The Abandoned Lady

Chapter 1

London 1751, beginning of the season.

Oscar stood on the side of the glamorous ballroom, wondering when the evening would come to an end and he could retire from  having to ask the young ladies, 'would you care to dance with me, miss' or 'may I sign your dance card, dearest miss'. After a few years of travelling and exploring different parts of the continents, it was now his official duty to wed and being the heir to the Earldom of Warrington did not help the matters either.

 He knew he must find a partner in life, a wife before the season ended, otherwise, his father would cruelly decide to take matters his own hands. None of the young ladies looked remotely alluring. Beautiful yes, but not intelligent enough to keep him engaged. They all seemed to have the same identical reaction towards him; extreme blushing, squeaking and stuttering; either that or they seemed to be loud, arrogant and rude. Oscar knew he had been gifted in the looks department but, was there not a single girl who could treat him normally? He wanted to have someone to tell his wonderful and dangerous stories of his adventures and have them giddy with wanting more, not someone who'd yawn halfway and looked bored. 

That's enough he thought to himself, he was leaving the over heated room for some fresh air. He stepped into the humongous garden and started to stroll, taking in the midnight blue night sky with the stars glimmering. Everything seemed so serene and peaceful in contrast to the loud vibrant buzz of the ballroom. All of a sudden his eyes caught a large silhouette of a women in the distance, parked on the stone bench hunching over something.

'It's okay.' she said quietly in an extremely caring way. 'You've got me even though I'm completely useless and a disgrace to my family.' She signed as if she was had a huge burden on her chest. ' why cannot Uncle just look at me with affection and feel proud of me for once.' She gently stroked the ginger cat.

Oscar edged closer trying to see this young lady.  She seemed to have such an unhappy life. What was wrong with her? He didn't realize that he only needed to glance at her to know the answer.

******

Amelia hated the season with all her heart. It was her third season running and she still did not have a husband. It all just seemed so pointless to her now and made her failure even more apparent to her uncle. She loved her uncle James, otherwise Sir James Grey, baron of Darring, She tried to do everything to please him, but nothing ever seemed to work. She remembered him; the way he used to laugh, smile and play with her when she was younger when her Auntie was alive. They never had children and therefore, she had been treated like their own.  Uncle James had adopted her from when she was a baby of 3 three months. However, everything had changed just before her death, then, he closed up and turned into the despairing man who still hadn't stopped grieving his beloved wife.

Amelia felt a pang of longing and overwhelming wash over her as she stroked the poor stray cat she had just found. Would she ever find a husband who loved her so much? Right now, it all seemed impossible. That is why she had stepped out of Lady Willow's party and tried to enjoy the warm evening rather than have all the other beautiful females staring at her, bitching about her and the worst, pitying her. She couldn't help the way she looked. It wasn't her fault that she felt food helped her forget about her sorrows and feelings of neglect and hurt. Oh well, it seemed that she was destined to be a spinster.

All of a sudden, she heard a cough from the side of her. She turned to see a tall figure of a man facing towards her direction. Oh god, did he hear her muttering to herself? She may not be confident but she still had some pride. She felt so embarrassed. It was bad enough people pitying her there was no need for people to know how horrible and disappointing she thought of herself. But she held herself and rushed in the opposite direction to the man.  

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you.' She heard him say from behind her. Oh lord, he was following her. The darkness had covered her but if he was to see her then he'd make the most bizarre excuse just to get away from her. She had plenty of experience of that.

'Stop. I just want to say...' He walked quickly after her. Before Amelia knew it she quickly ducked under a rose bush, prickling her skin. She watched as he passed the bush leaving a path of his minty, masculine smell. It was HIM! It had to be HIM, with that melodious, husky voice that was amazingly different to everyone else's. He was officially back, but of course, she knew that. He had a tanned completion showing off healthy gorgeous skin, which boasted the fun and excitement he must've had during his adventures abroad. Amelia wished of such adventures herself but she knew that too was impossible. His outfit fitted his body nicely portraying a body of ripped muscles and sex. She desired to touch him, kiss him and see what he felt like. Amelia froze, what on earth was she thinking? Sex, she shouldn't even be thinking about it especially relating it to a man she could never have but only in her fantasies.

But she couldn't help it, she dreamed of falling in love with him and him falling for her. Amelia shook herself, and got rid of the absurd thoughts and scowled at herself for not thinking better. He was way out of her league. Amelia signed, he had never even noticed her in his life, despite attending many of the same balls and parties. Even if he ever did, he probably looked at her to look at someone else who she may have been covering with her unhealthy figure. She knew that that prayer was beyond possible. If only...argh! Amelia wanted to scream in frustration, why couldn't she just get him out of her mind, head and heart. Life would be less gruelling then. Amelia stood up and shook the hideous green dress. Her Auntie Agatha's, her aunties sister's taste in clothes was horrendous but she hadn't have the heart to inform her of that. It was better to remain silent then argue and have conflict, she didn't want to disappoint her Uncle further. It was time to go in again before her Auntie started to wonder.