His By Christmas (Hamilton Sisters) Read Free

chasing after him,” she protested heatedly. Yvette never chased after any man. Or at least it never looked that way. Lord Shelley must have gone to the card room. Perhaps she should linger in the hallway for a little while and just happen to be there when he returned. “I simply wondered where he had gone is all.”
    Kate gave her a skeptical glance, her freckled face looking a bit amused. “Don’t worry though. Your competition, Jane Fairmont, is over there dancing with Lord Calvert.”
    Yvette spied her rival and then relaxed knowing that the girl was not with Lord Shelley either. Yvette had worked too hard to gain favor with the most eligible bachelor in all of London to lose him to the likes of Jane Fairmont.
    “I wasn’t worried really,” Yvette murmured to her friend. “Simply curious.”
    “I don’t know why you’re throwing yourself at Lord Shelley when there are dozens of handsome men who would die to marry you.” Kate gave her an exasperated look.
    “I am not throwing myself at him. Honestly, Kate! You know me better than that. And I have explained all of this to you before. It’s quite simple. Lord Shelley will be the Duke of Lansdowne when his father passes away.”
    In Yvette’s eyes, there was no need to say more. She had longed for an opportunity like this her whole life. Nothing could be more romantic than marrying a duke and becoming a duchess! To be considered important and grand. To be a stylish and elegant lady, admired by all. Lord Shelley was able to give her the title that would allow everyone to call her Your Grace. No one could deny her significance then.
    At almost twenty-one years of age, Yvette would be entering her third Season next spring. She should be married by now for heaven’s sake!
    It wasn’t from a lack of offers. That was most definitely not the case. Yvette had been the toast of her first Season and again in her second. She had been practically drowning in proposals from fine young gentlemen from good families with excellent prospects, and even a few from those of questionable standing in society. She could have been satisfied with any of them as her husband.
    But she was not.
    She wanted something more. Something romantic and dramatic. Something quite special and exceptionally wonderful. Something her older sisters didn’t already have. As the youngest of five sisters, Yvette had watched each of her siblings marry in thrilling and dramatic ways, being swept off their feet by romance, head-over-heels in love with dashing husbands who adored them.
    Yet, after two Seasons and a few stolen kisses, she had not encountered anyone who made her feel the way she believed she ought to feel. Not one single man had captivated her with his charm or enchanted her with his being. Her heart had not been stolen by a good-looking rogue, nor had she been swept off her feet by a handsome, dark-eyed stranger. Yvette was beginning to fear romance and adventure would never happen for her. Weary of waiting for something dreamy and magical to happen, she had decided to pursue her own romantic dreams instead. Yvette had her sights set on making the most brilliant match she could.
    And what was more brilliant and romantic than a handsome duke?
    She wasn’t bold or brazen enough to think she could snare a prince, even though two of Queen Victoria’s sons were still unmarried. But as luck would have it, earlier that summer she had met William Weatherly, Marquis of Shelley, Earl of Cheshire, and best of all, the future Duke of Lansdowne. Handsome and distinguished, Lord Shelley had been traveling abroad for several years, and having just returned home, he was now in the market for a wife, his future duchess.
    The competition for his attentions had been quite fierce all summer long, for a prize such as Lord Shelley was rare indeed. But as summer turned to fall, Yvette had emerged as one of his favorites, and she had become determined to win him over. Her hope was to be his by Christmas, which