two older sisters when she felt a thunderous ru under her feet (see above:the bit about the earth shaking) Hermuch attention to her (her mother rarely did), so Penelope slipped away for a tons were in rapt conversation with Viscountess Bridgerton and her daughter Daphne, who had just begun her second season in London, so they were pretending to ignore the ruertons were an important fanored

As Penelope skirted around the edge of a particularly fat-trunked tree, she sao riders co hell-for-leather orwhatever expression people liked to use for fools on horseback who care not for their safety and well-being Penelope felt her heart quicken (it would have been difficult to maintain a sedate pulse as a witness to such excitement, and besides, this allowed her to saythat her heart leaped when she fell in love)

Then, in one of those inexplicable quirks of fate, the wind picked up quite suddenly and lifted her bonnet (which, rin, she had not tied properly since the ribbon chafed under her chin) straight into the air and, splat! right onto the face of one of the riders

Penelope gasped (taking her breath away!), and then the antly in a nearby , squealing so that was meant to inquire after his welfare, but that she suspected caled shriek He would, of course, be furious with her, since she'd effectively knocked hiuaranteed to put any gentleman in the foulest ofoff whatever , he didn't lash out at her He didn't give her a stinging set-down, he didn't yell, he didn't even glare

He laughed