History

Wynter was born to Alfred and Marion Thorington, the Baron and Baroness of Lynsley after four years of unsuccessful attempts for an heir. Of course her father would conclude that even her birth was not a success as it gave him a daughter instead of the longed for son to take over the entailed title. Marion was thrilled, however, as not only did it prove they could have a child, it meant they should be able to have another, and perhaps that one would be the desired male her husband wanted so desperately. For the first five years of her life, things were tolerable. Although her father was still anxious for his son, and while Wynter could sense the frustration in her parents marriage, she did feel her mother’s love for her and her father was, well, at least present. Unfortunately during her last pregnancy, things went sideways and Marion lost her life trying to produce the required heir. The baby, which was a boy, did not long survive the mother. It was certainly dark days and the Baron withdrew from everyone, except Viola Fischer. It was no surprise, therefore, when as soon as the mourning period was over, Viola became the new Baroness Lynsley. Now at the tender age of six, Wynter was faced with the fact that her new step-mother had little desire to tend to another woman’s child and her father hardly even acknowledged her existence. She spent more time with her governess and tutors than anyone. Soon the newly weds produced a child, a girl, only this time her father seemed to be rather happy about it, which was confusing for her as he had never been as attentive to her as he was to his new daughter. Two years later, the Baron finally had his son and all was well with his world. Wynter became a mere afterthought, at most. They would often go on family outings, without her, with some excuse or another of, there was not enough room in the carriage, or, they did not think she would enjoy the outing, or she was too old for the things the children wanted to do. And so it went, feeling more and more a stranger in her own home. She stopped trying to be part of the ‘family’ that clearly had no want of her. No one balked when, at 15, she decided to move to the east wing of the manor as it had not been in much use over the years and, in fact, had become somewhat worn down. Using her own funds she made necessary repairs to make the wing livable, paid for her own staff and provided for herself. And so life went, she stayed in her wing, they in theirs and they hardly ever met, save for the needed occasions or by accident when crossing paths in other parts of the manor. Things began to change, for the worse, two years ago, when the heir, the much cherished son, died at the age of 7. This threw the manor into mourning which resulted in the death of the Baron, seemingly from despair, within a year of the loss of his son. In short order Egbert was now the new Baron of Lynsley, much to his delight. Viola wasted no time ingratiating herself to him. Between the two, they have nearly bankrupted the Baronetcy and are in dire straits, relying on what little she willingly provides to aid them but eyeing her assets more and more, particularly when Egbert’s gambling debts began to rack up placing them in an even worse financial state. They have begun to hound her for more funds, which she is unwilling to provide seeing as they have squandered their own money and have lets the baronetcy fall to near ruin. Unfortunately she is still under her Uncle’s ‘guardianship’, which he is beginning to realize he can use to his advantage in arranging a marriage for her, one she is certain will do nothing for her and everything for him.

She needs to find a way out of this mess before he kills her as she suspects he did her half-brother and then her father. But how will she manage before Egbert makes some disastrous match for her?