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known…”
    Lord Wrenley met the girl’s eyes once again. “Oh, I think she did. I believe you underestimate her, Laurence.”
    â€œBut, Charles…”
    Anne frowned uneasily up at the viscount.
    â€œBlighter!” screeched Augustus emphatically.

Three
    The following afternoon, Lady Anne sat alone in the drawing room at Wrenley, her expression profoundly thoughtful. It now appeared to her that she had been inadequately prepared for her homecoming, and she had retired here to order her impressions of the past evening and morning and, if possible, to revise her plan of campaign. Charles was out, and Laurence had returned to his own home at the village rectory. She did not expect to be disturbed.
    For some time, the only sound was the ticking of the clock on the mantel. Anne stared blindly up at it, chewing on her lower lip, an aid to concentration which had been repeatedly condemned at Millington, without noticeable effect. At last she rose and began to pace about the room. Her sudden movement startled Augustus in the corner, and he squawked.
    The girl walked over to his cage. “That’s all very well,” she told the bird, “but I am not certain now that you will serve, you know.”
    The parrot gazed at her from one malignant green eye.
    â€œCharles was amused by you,” continued his mistress. “I swear it was amusement. And I am not trying to amuse him. Quite the contrary!”
    â€œGive us a drink, sweetheart,” urged Augustus.
    Anne smiled. “Yes, well, perhaps you are comic. But I did not expect Charles to think so. If I am to give him his own again, as I am determined to do after the way he has treated me, I must find some other methods. The matter is more complicated than I realized.”
    â€œLackwit!” screeched the parrot.
    Anne grimaced at him. “Unfair! How was I to know anything, after being shut up for years and years at school? It is true I visited the Castletons, but I never met anyone like Charles there .” She paced a bit more. “I admit I am at a stand. I don’t see just how I should proceed. The thing to do is draw back a little and consider and observe. It will take a bit longer, but I shall find a way to show Charles.” She smiled thinly. “Indeed, I shall.”
    Augustus merely croaked in response.
    â€œLaurence is kinder, I think,” mused Anne. “I believed him when he said he would have come to visit me. And he never teased as much as Edward. I shall leave him alone.” She put an elbow on the mantelshelf and leaned there. “He is engaged, you know. He promised to bring his fiancée to call on me as soon as possible. He hoped we will be great friends. Isn’t that kind of him? Miss Branwell is going to London for the season also.”
    Augustus, profoundly uninterested, was cracking seeds from his dish and scattering husks over the carpet.
    â€œYes,” finished Anne. “I shall wait until we are settled in London before I make my big push. By then I should know what is best to do.”
    Hearing footsteps approaching the room, she removed her elbow from the mantel and went quickly to an armchair. Fallow came in, looking concerned. “Excuse me, my lady, but a, er, visitor has arrived, and I am not quite certain…”
    Fallow was never uncertain in the matter of visitors. “Who is it?” asked Anne curiously.
    â€œIt is a…a lady. She gave her name as Mariah Postlewaite-Debenham. She said she had no card. I was not informed…”
    â€œOh, that is Charles’s second cousin. She is to be my chaperone. He told me last night. But she is not supposed to arrive until next week. I’m sure he meant to tell you.”
    â€œIndeed. Perhaps she mistook the date.” Fallow was clearly offended by his accidental ignorance.
    â€œShe must have. Bring her up here. I shall welcome her alone.”
    â€œYes, my lady.”
    In a few moments, he