There was no escaping her sister’s ball.  Julianne was blonde and beautiful, truly a diamond of the first water.  Compared to Julianne, Sarah felt as plain as her name, though she knew her features were passably pretty.  She was firmly on the shelf and preferred stimulating conversation to flirtatious eyelash fluttering.

Mamas frowned and their daughters swooned as the tall, dark-haired and dangerous Duke of Ashbury was announced, the most eligible bachelor in all of London.  Rumors abounded that he sought a wife this season.  Sarah watched in delighted anticipation as he made his way through the crowd toward her.

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My theme this year is 100 word fiction.  (So, no, don’t count this line!)  I’ve tried to work in a number of requisite cliches in my attempt at Regency romance 🙂