Never Had a Dream Come True Read Online Free

man like your father, not without a fight. So maybe Boring Saint Thomas isn’t the most dashing of men, but you are right—he is perfect for you. Everything I find dull with him fits you, even though I hate to admit it. He is...” She hesitated slightly, searching for the right words. “He is somewhat handsome and does have the kindest heart of all the men in the county. Just like you, he likes to read and would probably not mind you walking around daydreaming, as you tend to do. As a matter of fact, he’ll probably walk beside you, with his head stuck in the clouds too.”
    “Now you make me sound dull.” Penny giggled, but Francesca didn’t smile back. Instead, she sat up and forced Penny to do the same by grabbing her hands.
    “Promise me you will never settle for someone, just to get married, without talking to me first.”
    “Fanny…”
    “Promise me!”
    Francesca’s eyes filled with tears, and Penny felt a lump fill her throat as she nodded in response. “I promise I will never marry anyone without your consent,” she whispered hoarsely, and then she groaned as Francesca gave her a hug worthy of a bear.
    “Well then, that’s settled.” Her friend beamed, all evidence of her tears dried away, and Penny smiled lovingly. Francesca was just as unpredictable as her uncle but the best friend one ever could have.
    “Why don’t we go down to dinner so you can stare dreamingly at Uncle Rake now, as he has returned from London?”
    “Fanny!”
    “Oh, come on. Just because you almost have promised your hand to another man doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the gorgeousness of the man of your dreams.”
    Penny sighed, shaking her head as she followed her outspoken friend out the door. Where would this evening end?

Chapter Three
    Dinner at Chester Park was quite a loud affair even though most of the Darling family were still in London. Penny had known them her whole life, but it still amazed her how much noise they could make.
    Her own family endured their meals together in silence. The ladies tended to rush from the table with relief as soon as her father had read his paper and his daily letters.
    But not this family.
    No, they could sit for hours, eating and arguing about something which would engage every last family member.
    Penny had more than once sat at the table listening to them discuss things like how to prune a rose, or which road was the bumpiest between London and Oxford. There was nothing that couldn’t end up as a discussion topic when it came to the Darlings, and they all thrived in the chaos they called dinner.
    During the social Season, the list of attending family members was short, but tomorrow the others would return from London and every chair at the huge table would be filled. This evening only six chairs were occupied.
    Hannibal Darling, the Duke of Berkeley, was a large man with bushy white hair and a booming voice. He loved his seven sons and their offspring more than anything and was constantly making sure they were aware of it—to their frustration, as he tended to be a bit too interfering. But as they all loved him most sincerely in return, none of them had the heart to tell him to stay out of their affairs.
    Hannibal rarely left Chester Park, as he loathed the social life of the ton in London. Instead, he and his second wife, Anna, stayed behind and took care of the family’s country estate while the rest of the crowd socialized with their friends.
    The duchess was more than twenty years younger than her husband and had met him when she and some friends were visiting the duke’s oldest son, George—Francesca’s father—one summer long ago. She was a happy, content woman who loved her husband and all their sons dearly. Lady Anna, as Penny affectionately called her, had never made any difference between Hannibal’s three sons from his first marriage and their own four. She was always there with a soft hug whenever it was needed.
    Francesca’s good-hearted Uncle Charles