Chapter 1
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1918
Marquess of Ravencroft's Town House
Four months, ten days after her husband's death and Sarah Daggerton, Marchioness of Ravencroft was in deep trouble. She needed money and the ledger which she had taken time to go through herself because her late husband's secretary was suddenly no where to be found was not adding up. Her fingers were smudged with ink, her hair was out of the perfect coiffure she had maintained when her husband was alive and she really needed a cup of scotch for her frayed nerves.
She stared at her calculations again and knew she was in trouble like the lawyer from Jameson and Jameson had said earlier that week when they finally got around to visiting her. Her late husband was in a lot of debt and the only way she would get her widow's portion was if they found a way to pay off that debt because the small townhouse she was supposed to get was included in his promissory note.
Sarah was sure she could pay off the debt if she had more time with the properties afterall, she was a resourceful woman but her husband's heir, a distant nephew becuase the man did not have any children, was returning at the end of the month and with his return, she would be turned out into the streets.
She really hated her late husband at that moment. Odious man that he was. Couldn't even finish the job before he went on and conked up on her. She was still a new bride for God's sake. He hadn't even bought her any jewelry that she could pawn. She wanted to cry.
Somehow, she thought she probably deserved what was happening to her. After all, she had married the Marquess only for his title, money he obviously did not have, a chance to leave the streets and with the expectation that he wouldn't live very long. He hadn't disappointed her in the last regard.
On their wedding day, he was already sick, couldn't even stand well and by the time the wedding party was done, he had fallen on his bed where he did not leave again until his death that horrible morning in September. She thought it was going to be a great day because the sun managed to stream in through the tiny slits in her thick black curtains but it turned out, it was heaven laughing at her.
Someone knocked on the door of the Study which used to belong to her husband but was now a property of his nephew in India and Clara, Sarah's lady's maid opened it a fraction before sliding into the room with her drab clothes to blend in with the background.
"Lady Ravencroft" , Clara began even though she could have called her Sarah like the old friends they were but Clara insisted that she must respect her employer and Sarah thought it made her happy.
"Boxer's making a fuss. Says he won't leave'em until his money's paid in full." The lady's maid ended in a flat tone and Sarah could feel a migraine coming on.
She knew the rules, lived in the rookeries, knew that you have to be ready to get gone within a moment's notice but her job wasn't finished yet and she needed money to complete it.
"Damn it!" She didn't have another choice, she needed to become a mistress to someone who had a lot of money really fast and had the perfect candidate in mind.
"Did you check out Burton?" She asked Clara and the girl who was more younger than her in age but not in experience nodded. "Is he as rich as they say?" Clara nodded again and Sarah closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Her target was set, and she had never hesitated to finish something her mind was set on but for some reason, for the first time in her life, she really didn't want to go through with her plan.
"Yes, M'Lady. Heard he might be looking for a mistress too."
Sarah sighed. The season might have just begun but it was time to put her plans in motion and she knew just where to begin; at Lady Bancroft's ball.
