To whom it may concern,
If you are reading this letter, please know that I failed in my quest to secure a suitable husband in the two seasons allotted to me by my family. I know you are only just embarking on your first season, but I am sure you must sense the urgency of your situation already.
There is a high price for failure in our society. Perfection in a woman, or even in a man, is an illusion and yet still very much sought after. I strove all my life for that lofty goal and have lost heart and hope. In my case, I was deeply humiliated and became an object of pity for gentlemen of the ton whose condescending sneers passed over me at every ball. The forces of evil—former friends and society matrons—scented blood in the air and quickly followed suit. I fell completely out of favor and there is nothing I can do to recover my former status.
Losing a grand match so desperately hoped for weighs heavily on my spirit still. Revenge is not possible. I am denied my rightful place in society and I tell you this not to seek sympathy, or rescue, but to help you avoid my fate.
I attended my lessons diligently. Studied to improve my mind so I would be worthy of conversation. I conducted myself with the utmost decorum when faced with difficult situations. But I know now that I lost the love of my life because I spent all my time trying to be the perfect debutant, the perfect daughter, and a woman fit to become a wife who belonged in high society.
But being a wicked woman would have delivered me my dream in the end as well.
You see, the man of my dreams has married my former friend and confidant, a callous, unfeeling minx, and I am beyond heartbroken still. I am destroyed. I was forced to attend the wedding and profess to be happy about the match when I was anything but. I smiled and said all the right things, but inside I was dying of despair and wishing vast unhappiness upon them both.
My former confidant knew how I felt about the man she married. How smitten and hopeful I was about his interest in me. She ruthlessly used me to entrap him for herself.
If you are ever infatuated with a man, I beg you to keep the news strictly to yourself. Friends can turn against you if they’re desperate to make a match. I did not understand this in the beginning, but I do now, much to my sorrow. I had kept nothing from her, but she did not do the same for me.
Tread carefully, my dear, when sharing your thoughts and intentions or you might face an unexpected adversary. Guard your heart better than I ever did. Keep your own counsel in all matters of romance.
It is drilled into us to set our hopes on a man of wealth and position for our husband. I ask you to think of the potential for happiness with them instead.
Do not yearn for the most handsome, the most dashing suitor in society, like all the rest will. They are often shallow, vain, and fickle men. Every other woman is looking at them, too. Do not set your heart on the first man that glances your way and smiles like you are the only woman in the room like I did either.
Make him prove he is worthy of you as well, and if he does not do it well enough, if his interest remains unclear, consider another before it is too late.
But if you have fallen in love with him, and no other will do for you, I beg you to take a risk and fight for what you really want. Make it clear to him, and only him, that he means the world to you.
My last warning to you, is that you carefully consider any rash action you contemplate for revenge if thwarted in love. Revenge might seem highly desirable at first, but it does more harm than good in the end.
Be brave and stay true to your own desires, my dear. I swear you are worthy of being loved and for more than your dowry and beauty. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
Warmest wishes for a successful season,
Lady Lost
Fourteen: A Letter from a Disappointed Lady
