Chapter 1

I grew up with Charles Sterling, Andrew Sheldon, and Lucas Shepherd. We were childhood friends, inseparable from the start.

So when my father announced a jousting tournament to find me a husband, the three of them were more than eager to take part.

But when the time came for me to toss down my handkerchief, it never touched the ground.

Instead, they snatched it from one another, batting it back and forth until it landed in a gutter, stained and ruined.

My jousting day became the laughingstock of Kingston.

Afterward, they came to find me.

"You had that coming. At the last ball, you made quite a spectacle of yourself. Grace was so humiliated. She cried for days."

"If you apologize to Grace, we'll consider forgiving you."

"We were never going to marry you anyway. But we'll find you someone suitable, maybe not quite our equal, but close enough. Consider it a kindness. We did grow up together, after all."

I didn't bother to answer.

What they didn't know was that someone else had fished that handkerchief from the gutter. He washed it clean and brought it back to me, pressed and folded.

I was going to marry that man instead. And I would never again be their pawn, used to entertain Grace Lynn.

*****

Once my engagement was settled, I went to Sterling Manor to deliver the invitations and return a gift Martha Sterling, Charles's mother, had given me years ago.

While Martha and I were in the main hall, Charles walked in from outside.

Martha called out to him, "Charles, we were talking about Evelyn's wedding—"

Charles's expression turned cold. "Evelyn, did I ever promise to marry you?

"Your handkerchief ended up in the gutter. Wasn't that clear enough? Going to my mother won't change anything. I'm not marrying you, so drop it."

He walked off without looking back.

Martha looked surprised. "What's gotten into that boy? Who said anything about you marrying him?"

She sighed. "Honestly, I would have loved to have you as a daughter-in-law. I don't understand what happened between you two. Charles used to tell me he wanted to outshine the other two and win you over."

I smiled and shook my head. "That was childhood talk. We've all moved on, and that's for the best. Well, Martha, I should be going."

Martha nodded. "All right. I'll bring Charles to the wedding. Wish you all the best, sweetheart."

"Thank you, Martha."

*****

Next, I headed to the Sheldon residence. Andrew was there, looking as polished and refined as ever.

When he saw me, a mocking smile tugged at his lips as he approached. "I heard you went to Sterling Manor to get Martha to talk Charles into marrying you.

"And now that Charles has turned you down flat, you're here for me instead?"

I shook my head. "No, that's not—"

He clicked his tongue. "Come on, Evelyn. Drop the act. We all know what you're thinking.

"We're not children anymore, and we've made our feelings clear. You really shouldn't keep chasing after us.

"If Grace gets the wrong idea about you and me, I won't be gentle. If you make a fool of yourself again, you might never find anyone willing to marry you."

Andrew always wore that gentlemanly mask, but his words cut deep, without mercy.

I took a breath. "Andrew, I only came here to—"

But a servant rushed in. "Sir, Grace is being harassed by some wealthy troublemaker at the perfume shop."

"What?" Andrew's polished demeanor dropped, replaced by urgency and fury as he shoved me aside and ran out.

I stumbled from the push, but my maid, Nova, quickly steadied me.

In the end, I handed the invitation and the gift Louisa Sheldon, Andrew's mother, had once given me back to her.

Louisa sighed. "I always thought you would end up with one of those three boys. I never expected this.

"I don't know what's gotten into them. All because of that girl who always plays the fragile innocent, they've turned on you like this."

She paused and sighed again. "I only hope Andrew doesn't come to regret this one day."

I smiled. "Don't worry, Louisa. Andrew is probably relieved things worked out this way. I've found someone I care for. This is the best for us."

After saying goodbye to Louisa, I walked out of the Sheldon residence and overheard some servants gossiping.

"Grace is something else. The moment Andrew heard she was in trouble, he went running."

"That's not all. I heard Charles and Lucas rushed over, too. For a commoner's daughter, Grace certainly has Kingston's finest young gentlemen wrapped around her finger. The noble daughters must be green with envy."

"Absolutely. Evelyn Goodwin was so jealous that she kept picking on Grace. But every time she tried something, those three made sure she ended up humiliated.

"And she's the Deputy Chancellor's daughter. What a complete disgrace."

The maids were laughing and chatting, but the moment they spotted me, their faces changed. They fell silent and quickly hurried away.

Nova was furious and wanted to confront them, but I held her back and led her out of the manor.

I had come to deliver the invitations and return the gifts their mothers had once given me, intended for their future daughters-in-law.

I did it only because Martha and Louisa had been close friends with my mother and had always treated me kindly.

From now on, I would have nothing more to do with the boys. There was no need to complicate things further.