“What are the odds of running into Elise Joselyn of the Boston Brahman in Philadelphia?” Oliver chuckled after he and Nate rode their horses far enough away from the Joselyn residence to insure their voices would not carry back for anyone outside to hear. “You did hear her introduced as Joselyn, correct?  From what I gather, even Alexander isn’t aware of her little paper marriage.  Tsk, tsk, such skeletons.” “I feel like I’m cursed,” Nate growled.“Seriously,” Oliver continued.  “We’ve lived here all our lives and never encountered the Joselyns.  Then, out of the blue, we befriend a dude from New York who just happens to be their nephew.  He invites us to their home for dinner where we’re hosted by the Paper Widow, but we seem to be the only ones who know her as that.  I mean, seriously, what are the odds?”“I wish you wouldn’t call

He swore off Elise Joselyn. She was cold to him whenever he was around her while exceedingly flirtatious with others, so why wouldn’t he swear off her? He was on the market for a solid, dependable wife of good standing. Elise fell short of these things.  Of course, only he and his buddies were aware of this fact. The rest of the eligible men of Philadelphia society were scrambling over each other just to be the recipient of a smile from the beautiful Boston heiress.He did not disapprove of her because of what happened out west, although it could have been avoided had she been a bit more sensible and stayed home.  He attributed her actions to that of a spoiled socialite who lacked not only common sense, but worldly exposure. What stuck in his craw was the way she flirted with the men who crowded around her at every opportunity. Her behavior reminded him of Lilith when she was just coming out - and even still. He was so proud when Lilith chose him out of all th

It was decided that the benefit ball for the Philadelphia chapter of the Sisters of Charity would be a masquerade ball.  Sidney Joselyn was delighted.  He found the semblance of anonymity the costumes provided a welcome relief from the constant pressure of having all eyes on his family’s every move.   Worry over the antics of his niece being discovered before he found a suitable match for her caused him particular angst.  His younger brother, Edgar, was ready to give up and allow the girl to live out her days as a wild and free spinster, but he would have none of that attached to the Joselyn name.  He assured his brother that he could find the girl a suitable match so that the Joselyn’s could hold their heads high or his name was not Sidney Joselyn.Sidney and his wife Mary had no children of their own.  They enjoyed all their nieces and nephews, but took a particular liking to his brother, Edgar’s, middle child, Elise, and

The table was abuzz over the prior evening’s excitement when Elise joined them for breakfast.“Just because a woman dressed as Cleopatra was seen scooting across the garden at the same time Elizabeth Pratt managed to hunt down Nate Kimble does not mean that Cleopatra and Nate were in the maze together.  Elizabeth created an astonishing scandal out of spite.  I happen to know that Nate was ditching Elizabeth during the ball.  This was her way of retaliating,” Alexander argued.“What an ungentlemanly thing to do,” Mary gasped.“I don’t believe it was his intention to leave her alone for so long,” Alexander declared defensively.  “I’m partly to blame.  I introduced him to some of my friends and we were drinking whiskey.  Nate was unhappy about discovering old man Pratt considered him an unsuitable match for Elizabeth so he imbibed more than he should.  His condition comin

Elise was at a loss of what to say to Alexander.  It was day number two since Nate left his seed inside her.  She was desperate to get to the underground apothecary for treatment to assure she would not get pregnant, but, once again, Alexander was insisting he go with her on her errands.  If she did not know better, she would have thought he suspected her of some mischief. He would be right.“I simply wish to run my errands without a man present,” she said desperately. “It has nothing to do with you.  I don’t wish to have any man along.”“I have known you too long to swallow that malarkey,” Alexander said angrily. “I demand to know what you are up to or I will take the matter to our guardians.”Panic filled Elise. Anthony was not one for idle threats. She saw no choice but to confide in him where she was going and why. Telling Alexander was even harder than she imagined, but i