Ever Your Affectionate (The Portrait)

Hello! My name is Lydia Barrow. I'm nineteen years old. And I'm in the way.

But I've always been in the way, and when my half sister goes to London to find a husband, my stepmother decides to get rid of me so that I don't mess up their plans. And as far as I'm concerned, that's fine. I'm used to being ignored...or worse. I can take care of myself. In fact, I've got plans. If things go well, I'll have a source of income and be independent...eventually.

However, it's still not enough for Lady Durand. Now she wants to marry me off to some random man so that she can be rid of me for good. And I don't like this one bit.

But what do you do when all of society is designed around men? When you don't have an identity of your own? Is it possible to stand on your own two feet and be responsible for yourself? And what if this man is...wonderful?

Should I trust him?

I don't know what I'm going to do. But I've found a wonderful friend named Catherine. She's the daughter of an earl, and she's about as alone in the world as I am. She says she has the answer to my problems...

Maya Rushing Walker writes contemporary and historical fiction. She lives and writes in a 1780s farmhouse in northern New England. This is her fifth book.