The Scoundrel and the Debutante by Julia London

is your hat?” she demanded, wishing he’d stop looking at her so intently.
    He frowned. “Lost,” he said curtly. “Why is it that you misses are all alike?” he added irritably, as if he was constantly running into unmarried women in the countryside.
    â€œWe
misses
? Have you some vast experience with
misses
, Mr. Matheson?”
    â€œI have enough. Why do you think I am here in this godforsaken—”
    Prudence looked at him sharply.
    â€œPardon. In this foreign land,” he amended.
    â€œI don’t know,” she said insouciantly. “Presumably to instruct all of the young misses in proper behavior.”
    â€œIf only I had the time that would require. But no, I am here to instruct one miss. Imagine, it’s not even you! I am in pursuit of my incorrigible, equally headstrong and impulsive sister.”
    Prudence tossed her head. “I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she was trying to keep her distance from you and your opinions.”
    â€œShe won’t escape them,” he said flatly.
    â€œI can’t imagine anyone could,” Prudence retorted pertly.
    They walked in silence for a few moments while Prudence wondered what the sister had done, what had caused him to come in “pursuit”
of her. “Where is she?” she asked.
    â€œYes indeed, where
is
Miss Aurora Priscilla Matheson?” he asked. “I very much hope she is at West Lee,” he said, gesturing impatiently with his hand at his failure to grasp the subtle differences between the names of the villages. “Shall I tell you the tale of this young woman? My aunt and uncle brought her to London last spring. It was a wedding gift of sorts, an opportunity to see a bit of the world before she marries Mr. Gunderson. But Aurora is quite impetuous, and she made many friends in London, some of whom, apparently, convinced her to stay another month or so more than was intended. When it came time to leave, she refused to return home with my aunt and uncle. She wrote my father and said she’d be along in a month or so.”
    â€œShe’s alone?” Prudence said, awed by the cheek of that.
    â€œI assume so,” Mr. Matheson said. “That’s Aurora for you—she wouldn’t listen to reason, which surprises no one, and it has caused quite an uproar. Her marriage to Gunderson is very advantageous for my family. Almost as advantageous as—” Mr. Matheson suddenly stopped talking and looked away. “Never mind. Just believe me when I say that Mr. Gunderson was not pleased. And I was dispatched to fetch her before she does irreparable harm to her reputation, her engagement and to our family.”
    â€œBut how do you know where she is?” Prudence asked.
    â€œI don’t, really. The last letter we had from her before I set sail said that she was traveling about, staying here and there—but that she’d been invited to visit the home of this Penfors fellow. Given the details of her letter and the date it was marked, we believe she ought to be there now.”
    Prudence almost laughed out loud. It was impossible to believe, and in some respects a delight to know, that there was a young woman out there who was more incorrigible than any of
her
sisters. Abandoning her family for a foreign land, with no apparent regard for her virtue? Prudence would very much like to meet Miss Aurora Priscilla Matheson. She would like to lay eyes on the unmarried woman brave enough to do
that—
    Wait—was she truly feeling a bit of admiration for a woman like Aurora Matheson?
    Mr. Matheson noticed it, too. “What’s that smile? Do my sister’s antics amuse you? Then she may count one
person who she has made smile, because my family is not amused. Much is riding on her marriage. Not to mention, she is a fool.”
    â€œOne can hardly fault her for wanting a taste of adventure. Being an unmarried woman can be quite tedious you