The eccentric lady

Twenty-two and still unclaimed...

Lady Elizabeth Anne Haughton-Marshall came to London for the Season -- under duress! Titian-haired and lovely, she preferred the glories of the farm to the refinements of the city, a predilection that worked wonders in the henhouse, but did little to increase her marital prospects. And so her guardian packed her off to London to take full part in the Season with conditions: she was to dress properly, attend as many social functions as health and good sense would allow, and not avoid the company of suitors. Were she not to comply, she would lose control of her beloved farmlands. Clever Beth, determined to outfox her uncle, set about shocking society with outlandish tales of life among the natives of Arabia, not to mention her stint in a nunnery ... or a stretch aboard a whaler. But rather than ward off suitors, Beth's taradiddles made her the rage of London, her hand sought by the cream of the ton. Yet the one man she pined for -- the tall, dark and dashing Marquis of Alspeth --- seemed eternally unamused by her. Poor Beth feared her heart would break, but then she did not know how curious are the ways of love.