"I said no!" Elizabeth hopped to the right, just barely managing to elude her sister's grasp, and then dashed toward the stairs. But just as her foot hit the first step, she felt Susan's hand grabbing the fabric of her skirts.

"I have you!" Susan grunted.

"Let me go!"

"Not until you show me that book."

"Susan, I am your guardian and I order you to-"

"You're my sister, and I want to see what you're hiding."

Reason wasn't going to work, Elizabeth decided, so she grabbed her skirt and yanked hard, which only resulted in her slipping off the step and her bag tumbling to the floor.

"Aha!" Susan yelled triumphantly, snatching up the book.

Elizabeth groaned.

“HOW TO MARRY A MARQUIS?” Susan looked up, her expression somewhat puzzled and wholly amused.

"It's just a silly book." Elizabeth felt her cheeks grow warm. "I just thought… that is, I thought I-"

"A marquis?" Susan asked dubiously. "Setting rather lofty goals for ourselves, aren't we?"

"For the love of God," Elizabeth snapped, "I'm not going to marry a marquis. But the book might have some sort of useful advice in it, since I have to marry someone, and nobody is asking."

"Except Squire Nevins," Susan murmured, flipping through the pages.

Elizabeth swallowed down a little dash of bile. The thought of Squire Nevins touching her, kissing her… it made her skin turn to ice. But if he was the only way she could save her family…

She squeezed her eyes shut. There had to be something in that book that would teach her how to find a husband. Anything!

"This is really quite interesting," Susan said, plopping down on the carpet next to Elizabeth. "Listen to this: 'Edict Number One-”'

"Edict?" Elizabeth echoed. "There are edicts?"

“Apparently so. I say, this business of catching a husband is more complicated than I'd thought."

"Just tell me what the edict is."