A Sweet Obsession, page 1
Copyright © 2024 by Lana Williams
All rights reserved.
By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without the express written permission of copyright owner.
Please Note
The reverse engineering, uploading, and/or distributing of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
Thank you.
Cover Art by The Killion Group
A Sweet Obsession
Bonded by books and united by a purpose, The Mayfair Literary League has taken on a new mission—For Better or Worse. The bachelors of London won’t know what hit them when these bookish ladies set their sights on the men in their lives who don’t see them for who they truly are—yet.
Do you believe in second chances?
When Lady Winifred Barnes is jilted a week before her wedding, her longtime friend Caleb Godwin comes to her rescue with an offer of a marriage of convenience. As a second son, he has little to offer other than his name. Despite facing ruin and a broken heart, Winifred won’t set aside her wish to marry for love and refuses him.
Humiliated, Caleb ventures to America for a fresh start, swearing to never again rescue a damsel in distress, especially one he’s secretly loved for years. However, Winifred’s frequent letters help ease his loneliness and make it impossible to forget her.
Winifred’s regret grows along with her feelings for Caleb as she realizes the man she refused might be the only one for her. Three years later, tragedy and a title bring him home, and her sweet obsession is now a brooding marquess whose cool indifference further intrigues her.
With no chance of winning Caleb’s heart, Winifred is forced to consider marrying another...until a heated kiss rekindles her hope that a second chance might be possible after all.
What’s a lady to do except make a bold move to prove true love is worth fighting for?
Other Books in The Mayfair Literary League
A Matter of Convenience, Book 1
A Pretend Betrothal, Book 2
A Mistaken Identity, Book 3
A Simple Favor, Book 4
A Christmastide Kiss, Book 5
A Perilous Desire, Book 6
A Sweet Obsession, Book 7
The Wallflower Wager, a novella connected to The Mayfair Literary League and the Revenge of the Wallflowers series, coming July 2024
Want to make sure you know when my next book is released? Sign up for my newsletter.
Contents
1. Prologue
2. Chapter One
3. Chapter Two
4. Chapter Three
5. Chapter Four
6. Chapter Five
7. Chapter Six
8. Chapter Seven
9. Chapter Eight
10. Chapter Nine
11. Chapter Ten
12. Chapter Eleven
13. Chapter Twelve
14. Chapter Thirteen
15. Chapter Fourteen
16. Chapter Fifteen
17. Chapter Sixteen
18. Chapter Seventeen
19. Chapter Eighteen
20. Chapter Nineteen
21. Chapter Twenty
22. Chapter Twenty-One
23. Epilogue
Other Books by Lana Williams
About the Author
Prologue
London, England, February 1871
Lady Winifred Barnes forced a smile as friend and fellow member of The Mayfair Literary League, Rebecca Hamilton, shared the wonderful news of her betrothal. It truly was fabulous. Winifred was very happy for her. Thrilled, in fact.
Yet still...
The pang of longing that struck was so sharp that Winifred pressed a hand to her chest at the sudden pain, unable to draw a proper breath.
She had to face the truth. The happily ever afters the other members of the book group were experiencing would never be hers.
Winifred would be eight and twenty in a few months. The chances of her marrying, let alone in a love match, were dwindling daily. The odds were stacked against her after being jilted over three years ago. She now teetered on the spinster shelf, spending more and more time along the walls of ballrooms each Season rather than on the dance floor.
The time had come to listen to her mother’s urging to be practical. A marriage of convenience would be better than no marriage at all, wouldn’t it? She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone, staying with whichever family member would have her.
“Congratulations, Rebecca,” Lady Phoebe Stanhope, the Countess of Bolton and founder of the group, said with a smile. “I’m amazed at what you endured and so happy that you and Mr. Roth found one another.”
“Thank you.” Rebecca’s expression shifted to one of remorse as she looked around Phoebe’s drawing room at the other ladies. “I’m so very sorry I wasn’t honest about my past when I first became a member of the league.”
Mrs. Rebecca Hatch, a widow, had joined last summer but had not been who she’d claimed at the time. Instead, she was Miss Becca Hamilton, a woman who’d pretended her own death in a shipwreck to escape a terrible fiancé, not to mention a domineering uncle.
“What choice did you have?” Winifred asked, forcing her thoughts back to the conversation. “Your situation was quite precarious. You were lucky to have escaped with your life.”
“Then you came upon your Mr. Roth, a man who could’ve exposed your secret, and fell in love.” Lady Tabitha Shaw, known as Tibby to her friends, beamed. “It is as if fate insisted on the two of you being together.”
Rebecca laughed. “I feared Nathaniel would be the end of the life I had created.” She shook her head. “But I soon realized he is the opposite.”
“It’s so romantic.” Lady Eliza Chadwick sighed.
Romance was something Winifred had never experienced. While Rebecca’s story proved it was possible despite challenging circumstances, Winifred didn’t think she would be lucky enough to have it.
She’d thought that sort of tenderness was within her grasp when she’d accepted a proposal from Stephen Holden, the Marquess of Bowers, heir to a dukedom. But a week before they were to be married, he confessed his heart belonged to another and broke their betrothal. She’d been devastated, certain she was in love with Stephen. It had taken some time to realize that hadn’t been the case.
“May I ask if you made a bold move to catch his notice?” Lady Lucinda Ferrington asked, eyes narrowed in curiosity.
Winifred didn’t miss the concerned look Phoebe and Tibby shared. Lucinda was the newest member of the league and the most controversial. She and her sister, Jane, had behaved abominably by spreading terrible rumors about The Mayfair Literary League and its For Better or Worse agenda.
The purpose of the mission was to encourage members to make a bold move to catch the attention of the man they admired with the hope of gaining his notice. Phoebe had proposed it after growing weary of being ignored by the man for whom she cared. The fact that she was happily married to him was a testament to the success of the agenda.
Lucinda and Jane had made it sound as if it were something shameful and unladylike and spread rumors that the league ladies would stop at nothing to catch their man. None of which was true. But a few months ago, Lucinda had begged their forgiveness, insisting it was her sister’s idea rather than hers, and asked to join the literary league because she loved to read.
The ladies had agreed that everyone deserved a second chance. Though Winifred believed so as well, she didn’t see how her own wish for a second chance would ever come to pass.
Rebecca lifted her chin as if refusing to feel embarrassed by Lucinda’s question. “I took my role of widow to heart in my interactions with him. A widow who knew her own mind.”
Winifred nearly gasped in surprise. How perfect. She couldn’t imagine being so brave, not that there was a man in all of London who would tempt her to do so.
That man, Caleb Godwin, had left for America nearly three years ago. The thought of her longtime friend brought a wave of despair. She’d been such a fool, turning aside his offer of a marriage of convenience which had come on the heels of her broken betrothal. Her dream of marrying for love had overcome common sense and she had told him no.
Since his departure, she’d sent him numerous letters, and he’d replied several times, too. She had come to realize that what started as friendship had grown into something more. She longed for a second chance with Caleb even if it seemed as far out of reach as the stars in the night sky.
Regret was an uncomfortable companion, a voice sitting on her shoulder telling her what she should’ve done.
If only—
She stopped herself before finishing the thought. She’d wasted far too much time th
“Winifred, whatever is going through your mind?”
She looked over to see Millicent studying her closely, a curious light in her eyes.
After a moment’s hesitation, Winfred sighed. “I was thinking of how very lucky our league members have been,” she whispered.
“It’s true. They have been.” Millicent kept her voice low, her forlorn expression suggesting she felt envious as well. And Winifred didn’t miss the way she’d said “they.”
Winifred reached over to touch her friend’s arm in encouragement. Just because she felt her chance for love had slipped away didn’t mean Millicent’s had. “That only means your turn is coming, don’t you think?”
A flash of what looked to be despair crossed her friend’s face but was masked so quickly that Winifred wasn’t certain she’d seen it. “Perhaps.” Her half-hearted smile tugged at Winifred. “But I admit I’m feeling rather hopeless.”
“I feel much the same,” Winifred said, her heart aching as she admitted the truth out loud. Doing so made her feel all the more hopeless.
“Rebecca, we are thrilled for you.” Tibby rose to hug their friend, drawing Winifred’s attention back to the group.
Winifred stood to hug her as well before she confessed anything more to Millicent. She didn’t want to speak about her lack of prospects when it only made her feel worse.
The time had come to consider her mother’s suggestion of an arranged marriage. She needed to release her girlish dreams in exchange for more mature and practical ones.
There was every chance she would be happy in such a marriage, even if love wasn’t part of the match.
She had to believe that, or it would be impossible to go through with it.
Chapter One
Dear Caleb,
I am sorry. Deeply so. I hate that we parted on such poor terms. My only excuse is that your suggestion caught me by surprise. Can you forgive me? Your brother was kind enough to provide your address, and I hope you don’t mind me writing to you. I trust your journey to America was uneventful, much like life in London.
Always,
Winifred
~Posted 1868
April 1871
Caleb Godwin, the Marquess of Montfort, felt his tension ease as he surveyed the grounds at Newmarket Racecourse. The sights and sounds of the horses, as well as the expanse of green grass and trees, made him feel more relaxed than he had since his return to London three weeks ago.
The city had felt stifling from the moment he’d arrived at the docks. So many people. So much soot. He had grown accustomed to having room to breathe during his years in America where the air had been clean, though occasionally dusty. The chaos of London was overwhelming after the wide open spaces of the American West.
Then again, perhaps it was the heaviness of grief and responsibility he’d returned to that threatened to crush him.
“You have only just arrived and are already at the races?”
The familiar tone had Caleb turning to see Silas Hayward, Viscount Winstead, a friend from his university days, approach. “Winstead. Good to see you.” He clasped the man’s offered hand in a firm shake.
“And you, as well.” His gaze swept over Caleb, and he nodded. “America must’ve agreed with you.”
Caleb wondered what his friend saw. He thought the changes had only been on the inside. However, he’d been gone for nearly three years. Everyone changed in that amount of time. “It did.”
So well, in fact, that he’d been reluctant to return to England despite the terrible news that made it imperative he do so.
“I was sorry to hear of your brother’s passing.” Winstead’s gaze held on the black armband Caleb wore. “Dreadful shock.”
That was putting it mildly. Caleb’s older brother had always seemed invincible. Felix had been a strong, active man who’d taken the reins of the title upon their father’s death with ease.
Felix’s death in a riding accident over two months ago when his horse bolted had brought Caleb reluctantly home as the new Marquess of Montfort, a position he felt ill-equipped to shoulder, especially after being gone.
“Thank you.” Caleb had always admired and respected his brother even if they hadn’t been particularly close. Felix was six years his senior and had little time for a younger brother.
Still, Caleb missed him deeply as he tried to adjust to life without him. There could be no doubt his death had upended Caleb’s world.
One minute, he’d been enjoying the fruits of successful investments involving the railroads that opened up the American West and bent on exploring as much of the country as possible. The next he’d been pacing the deck of a steamship bound for London.
He blamed grief and shock for the imbalance he continued to feel even though he was now on dry land.
Winstead leaned on the white rail that divided the racegoers from the track and watched the horses being led to the starting line. “It sounds as if your version of a Grand Tour was different than most. Was America as wonderful as it sounds?”
Caleb detected a hint of envy in his friend’s tone. From what he remembered, Winstead’s family was on the brink of ruin. The viscount’s great-grandfather had spent lavishly and none of the earls who’d followed had been able to clear the debts. It was doubtful Winstead would manage to either when he inherited unless circumstances had changed during Caleb’s absence.
“Parts of it,” Caleb said as he, too, watched the horses, the familiar sight settling him further. “New York is much like London. Dirty and busy but newer. Chicago, too. But the West is a different world.”
“Oh?” Winstead’s tone suggested he was eager to hear more.
How could he possibly find words to properly describe it? Yet a glance at his friend’s face made him want to try.
“Big. A man can ride for days without seeing another. Plains that spread out like the ocean. Mountains so tall they’re snowcapped year-round. Valleys so green and lush that you never want to leave. Deserts and canyons. Lakes and waterfalls. Forests thick with trees that look older than time itself.”
“Damn. That only makes me want to venture there more.”
Caleb smiled. “Perhaps I should also mention that dangers lurk around every corner. Bears, cougars, wolves, snakes, and more. The native people aren’t always friendly. Then again, neither are the Americans.”
Living on the edge had forced him to appreciate each day in a way he hadn’t in England. No one knew his name or that of his family. He’d finally realized who he was and what he was capable of without the Montfort shadow stretching over him.
“That part sounds familiar.” Winstead grinned. “More than a few around here aren’t friendly either.”
“Good to know not everything has changed.”
“Little has.” Winstead nodded toward the track. “Now that the races have started, the Season soon will, as well. I suppose marriage will be in your future. The ladies will line up to dance with you.”
Caleb scoffed. “Now that I have a title, perhaps.” Of course, he’d be expected to marry soon. His mother had already made that clear. Felix’s bride of two years hadn’t produced an heir, something both she and his mother lamented. His mother was less than pleased to be forced to rely on Caleb for the future. Winstead was right—little had changed.
“And money.” At Caleb’s lifted brow, Winstead continued, “Rumor has it that you returned carrying piles of gold.”
“An exaggeration.” He was surprised to learn news of his wealth had already spread when he’d been in London for such a short time. “I was fortunate enough to find some success.” That had given him some much-needed confidence.
“So modest.” Winstead elbowed him, much like he had during their time at university. “Tales of your exploits are taller than St. Paul’s.”
Caleb scoffed, though he’d had his share of adventures and come out mostly unscathed. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”
