The Rake Performance (Fragment)

All Alice Lockhart wants is to live a quiet unmarried life, quite content with her “on the shelf” status. The pianoforte is her closest companion, and she is utterly uninterested in having a husband after seeing the regrettable selection of men during the Season. She would much rather make music, especially her own compositions. Life has other plans, however, when her money-hungry parents, the Baron and Baroness of Penhurst, marry her off to a rake.

Nathaniel Beaumont, only son of the Marquess of Hastings, is just as uninterested in marriage, but for vastly different reasons. He would be utterly content living an endless life of scandalous adventures with his rake friends, but his marquess father is significantly less content with this idea. The marquess wants to see an heir grandson before he dies, and for that to happen, Nathaniel must marry. Alice and Nathaniel agree that this will be a marriage in name only, nothing more. They will live separate lives pursuing their individual interests, so both of them can make the best of the situation. Despite Alice’s best effort, however, she can’t help feeling drawn to him, deciding it must be Nathaniel’s magnetic rake charm. She tells herself that the kindness will not last, that he will end up acting like every other rake if given enough time. There is much more than just rake within Nathaniel, though, and Alice begins to wonder – could this actually work?