page9 (1/2)

No one could say that Hyacinth was hopelessly on the shelf, but even she had to ad toward that position She had received a few proposals since her debut three years earlier, but not as irl in town but certainly better than at least half—and her fortune—again, not the largest dowry on the h to make a fortune hunter look twice

And her connections were, of course, nothing short of impeccable Her brother was, as their father had been before hiht not have been the loftiest title in the land, the family was ih, her sister Daphne was the Duchess of Hastings, and her sister Francesca was the Countess of Kilmartin

If a n himself with the most powerful faerton

But if one took the ti of the proposals she had received, which Hyacinth didn’t care to ad indeed

Three proposals her first season

Two her second

One last year

And none thus far this time around

It could only be argued that she was growing less popular Unless, of course, soument, in which case Hyacinth would have to take the other side, facts and logic notwithstanding

And she’d probably win the point, too It was a rare man—or woerton

This ht in a rareto do hy her rate of proposals was declining at such an alar pace

No irls mill about on the small dais that had been erected at the front of the room It wasn’t as if she should have accepted any of her six proposals Three had been fortune hunters, two had been fools, and one had been quite ter

Better to remain unmarried than shackle herself to someone who’d bore her to tears Even her ue that point

And as for her current proposal-free season—well, if the gentlemen of Britain couldn’t appreciate the inherent value of an intelligent female who knew her own mind, that was their problem, not hers

Lady Danbury thu Hyacinth’s right foot “I say,” she said, “have either of you caught sight of randson?”