Miss Landon and Aubranael (Tales of Aylfenhame Book 1) by Charlotte E. English

They were welcome everywhere that they went, and frequently received invitations to bestow the blessing of their company upon every one of the worthier households in the town.
    It did not take Aubranael very long to understand that the combination of wealth and beauty was a very potent one indeed.
    The novelty of being not only welcome, but actually in demand, was a significant one to Aubranael. Their first few days in Tilby were quickly beguiled away, under the charm of popularity; he found himself with a steady stream of visitors to contend with, as it seemed that almost every gentleman in the town wished to introduce himself and his family to the notice of the two young men. First and foremost amongst these were the older gentlemen, with—Grunewald soon informed him—daughters to dispose of. Not far behind were the younger gentlemen, quick to see the potential for suitable associates in the newcomers. For those first few, enchanted days, Aubranael was so busy with greetings and meetings, new friends, rides about the countryside and sports of various kinds that he almost forgot his true purpose in visiting the country in the first place.
    When he was recalled to his true aim, only then did the frustrations begin.
    He saw Miss Landon once during those heady, early days of popularity. Saw, that is; he was not permitted to speak to her, though he dearly wished to. The shock—the delight—of seeing her all of a sudden, walking in the street with a friend and smiling, had almost overcome him. He had been on the point of greeting her—confessing, perhaps, everything in his haste to restore their former, easy friendship—when Grunewald had intervened. He had all but dragged his wayward friend away, and Aubranael, confused and afraid of acquitting himself poorly, had dutifully left Miss Landon standing there in the street.
    He had consoled himself with the notion that it would not be very long before he could speak with her again, and then he might test the power of his new face. He whiled away some hours in pleasant daydreams, imagining all the former easiness between himself and Miss Landon, heightened still further by the charm of his infinitely more attractive appearance.
    He soon found that daydreams were all that he was to be permitted, for the present. Wealth and beauty could not buy absolutely anything, he was dismayed to discover, for there appeared to be an endless series of obstacles between him and Miss Landon’s society.
    As an unmarried man, he could not converse with an unmarried woman such as Miss Landon without the presence of a suitable chaperon (and he had quickly learned that, whatever Miss Landon herself might have permitted in the strange surroundings of Aylfenhame, in England a household brownie most definitely did not qualify as suitable chaperonage). He could not talk to her at all without an introduction, but he could not simply introduce himself; the introduction must be of the proper kind , performed by a suitable third party. He must find someone else to introduce him to Sophy, which of course meant that he must first become acquainted with someone who had the right of introduction to her. But who? Her father was the obvious choice, but he was never seen outside of church. Aubranael had not been able to think of a plausible reason to visit Mr. Landon at the parsonage and Grunewald had prevented him from merely presenting himself there anyway, saying it would cause talk. And talk was absolutely to be avoided, apparently, if one was to be taken seriously by society.
    This did not concern him a great deal, at first. Society already seemed to be taking him very seriously indeed, and he could hardly imagine that an occasional departure from the absurd rules they considered necessary would banish him forever from their good graces. But Grunewald assured him that he must be considered respectable , if he was to be permitted any access to the likes of Miss Landon, and that too flagrant a disregard for the