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fire. Theonly thing to say in Varleigh’s favor is that he keeps Lady Jane Cherle as mistress, and he must have some stamina to mount that one.”
    Annabelle felt suddenly immeasurably tired and sad.

Chapter Three
    Annabelle was not to see either Lord Varleigh or Captain Jimmy MacDonald for the next two days. She had contracted a feverish cold and was obliged to keep to her bedchamber.
    The Captain sent a whole hothouse of flowers to the invalid, but the effect of his generosity was somewhat marred by Lady Emmeline muttering under her breath about being dunned by the florist. Much more welcome was a present of Miss Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice
from Lord Varleigh. Annabelle had never read a novel in her life before, despite her mother’s conviction that she had somehow managed to obtain the forbidden volumes on the quiet. She turned to the opening page and plunged in headfirst. The sights and sounds of the square outside faded before the interesting present and magic of Elizabeth Bennet and the supercilious Mr. Darcy.
    After two days, when her fever abated, she was allowed to transfer herself downstairs to a daybed by the window in the drawing room, where she could view the comings and goings of fashionable society in the square. She had finished the novel the previous day and passed the time by studying the passersby for that young man with the square tanned face who would rescue her from the prospect of marriage to the Captain.
    But the bucks and bloods who promenaded the square were startling and frightening creatures to the country-bred Annabelle.
    A young man of high society, if he were on his own, seemed to walk around the square with as much consequence as if the houses he passed all belonged to him. The idea also seemed to be to turn into Berkeley Square in such a hurry that the buck would have a chance of dashing himself against some well-dressed woman or elderly gentleman and hurling them into the filth of the kennel in the road. If raining, the sport seemed to be to dip your cane into a puddle and flick it under your arm so that if you did not blind the person behind you, you might at least have the satisfaction of flicking muddy water all over his clothes.
    The most distressing thing they seemed to find to do, these swells of society and Pinks of the
ton
, was to make water in the most public place possible, especially if a party of young ladies happened to be passing.
    Annabelle had mentioned her shock and dismay at the latter spectacle to her godmother, but Lady Emmeline had only given her terrible girlish laugh and pointed out that ladies could not be offended when they see—
nothing
. A well-bred gentlewoman was not, of course, aware of this necessary human function, so naturally nothing at all could have taken place.
    All too soon her short period of convalescence was over. The Season had begun. Almack’s opening Wednesday was not due for another week. The Egremonts’ ball in Grosvenor Square was that evening, a sparkling social event. The Captain would be calling to escort Annabelle. The notice of her engagement had been posted in the
Gazette
so it would be quite the form for her to perform the waltz with her fiancé, said Lady Emmeline.
    Annabelle rose trembling to her feet and held up her hand to stop this flow of news and instruction as Lady Emmeline happily rattled on. “I have not been properly consulted on the matter of my engagement, ma’am,” shesaid in a trembling voice. “I have not had a chance to become acquainted with Captain MacDonald and so far, what I have seen has not endeared him to me. I have not had time to consult my father on the matter, nor my feelings.”
    “Pooh, fiddlesticks!” said Lady Emmeline, little knowing how much this small assertive effort had cost her young guest. “Don’t fret about it,” laughed Lady Emmeline, “you’ll come about. You’ll discover you are the envy of every girl in London. Mark my words!”
    “But to announce my betrothal in such