The carriage arrived, and to Annabelle's surprise her Aunt, Lady Cantrell, was inside.

"Aunt Augusta! But I thought I was..."

"To what child? Travel alone to London without proper escort? I know your Mother would never see to such details but I shall not have your name ruined before you even set foot in London. The rumor mill would be a buzz. Are you packed?"

"Yes, Aunt."

"Albert?"

"My Lady?"

"Please see to it that her belonging are placed on the coach."

"Yes, Marm." Albert immediately began to instruct the servants to carry out her orders.

Juliana and Clara came down the stairs wishing to say their good-byes. Both equally surprised to see Lady Cantrell standing in the foyer.

"Aunt Augusta!" Clara ran down the steps and very unceremoniously hugged her Aunt. Lady Cantrell looked a bit distressed by such an open display of affection.

She pulled Clara away and held her at arm's length. Despite her awkwardness it was evident that she doted on the youngest Bentley child. She stroked Clara's cheek with the back of her fingertips. "My how you have grown. You look so much like your Father. Do not worry my dear you will be coming on your own trip to London soon enough. In the meantime, I expect you to continue with your studies and listen well to your governess."

"May I come and visit with you Aunt, you and Annabelle, sometime during the season?" Clara asked hopefully.

"I do not see how there will be time and the weather is not always permitting but perhaps in the spring, if your Mother agrees."

Clara took this as a possible yes, which was all the encouragement she needed. She longed for an adventure.

"Speaking of which where is your Mother?" Both Annabelle and Clara looked at one another neither wishing to say. Thankfully Juliana stepped in. "Lady Bentley is still sleeping, as she was entertaining late into the evening."

Lady Cantrell caught the emphasis on the word "entertaining" and immediately bristled. "Of all the inconsiderate, spoiled..." she took a deep breath to calm herself.

Once she was calm she grabbed both Annabelle's and Clara's hand in hers. "Make this into a lesson girls. A true lady does not act as your mother acts. She knows her place in this world and commands attention. She does not have to seek it at every turn, or coerce it be hers. She knows it to be her right and her suitors need not be entertained."

"Yes, Aunt August," the girls said in unison.

"Now, we really must be on our way."

"So soon Aunt? Can you not stay for something to eat before you go?" Clara inquired.

"We really must get on the road, child. It is a long journey ahead of us and I really see no reason to delay."

She hugged her sister and did not want to let go. Juliana embraced them both. "This is not good-bye, not really. I am certain we will see one another again. Oh Annabelle, I hope you find what you are looking for."

Annabelle instantly thought of the letter, which currently was placed in her reticule she had by her side. "Thank you. Thank you, for...everything." Finally finding the strength to break apart from them, she followed her Aunt outside and climbed aboard the carriage. Albert closed the door behind her. "Take Care, Miss."

Annabelle smiled at him. "I shall, Albert."

Albert took Clara back inside but Juliana stood and watched until the carriage could no longer be seen. "Good luck, Annabelle," she whispered to no one.

They were making good time on the road to London. Aunt Augusta snapped her timepiece closed and gave her niece an appraising look. She had grown to be quite a beauty with her long blonde locks and crystal blue eyes. Her title too will have her suitors lining up, but her lack of a dowry may make her prey for the lesser sort. Something Lady Cantrell planned to rectify upon their return to London.

Annabelle looked up and gave her Aunt a nervous smile.

Annabelle watched her Aunt frown. "Are you well, Aunt?"

"I know you have had the proper upbringing and a smart governess but I am curious if you are truly prepared for what lies ahead of you."

"I must admit I worry the same, Aunt. It is quite an undertaking, of which I feel ill prepared."

"You have had lessons?"

"Art, Embroidery, Dance. Juliana...I mean...Ms. Wadsworth had even seen that we learned languages, mathematics, reading and letters."

"I do hope she did not make you too smart. Most men find a learned woman tedious and tiresome."

Annabelle was not sure what she was to respond to such a statement, so remained silent.

"I do believe you will do well. I have already received word that my request for you to be presented has been accepted. When we arrive in London I shall see what dresses you own and take an inventory. I believe some shopping may be in order. I doubt by the dress you have chosen to wear today that your trunk contains anything suitable; the style is quite out of date."

Annabelle fussed with her dress a little. It was one of her favorites. She never thought anything of it until now. "But Aunt I cannot possibly afford..." Her Aunt silenced the rest of her sentence with a raise of he hand. "That is my concern, child. You need not worry. I shall take care of whatever you may need."

Annabelle felt in over her head. She had no doubt she would be indebt to her Aunt forever. "Aunt Augusta?"

"Yes."

"How did you know Uncle Jacob was the man you wished to marry?"

"He was chosen for me, to be the best suited and agreed to marry me. His title and financial situation had saved us, after my own father's death."

Annabelle looked more concerned as she filled in the blanks of what her Aunt was not saying. "You mean you and Uncle were not in love?"

Her Aunt laughed, but without humor. "Love? There is no room for such sentimentality. You are in the market for Marriage. A match well made means the difference between having security or poverty. Should you outlast your husband, best to make certain you will not outlast his fortune. It is all a woman need concern herself with, as we are not permitted to make our own way in this world. No, child. Love does not enter into this equation."

Annabelle clutched the purse with her letter a little closer to her person. It was a bleak picture her Aunt painted. A life without Love? Is this truly what she is meant to search for? She thought of the words written, the intensity, the passion, and such devotion. Surely it must be right to wish to find such attributes in your counterpart. To abandon all notion... although she could not deny the logic of her Aunt's council.

Her Mother long ago outstripped her Father's fortune. She watched in shame as her Mother consistently took to entertaining men of great wealth to obviously snatch a new husband to take care of her. They would shower her with gifts, some rather lavish but none of them remained, none of them loved her.

Suddenly, this journey and its true destination became clear. She was to be auctioned to the highest bidder so that she would no longer be a burden but a buoy to her family. She was meant to marry well, to take care of them all.

A little frightened by this new reality, Annabelle asked, "Is it not possible to have both?"

Lady Cantrell could see herself in Annabelle's eyes. She wished she was not the one to teach her niece this life lesson, but as their own Mother chose to be absent for most of their lives, she knew this lot fell to her to impart.

"Not that I have ever had witness of. You are best not to look for it. For should you seek it you may find it, and as tempting as that love may be, it will not be yours to keep. Such a loss leaves one... forever altered. No, best to leave these childish notions behind and be practical in all matters of the heart."

Lady Cantrell watched mournfully as her niece slowly nodded in acceptance, sitting up a little straighter in the coach. Before her very eyes her niece was stripped of her childhood innocence and was replaced by a woman preparing to survive the next stage of her life.