Miss Taygete’s Sweet Sister’s Society Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Personal word from Charlotte Stone

  Find Out More

  Chapter One

  .

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Epilogue

  Preview of Next Book

  ORDER OF BOOKS LIST. Also By

  Join Today

  Publishers Notes

  Miss Taygete’s Sweet Sister’s Society

  The Spinster’s Society

  A Regency Romance Book

  Charlotte Stone

  Contents

  Copyright

  Personal word from Charlotte Stone

  Find Out More

  Chapter One

  .

  Chapter Two

  .

  Chapter Three

  .

  Chapter Four

  .

  Chapter Five

  .

  Chapter Six

  .

  Chapter Seven

  .

  Chapter Eight

  .

  Chapter Nine

  .

  Chapter Ten

  .

  Chapter Eleven

  .

  Chapter Twelve

  .

  Chapter Thirteen

  .

  Chapter Fourteen

  .

  Chapter Fifteen

  .

  Chapter Sixteen

  .

  Chapter Seventeen

  .

  Chapter Eighteen

  .

  Chapter Nineteen

  .

  Chapter Twenty

  .

  Chapter Twenty-one

  .

  Chapter Twenty-two

  .

  Chapter Twenty-three

  .

  Chapter Twenty-four

  .

  Chapter Twenty-five

  .

  Chapter Twenty-six

  .

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  .

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  .

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  .

  Chapter Thirty

  .

  Chapter Thirty-one

  .

  Chapter Thirty-two

  .

  Chapter Thirty-three

  .

  Epilogue

  .

  Preview of Next Book

  ORDER OF BOOKS LIST. Also By

  Join Today

  Publishers Notes

  Copyright © 2018 by

  Charlotte Stone

  All Rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  * * * * *

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  PERSONAL WORD

  FROM CHARLOTTE STONE

  * * *

  Dear lovely readers,

  The characters of my writings are women who have a strong mind of their own, women who know what they want to pursue in life. It is their tenacity to finding true love that drives them to overcome the challenges which they may face while waiting for the man of their dreams.

  Will such tenacity of their believing bring them true love in spite of the societal-standing challenges one will face in an era such as that of Regency.

  Read on to find out the answers!

  Thank you once again for your strong support in my writing journey!

  Much Love,

  Have you checked out my other historical romance book series?

  Click the link below to get started

  *** Amazon US ***

  * * *

  Got something to share?

  I would want to hear from you!

  So please do get in touch with me:

  https://www.facebook.com/charlottestonebooks/

  [email protected]

  - THE SPINSTER’S SOCIETY SERIES -

  Miss Taygete’s Sweet Sister’s Society

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  CHAPTER ONE

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  Hampshire, England

  Spring 1806

  Lord Hugh Vance always enjoyed coming home, but he had the feeling that this visit would change that. He stared ahead as the ferrymen sailed him and the other passengers toward the bay. Southampton surrounded the River Itchen on two sides. Hugh held onto the railing and looked at the others who traveled with him.

  A few people were obviously alone, but it was the families that caught his eye. Smaller children ran around or stood idly by their parents. A few couples spoke, standing close to one another. The sound of laughter flowed on the wind only to be carried away. Hugh wondered if that would be him soon. Would he have a happy marriage like the one his parents had shared or was his going to be the sort he’d come to understand was the fate of most lords?

  As the Marquess of Edvoy, he had a duty. He had to marry someone from a good home and secure an heir from her as soon as possible.

  But he wanted more.

  At eighteen, he thought himself much too young to marry. He’d only been at Oxford for two years and had thought he’d be closer to thirty before he made such a decision, but the death of his father had changed everything. With the old marquess’ death, Hugh was faced with the knowledge that if he died, so did his line.

  The Vance family had held the title for over six generations. His father had often reminded him that his great-great-grandfather had been against the Mayflower’s departure from their shores to the New World in 1607, and now that New World was a country of its own.

  He hoped to tell his own son that story one day, about the Vance men who’d once held the title. In order to secure that, he had to marry.

  He’d been informed that his mother had already chosen his bride from a middle-class house she claimed held three important attributes: beauty, money, and fertile loins. The Bellenger family consisted of six children, two of them sons.

  Hugh knew the youngest son, Orion. They both attended Oxford and lived in the same Dame’s House, which was run by a mean-spirited woman. Though they belonged to separate groups, Hugh counted him as a friend.

  The ferry docked, and Hugh allowed his footman to catch him a hack and then they were off.

  They moved through High Street toward Castle Square. During the ride, he tried to think of what he would say when he met his bride.

  Maia Bellenger.

  According to his mother, she was the eldest of the girls and the one with the most sensible name. Since Hugh knew Orion well,
he knew his mother's dramatic tendencies.

  The daughters had all been named in order of the Seven Sisters, nymphs that had been turned to stars in order to protect them from the lustful gods who hunted them. He hoped the women lived up to the legend, but if they did not, it wouldn’t matter. Hugh had already decided that he’d do as his mother wished because while she might manage a smile or two, he could tell that her heart was broken. He didn’t know how long she had before she left this world to go be with his father.

  Love sometimes happened that way, Hugh knew. His father, Joseph Vance, had been his mother's other half, and she struggled to go on without him.

  The story of his parents’ love had always been a tale that Hugh enjoyed hearing. It started with a kiss on her debut to Society no less. They’d been at a party thrown by one of Hugh’s grandfather’s friends. They’d only been introduced before they’d been pulled apart to dance with others. But Joseph had watched Rose leave the ballroom and had followed her.

  He’d found her when she came out of a room in an empty hallway and, without a single word, he moved in and kissed her.

  They’d been together until his death. Hugh never tired of hearing that story. His little brother, Raymond, didn't seem to care, but Hugh had always been a romantic. He enjoyed poetry, though he’d never been any good at writing it.

  And though he was young, he also found that he enjoyed women.

  Very much.

  There was much to say about a woman’s body, words he was sure another man could describe with better accuracy, but to Hugh they were all beautiful. Tall, short, thin, round, blonde, brunette. He’d learned swiftly that he was not one who needed a certain woman to satisfy his appetite. She simply needed to have a pretty face.

  The hack stopped at the address he’d given the driver. The Bellengers’ house was like most on the street, a row house, but it seemed to have been extended into the houses on either side, making him sure that the home was much larger than it appeared on the exterior.

  Once he was done here, he would visit his mother, sleep, and then start his journey back to Oxford the next day.

  But first, he had to do this. He had to meet his… fiancée.

  Was that the right word for what she was? He’d not proposed yet. She’d not said yes. Would she say yes?

  He looked at the house again. They were wealthy. Orion had said the family owned both lead and iron mines.

  Hugh climbed out and started for the door.

  He was greeted by the family butler and shown into the sitting room where he was introduced to Mary Bellenger and Electra Bellenger. He didn’t have to ask which place in line the girl was. All he had to do was list the Seven Sisters in his head to know that Electra was the second eldest daughter. If her sisters looked anything like her or her mother, they were gorgeous.

  He was almost rendered speechless as he looked into her eyes. She was pale in every way. Her blond hair was tucked back in a plain bun, probably so that she’d not catch his notice with curls and ribbons. The woman needed none of that. Her gray eyes smiled as she looked at him, and Hugh found himself anxious to meet Maia.

  Electra was seventeen, and her older sister was just a year older.

  Mary, who was just as beautiful as her daughter but with blue eyes, looked at Electra and said, “Go find your sister for me, dear.”

  “Yes, Mother,” Electra all but sang before she floated from the room.

  Mary engaged Hugh in small talk about school before some noise from the foyer caught their attention and a woman who had to be the housekeeper rushed in. Her cheeks were red. “Mrs. Bellenger, you must come quickly.”

  “Taygete?” Mary asked as she stood.

  “Alcyone,” the woman replied before turning and fleeing.

  Mary groaned and smiled politely at Hugh. “I hope you don’t find me rude, but I must go see what my youngest has gotten into.”

  Hugh had stood when she had and excused her swiftly before settling back into his chair. He glanced around the room while he was alone, liking everything he saw. The Bellengers had a happy household. The house was not only well decorated, but he could see telling signs of life in the room.

  There was an open book balanced on the end of a chair arm and a ball nestled underneath the couch. He believed he saw a dog, but the fur blended so well with the dark floors that he wasn’t sure.

  He concentrated and heard breathing. Yes, an animal was most definitely under the couch.

  He was leaning back in his chair when something caught his eyes outside the window. He walked over and glanced out to find a very lovely garden. Sitting by a pond was a woman wearing a pale blue dress, her back to him. Her hair was loose, blond waves that fell down her back, paler than even Electra’s, nearly white.

  He wondered who she was. Knowing she wasn’t Electra, he guessed that she was either Maia or the other one. Taygete. Poor girl. The name was hideous. Still, he saw an opportunity as he looked out into the garden.

  Surrounded by roses and raspberry bushes could be the woman who would be his wife, and he wanted to see if it would be love at first sight like his parents had found.

  But if she wasn’t Maia, that would be fine as well, since he’d have to meet the rest of the family eventually, wouldn’t he?

  His feet carried him from the room and out the door.

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  CHAPTER TWO

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  Taygete Bellenger glanced around the garden from her seat on the grass and slowly allowed one foot into the pond before daring to let the other follow. She moaned in appreciation at the contrast of the heat of the sun and the coolness of the water. Then she pulled the piece of bread from her pocket and began to throw small pieces into the surface of the pond.

  It didn’t take long for the pieces to disappear. Small fish broke the surface to eat the bread. Then she ate some herself and wondered if she’d be allowed to attend dinner that night with the family. If her mother had any say, the new Marquess of Edvoy and Maia would remain alone to ensure that a Bellenger married into a titled family.

  But, of course, her mother would never stop her children from eating together, even if unchaperoned time between Maia and the marquess could guarantee a match. She loved her family, but Taygete was sure that she’d only be allowed one serving of food tonight since women were never to eat the same amount as a man. It made her dislike her guest even more. Taygete was usually hungry, but at dinner she was even hungrier than usual. She wasn’t the sort who enjoyed cakes and sweets. When Taygete was hungry, she wanted a meal.

  The bread would do for the moment, however, which meant the fish would have to share that afternoon.

  “My apologies, my little friends,” she told her silver swimming friends. “But you’ll simply have to share.” She took another bite from the bread and then tossed the remaining pieces into the water.

  As she moved her feet around to create waves, she wondered how long it would be before her mother forced the entirety of the family to move to London. Once Maia married a Marquess, Mary would use that connection to ensure the rest of her daughters married someone of like rank. T

  hat meant moving to London.

  Mary had already prepared the girls for the move and had bought them enough dresses and gowns to see them through the Season. Somehow, though Taygete didn’t understand how, Mary had even convinced their father, Theodore, to escort them.

  Taygete had been sure that would be an impossible feat, since Father lived for his company, growing his empire, and collecting one mine after another with such a speed that many speculated on his methods. Theodore was rarely home, and even when he did come home, he kept to his office behind closed doors.

  Her parents were not close by any measure, but that worked for Mary since she was usually allowed to do as she pleased. That included the naming of all her children. A lover
of the romantic tales of the Greeks, Mary had named her daughters after the Pleiades, and how Taygete wished she had been born first.

  Maia was a lovely name. Everyone thought so.

  But the names grew worse from there.

  Taygete rested her hands on the grass and sighed, wondering if London even had grass or gardens. From what she’d heard, the city was cold and dreary. Though Southampton could have its cold and wet days, much like the rest of England, being in the south secured it plenty of sunlight as well.

  She’d miss the plants that grew in her mother’s garden. She’d especially miss the pond.

  Unlike the rest of her sisters, she didn’t want to go London, but Electra was looking forward to it and so was Alcyone, who wasn’t even old enough to have a Season. Half the girls Taygete knew wanted to visit the city where the king lived and where fashion began and ended, but not Taygete.