THE MARRIAGE MART
Elizabeth Chater

Chapter 1

To say that Sir Umphrey Long was a nodcock, as his wife’s motherfrequently did, was perhaps too severe. His understanding was justsufficient to get him through his life as a country squire withoutserious entanglements or difficulties. He was a big, handsome man,universally liked for his cheerful good nature.His wife, Dulcinia, a feather-brained female, had been as pretty as shecould stare, and had had, within a month of her come-out, several flatteringoffers. “Fortunately,” her Mama often said.Dulcinia chose Umphrey, and had, in due course, two sturdy sons theimage of their Papa, and a daughter even prettier than her Mama. The exasperatedGrandmother was often heard to remark that they were all beautiful,all cheerful, and all abysmally stupid. This unnatural acerbity upon the partof so fortunate a grandparent was not resented by the good-natured Longs,who admired Lady Delia’s rapier witeven when they were its target.And then a fourth child was born, a daughter. Dulcinia, whose favoritegoverness had once given her a book on Greek mythology (possibly the onlybook Dulcinia ever read), had intended to call her fourth child Theodora.Aftera few puzzled looks at the solemn little baby, she changed her mind.“She is different,” Dulcinia ventured to her doting husband and herlong-suffering mother.Umphrey took a closer look. “Well, my dear, she doesn’t look like myside of the family—nor yours, for that matter,” he added, assessing thethatch of black hair and the tawny-brown eyes. “Aphrodite, Achilles, andJason have golden hair and bright blue eyes, like yours, my dearest love.They also have bigger noses and smaller mouths than this baby.But we shalllove her just as dearly as though she were beautiful like Aphra and Killy andJase,” he said gently, putting a comforting large arm around her shoulders.His wife accorded him a doting smile.His mother-in-law took a closer look at the huge, golden-brown eyeswhich were staring at her with the cool intensity of a well-bred kitten’s. Areluctant smile tugged at Lady Delia’s lips.“I like this one,” she said decidedly. “She’s got presence! Possibly evenbrains. She looks like my father.”Umphrey and Dulcinia appeared worried, but since Lady Delia made nofurther comment, they were soon happy to forget the odd remark about brains.It was only as the little girl, called Athena at her grandmother’s request,grew into a quiet, intelligent young woman,that her worried parents perceivedthat they had produced a changeling. Where her amiable siblings hadto be hauled and pushed into learning to read, write, and cipher, AthenaLong could read at five, and write a legible hand at six. Her alarmed parents,nobly refusing to assign blame to the Scottish governess Lady Delia hadprovided, informed her ladyship of the result. The grandmother, skepticalabout the reports of the prodigy, came to scoff and remained to praise thebrilliance and directness of the child’s mind. Athena took to learning as aneaglet takes to the shifting currents of the sky—with joyous competence.For the next twelve years, Tina Long expanded her mind with quiet, ifsolitary, pleasure, while her golden siblings were very gentle with their littlesister. For one thing, she didn’t look like the family. Her hair, though longand lustrous, was black and straight. Her huge golden eyes had a solemn,contemplative stare. Aphrodite whispered to her dear Mama that so muchstudy was making poor Tina near-sighted, and shouldn’t they do somethingabout it?Dulcinia sighed. She was a little ill at ease with the quiet young daughterwho tended to go off into some world of her own when the rest of the Familywas happily discussing important matters like hunting and new clothesand the latest interesting on dits. Perhaps the poor child was beginning to recognizethe difference between herself and the beautiful sister and brothers?“We must all be especially kind and loving to poor Tina,” was the bestDulcinia could come up with. So they all, even Killy and Jase, did their bestto compensate for their little sister’s differences. Dulcinia and Aphra insistedthat she accompany them on social calls to all their neighbors to drink teaand gossip; Killy and Jase wheedled her into joining them when they wentout with The Hunt. And the whole Family dragged the reluctant Tina toevery ball and assembly the County hostesses provided.It was a letter from Tina, detailing some of the rigors of her social life withwryhumor and a trenchant, if slightly bitter, turn of phrase, that alerted hergrandmother to the dangers of the situation. She made one of her infrequentvisits to the modest Long estate. Watching her granddaughter as the girltranslated a poem from Frenchinto English, Lady Delia said, with grim warning,“Your sister has just received a flattering offer from Lord Marpole.”Tina raised glorious tawny-brown eyes and smiled at her grandmother. “Iam happy for Aphra. They should suit very well.”“Since Roger Marpole is eager to marry a beautiful, well-bred woman whowill be easily managed, and Aphra is eager to marry, period, they should haveno problems,” her ladyship said tartly.“She cares for him as much as she is able, I think,” offered Tina. “And heis a kind man.”“Oh, I’ve no doubt they’ll make a comfortable match of it. Which bringsme to something I must say to you, dear child.”Athena gave her grandmother a long, considering glance. “Do not tell meyou have an itch to match-make in other quarters?” she teased. “You’ll catchcold at that!”“Wretched girl,” scolded her grandmother, “that is the trouble! Your—ah—fame is growing, your Mama tells me, to such an extent that it has frightenedoff every eligible parti in the county! Have you not noticed that the localyouths are shy of you? I have been informed that Lawyer Cope’s carrottoppeddaughter Maddy was besieged at the last Assembly, whilst you, my poppet,sat out half the dances!”“Closer to three quarters,” Tina shrugged. “They are stupid and boring,after all.”“The Assemblies? Yes, I grant you they are, but—”“The young men,” Tina corrected her.Her grandmother looked aghast at such plain speaking. “Never, I repeatnever, let such words be heard from your lips, I beg of you! To be told they arearrogant, self-willed, hard to handle, delights the male sex, while to have ithinted that they are philanderers or libertines quite sets them up! But to statethat you find them boring and stupid will drive them away faster than thethreat of the plague!” LadyDelia fluttered her elegant little fan as she contemplatedher Bluestocking granddaughter with grave concern. “I see I musttake you in hand. I had thought to thank Heaven that you are not a simpleton like every other member of your family, but it seems I may have been mistaken.At least they have enough nous to value the really important things—”“Such as?” Athena’s attention was fully attracted now. She was smiling thatdevastating, heart-catching smile which Lady Delia privately thought irresistible—and quite wasted upon one’s grandparent.“Such as Marriage—and Men,” she retorted, “since we cannot have onewithout the other.”“Haven’t you forgotten love?” teased the girl.“No, but I am afraid you have,” riposted Lady Delia, regarding the piquantlittle face with a frown. After a moment she spoke again. “Have you thoughtof what you will be doing ten or even twenty years from now, if you continuein this fashion? Nose forever in a dusty volume, eyes straining and squintingto decipher fine print, shoulders continually bent over a desk—?”Tina chuckled. “I’ll have a dusty nose, red-rimmed eyes, and round shoulders,”she suggested.Lady Delia was not amused. “You’ll be alone with your nose and your eyesand your shoulders—and no one will care what you look like in any case!”“My family would care,” objected Tina, losing a little of her amusementwhen presented with this undeniably gloomy picture.“Are you content to live with those amiable moon-calves for the rest ofyour life? I think I know you better than that, dear child,” answered LadyDelia. “You must make a life of your own. And that means marriage, for awoman of our class.”Tina frowned. “What do you suggest, Grandmama? That I attend the nextAssembly and try to charm some man by flirting like Maddy Cope?”“You would not succeed,” replied her grandmother succinctly. “In the firstplace, you do not know how to flirt in spite of, or perhaps because of, all yourerudition. In the second”—she overrode Tina’s effort to interrupt—”in thesecond place, my poor girl, you have so terrified all the eligible young menwith your learning and aloofness that you could not get near enough to anyof them to flirt with him.”“You paint a dark picture,” said Tina at length. “I must suppose that thereare ways to overcome my handicaps, and that you have some such in mindalready.” She sighed. The idea of remaining at Malong Hall for the rest of herdays was a daunting one. She loved her cheerful family, but had to admit thatthey were as stimulating intellectually as a litter of new puppies. She shookher head at the prospect. “I will do whatever you advise. I am thought to bequick to learn,” she offered bravely.Lady Delia nodded. “I believe it can be managed. But you must placeyourself in my hands, girl, and you must work as you have never done before!And I must work,” she added grimly. “I trust I shall be able for it.”Tina chuckled. “I would wager my blunt that you are capable of anything,”she said with real admiration. “When do we start?”“At once! First lesson: you must not use terms like ‘wagering your blunt’and ‘catching cold at something.’ Such masculine cant from a young girl’s lipsmust disgust a man of fastidious taste.”Tina frowned. “Exactly what did you have in mind for me, Grandmama?If it is to become a mealy-mouthed, niminy-piminy miss, sighing and languishingand flying up into the boughs at the slightest mention of anythinginteresting—!” She pulled a long face. “I could not, nor would I wish to. Betterto wither on the familial vine!”Lady Delia, who had been looking grim, unbent with a reluctant smile.“Devil!” she said affectionately, and ruffled Tina’s thick silky hair with anindulgent hand. “Perhaps you are right. The worthwhile catches would probablyscorn a prudish miss. I do have one Prize in mind, but he’s been avoidingParson’s mousetrap for so long he’s probably uncatchable.” She sighed. “Ifonly I were forty years younger—! Oh well, perhaps our first concern shouldbe, as you suggest, to decide what sort of female you should be.”“I suppose I cannot just be myself?.” asked Tina wistfully.“Quite ineligible,” said Lady Delia briskly. “A Bluestocking, mouthingFrench poetry and, I have no doubt, Latin maxims!”“Omnia vincit Amor?” murmured Tina naughtily. She chuckled at her grandmother’sshocked expression. “It just means ‘Love conquers all,’ “sheexplained. “I thought it appropriate to our discussion.”“Just as I said!” observed Lady Delia. “Completely ruinous!”Tina’s eyes began to sparkle. “I have it! A femme fatale! What I believe mybrothers call a Regular Dasher!”Lady Delia rolled her eyes heavenward. “We are not seeking to establishyou as some rakehell’s light-o’-love, my girl!” The elderly woman was, it mustbe admitted, a little in alt at the idea of creating a New Athena who shouldtake the Beau Monde, and one member of it in particular, by storm.“Then if not a female pedant, nor even a femme fatale, will do, what role doyou propose I should play?”“How about a Woman of Mystery?” suggested Lady Delia, eyes glinting.“Would a Man of Consequence wish to marry a Woman of Mystery? It seemsunlikely to me,” said Tina doubtfully. “He might be letting himself in for someunpleasant surprises.”“You are right,” Lady Delia admitted. “I am permitting myself to be carriedaway by the—er—challenge. Make no mistake about it, my dear child,it is a challenge! Your father’s estate is not such as will provide a dazzlingdowry for two daughters. For one thing, he had to buy two commissions eachfor your brothers!” She frowned at Tina’s gurgle of laughter.“If you could have seen their faces when Papa came home to announcewhat he had done!” she chuckled. “Poor Papa intended Achilles, as the firstborn,to be the warrior, and follow in the illustrious footsteps of Papa’s ownfather in the Hussars—or should I say the horse-shoe tracks?” She was laughingopenly, her eyes alight with mirth. “I had to point out to him that Killy invariablythrew out a rash when in the company of his beloved horses! The huntingseason, much as he loves it, is always a wretched time for poor Killy! ThenPapa admitted to us that he had planned for Jason to follow Uncle Martin intothe Navy, until Jase reminded Papa of our ill-fated trip to Brighton, when aboating excursion upon even a calm ocean invariably made Jason dog-sick.Papa realized that to condemn Jase to a life at sea would be excessively cruel!”“Your father is a widgeon,” stated Lady Delia. “One would have thought,however, that even the most totty-headed of fathers would have discovered hissons’ unfortunate failings before attempting to launch them upon the onlycareers completely impossible for them to pursue,” snorted their grandmother.“Well, he has it straightened out now,” the girl soothed her. “Jason is madabout horses, and Killy seems to be enjoying his life on shipboard. All’s wellthat ends well—as Shakespeare said.”“Shakespeare may have said it. You should not,” criticized her grandmother.“Are you going to be sensible or not? Lacking a generous settlement, youmust not flaunt your eccentricities!”This was too much for the high-spirited girl. “I would not wish for ahusband who had to be paid to take me,” she said with the first anger shehad shown.“What kind of a husband would you like?” her grandmother asked withreal interest.Tina smiled. “An intelligent one who could talk to me about somethingother than hunting, gaming, and the latest mill between Prides of the Fancy.”She hesitated, then continued steadily, “And one who loved me more thananything else in the world.”Lady Delia’s eyebrows rose almost to her hairline.“My poor child!” she murmured pityingly. “Your wits have been addled byall that scholarship! Don’t you know that no persons—female at least!—of ourorder of Society marry for love?” She enunciated the word as though it wereslightly obscene. “Oh, I grant you, if the woman is fortunate, a strong affectionmay in course of time develop. Your grandfather and I became quitegood friends when he grew tired of gaming and pursuing his bits of muslin!But no member of the Haut Ton would admit to marrying for love. Quite mawkish!Absurd! Theatrical!”“Then I must choose someone from the Bas Ton,” retorted Tina grimly, “forI shall never marry for any other reason.”“A Romantic!” breathed Lady Delia with such an expression of horror thatTina was forced to laugh.“Well, according to you and Mama, I shall never be able to get closeenough to the local swains to find out whether I could love them or not! Doyou dare to show your face in London with such an unlikely debutante?”Lady Delia rose to the challenge. “I shall not only take you back with meto Portman Square, Athena, but I shall find you a suitable parti. And you hadbetter be prepared to fall in love with him, for I warn you now, at the outset,that I do not intend to be wasting my time!”

Chapter 2

His Grace the Duke of Renfrew had not reached his thirty-sixthyear without acquiring a very good knowledge of his world andhis own position in it. Even his enemies—and he had a number—were forced to admit that there was reason for the arrogance withwhich he depressed pretension in his inferiors. Wealthy as a nabob, a superbsportsman, darkly handsome as a corsair, more elegant than Beau Brummell,John Alexander George Stone, the most Noble Duke of Renfrew, was at oncethe challenge and the despair of every female in the Beau Monde. The factthat he quite frequently absented himself from that small and glittering companyof his peers, and that few even of his intimates knew where he went, orfor what purpose, served only to make him more fascinating to well-bornfemales. The men of his own class were sure they knew—if not where hewent, then certainly with what sort of companion. Such libelous on dits merelyserved to enhance His Grace’s desirability.It is also fact that His Grace had not reached his thirty-sixth year withoutacquiring the companionship of a small but dazzling succession of birds ofparadise. Being a sensible nobleman, he had not sought his diversions amongwomen of his own class, where matrimony was the obsessive interest. Greengirls held no allure for him; and the calculated enticements to which he wassubjected by fashionable matrons were enough, he often told himself, todestroy any romantic notions a man might have. He felt no need to securethe succession, since he had a nephew who was his heir. He did not like theboy overmuch, and tried to see as little as possible of him and his annoyingMama, the widow of his younger brother Theodore. Lucy Stone, DowagerCountess of Bodiam, had never forgiven herself for having married theyounger son. That she had not been—and never would have been—asked tomarry the firstborn son did not seem to occur to her. Her manner was a combinationof self-pity and envy, which made her unacceptable company for allbut a few cronies and hopeful hangers-on. Even her sixteen-year-old sonHarry, who had inherited, through the death of his father, the title of Earl ofBodiam, and who was the heir presumptive of his uncle the Duke, avoided hismother’s company as much as possible, preferring to attend mills and cockfightswith a scaff-raff company of like-minded young noblemen. HarryStone saw as little of his daunting uncle as he could manage. This usuallymeant that he nerved himself for an encounter with the sophisticated andscornful Duke only when in need of financial assistance.The Duke suffered him, as he did all fools, without pleasure, and paidonly those debts which, unsettled, would have embarrassed the family name.For the rest, he adamantly refused to advance so much as a goat, and remindedHarry of his ample allowance, paid from the estate at Bodiam, and disbursedquarterly until Harry Stone should reach his majority.His Grace the Duke was also cumbered with an older sister. Lady SophiaRate never allowed herself or anyone else to forget that if she had been borna male, she would have been the Duke. Her two sons by her negligible husband,Sir Cecil Rate, were constantly reminded by her of their noble progenitorson the distaff side of the family. Her older son, George, who liked tobe called Gogo, was a weak and sullenly envious youth who entered into allhis Mama’s animadversions against her younger brother the Duke, and endlesslyfantasized himself holding the title. Young Nigel, and Flora, the onlydaughter of the house, thought their UncleJohn a pretty sound apple, a regulartop-o’-the-trees fellow. Flora told Nigel that there wasn’t much tochoose between their Mama and Lucy Stone, both of whom, she averred,were sour-tempered old jaw-me-deads. Nigel agreed, chuckling, and commiseratedwith the Duke, vowing it not at all strange they saw so little ofhim. Flora agreed.In this opinion, Society concurred. Elegant and sophisticated ladies titteredbehind their fans, murmuring that it served John Stone right to beblessed with Sophia and Lucy.The men shook their heads, asking one anotherhow poor Stone endured it, saddled with the two most notorious shrewsin the Ton. Through it all: attack, commiseration, mockery, the Duke borehimself with imperturbable calm, and let no one share his private counsels.The only member of his immediate family for whom the Duke felt anydegree of warmth was his nephew Nigel Rate. On the rare occasions uponwhich the two met, there were friendly exchanges of opinion upon the latestPride of the Fancy, the qualityof the nags up for the Derby, the probabilityof decent weather at Epsom Downs on the relevant days, and similar issuesof importance. Their brief meetings were usually concluded by the unobtrusivepassing of a comfortable handsel from uncle to nephew. After which, inperfect charity with one another, they went their separate ways.The Duke’s best—and jealous people said, his only—friend was a cheerfulyoung nobleman named Charles Vernell. This handsome, charming, andwealthy marquess could have been the darling of London Society had hedesired to be so. Instead, he seemed to prefer to accompany John Stonewhenever he received the least encouragement. The Duke found so muchquiet pleasure in Charles’s optimistic, light-hearted company that he permittedtheyounger man to share most of his social activities. He evenallowed him to go along on one of his frequent disappearances from London.Charles, surprised and deeply impressed at the revelation of hisfriend’s complex nature, and the passion that burned behind the imperturbablefacade which was his friend’s countenance, found himself watchingthe dark, handsome profile as the two men drove back to London froma week spent at Renfrew Castle.“I would never have suspected, John! The face you present to Society isso different!” The younger man shook his head, grinning.The Duke took his eyes from the road long enough to cast a challenginglook at his friend. “And exactly what face is that?”Charles’s bright blue eyes sparkled, his generous mouth curved withamusement. “Why, a very domineering, high-nosed, damn-your-eyes,arrogant phiz, to be sure! And never a hint of your—shall I say?—otherinterests! How the clubs and the boudoirs would buzz if they knew what I’vejust learned!”“But you are going to say nothing,” suggested his host, silkily.Charles grinned. “Nothing—because no one would believe me! I can justhear the quizzes murmuring, ‘Poor Vernell! Ripe for Bedlam! It must be thecompany he keeps!’” The youth’s face was alight with fun. The Duke foundhimself grinning in sympathy.“Ripe for Bedlam? You should have been there years ago!”As he tooled his curricle expertly through the crowded streets of London,the Duke frowned down his aristocratic nose at the malodorous clutter, andasked himself again why he had allowed Vernell to persuade him to leave thefresh countryside for this stinking midden. If it had not been that a certainscheme of his necessitated his appearing before the House of Lords, he mightwell have ignored Charles’s pleadings and remained at his estate, to continuethose projects which currently so absorbed his interest. But there was thedebate to attend, and booksellers to question.“Is Flora to attend the Ball tonight?” Charles ventured to break thelengthy silence.His Grace sighed. “I suppose so, She’s too young, and not out yet, but theDowager mentioned her specifically.” He groaned. “Why did I permit you toremind me of the invitation? I might have avoided the wretched crush!”“And found yourself persona non grata with the most powerful hostess inLondon,” advised Charles. “You owe me a debt of gratitude!”His Grace was understood to say that he knew exactly what he owed theyoung spoilsport, and it wasn’t gratitude. Charles beguiled the rest of theirjourney with comments upon the charms of the new débutantes, contrastingthem favorably with last Season’s Diamonds and Reigning Beauties. TheDuke endured these eulogies with the chilly smile that depressed female pretensionso effectively. At length Charles favored him with a quizzical smile.“You’re a cold fish, John! Have you never suffered a tendre for any female?”“Do you think I should talk about it if I had?” queried the Duke with hauteur.Charles had the grace to color. “No, of course not, John! Do forgivemy brashness.”Renfrew unbent enough to say, quietly, “I have never met a female inwhom beauty and intelligence combined in equal measure. The Sex seems tohave one or the other, so that I find myself either bored by their stupidity ordaunted by their ugliness.”Charles greeted this wholesale condemnation with an incredulous grin,and hastened to cite several of the Season’s charmers who possessed a goodmeasure of both wit and beauty. The Duke, however, would not allow hisyoung friend to convince him, and found so many flawsin each lady namedthat Charles finally gave up with a laugh.“None so blind as those who will not see!” he suggested.The Duke forbore to answer, but his face showed so clearly his opinionon the matter that Charles admitted defeat, and began to discuss his chancesof finding a new hunter worthy of the name at Tattersall’s.

Chapter 3

At this very minute, Tina was staring at herself in a large, gilt-framedmirror in Lady Delia’s comfortable Town House. She had to admitthat she liked what she saw. Lady Camden’s dresser had beendelighted to be told to give the child some alamodality. It was Hugget’sbelief that the little country-girl could be made—under the proper guidance,which of course meant that of Hugger—into a veritable Diamond of the firstwater.The wily old dresser had been performing miracles with her elderlymistress for years, and fairly ached to apply her undoubted expertise upon ayounger, more promising subject. She stood back now, as the awe-strickenTina stared at her metamorphosis in the tall cheval glass in the charming bedroom.Wonderingly, the girl breathed.“Hugget, you are a witch! I cannot believe that this dazzling creature youhave conjured up is the daunting Bluestocking who has driven all the youngmen away.”Hugget regarded her smugly.“I could see the possibilities in you, Miss Tina—if you’ll pardon the plainspeaking—as soon as I clapped eyes on that hair and your figure! To saynothing of the colour of your eyes. Most unusual they are, changing to matchwhatever costume you put on.” She bent, peering a little. “See? They’re adeep gold tonight, while you’re wearing that lovely yellow silk the mistresshad made for you.”Tina had to admit that her eyes, huge and sparkling with the excitementof it all, were indeed a fascinating shade of tawny gold. She preened at herself,fluttering her lashes. “Effective! And I do not squint!” she muttered,remembering the often-expressed fears of her siblings.Hugget pursed her lips. She, like all excellent servants, was well aware ofevery problem suffered by her employers, and agreed wholeheartedly withAthena’s family that her stubbornly adhered-to program of study was suicidalin a young lady hopeful of conquering the Ton. Hugget felt obliged to issuea warning.“Miss Tina, I have only your best interests at heart when I urge you neverto mention those foreign languages you are forever reading in, and especiallynot that—that book you are writing!”Tina flashed the woman a startled glance, then smiled, shaking her head.“I should have known better than to think I might try to bamboozle a goodservant as to anything which happens in the household! Does everyone knowof my—my effort?”Hugget considered the question. “I would say, every member of the staff hereat Lady Delia’s establishment—possibly excepting the grooms’ boy, who is deaf.”Tina digested this unwelcome intelligence in silence. “I am sure my grandmotherdoes not know…” she began hesitantly.“No, I’ll warrant you she does not, else you would no longer be workingupon it,” conceded the dresser. “If it were even one of those fripperyromances which wellborn ladies divert themselves with, I should not haveventured to speak, for it is possible that some men might find it amusing in awoman that she dreams of romance—” Catching sight of Tina’s offendedexpression, Hugget chuckled grimly. “We both know why Lady Deliabrought you to London, Miss Tina, and I should think a girl of your brainpower would be awake on all suits—” Hugget paused, coloring slightly underTina’s teasing glance.“‘Awake on all suits’, indeed! Better not let Lady Delia hear you mouthingcant, Hugget!”The dresser sniffed and advised her charge to go to her grandmother’s suitebefore Lady D had to send for her. “For you know, Miss Tina, her ladyship hasgreat hopes oftonight’s Ball. You would not wish to fail her, Miss, when shehas done so much to make your début a success?” she urged wistfully.“You are a slyboots, Hugget, a wily manipulator,” Athena said severely,but she caught up her little reticule and the shawl of fine silk and ran lightlyalong the hallway to her grandmother’s bedroom.Lady Delia was waiting impatiently for her. She was, Tina admitted,impressive in black velvet and diamonds. The women scrutinized one another’scostumes carefully, then shared a smile.“We shall certainly not present a dowdy appearance at Her Grace’s Ball,”dimpled Tina, swishing her silk skirts in an elegant curtsey. Her shining eyesclearly revealed her pleasure in the fashionable new clothes.“Jessica is an old martinet, but she’s a clever hostess and will help me tofire you off suitably in the Ton,” Lady Delia said. “I’ve known her for moreyears than either of us wishes to admit. You liked her granddaughter whenyou met her yesterday, did you not?”“Jennifer Nairn is a darling,” said Tina warmly. “She’s very young, though.I shall feel like Methuselah beside her.”Lady Delia frowned thunderously. “There you go again! Classical referencescan do nothing but harm to our campaign!”“Even Biblical ones?” teased the girl.Lady Delia set her lips. “You will promise me, Athena, before either of ussets foot outside this house, that there will be no literary comments, no politicalarguments, and NO speaking in foreign tongues—!”“Except when I indicate which of the gourmet dishes I wish to samplefrom the buffet,” teased Tina. “You will never convince me that so famous ahostess as the Dowager Duchess of Nairn employs any but a French chef!”“You may speak of pâtés and gelinottes, although I trust you will exercisejudgment in your consumption of pâtisseries, since we are not trying to fattenyou for market—” snapped Lady Delia.Tina could not control her laughter. “But darling Grandmama, that isexactly what you are trying to do!” she gasped.Fuming, the old woman glared at her recalcitrant grandchild. “I despairof you,” she managed, finally. “First it is an excess of scholarship, and nowcrude badinage—!’“Oh,” gasped the girl, “you are speaking in the French language, Grandmere!It will put all the beaux off you!”Without another word, Lady Delia led the way past the footmen and thebutler and out to the waiting carriage. But in her mind was a fierce hope thatone certain nobleman, whom she most devoutly desired for her granddaughter,would be present. Renfrew is the wiliest bachelor in London, she thought, but Idefy even him to resist Tina in that get-up!Three hours later, assured of her beloved grandchild’s complete acceptanceby those members of the Beau Monde present at Her Grace’s Ball, LadyDelia allowed herself to be persuadedto join the Dowager Duchess and twoelderly beaux for a refreshing game of cards in the library. The Ball wasalready an acknowledged success; everyone predicted that the two débutantes, Miss Athena Long and Miss Jennifer Nairn, would be Ornaments ofthe coming Season. For her own part, Tina was discovering that the elegantand witty London gentlemen were vastly more interesting than the rathercallow young Bloods who had graced the county Assemblies. Here was rapierwit to challenge her own, and a knowledgeable attitude which put her onher mettle to hold up her side of the conversations.Her mother had made very sure that Athena was instructed in all thesocial skills, so the girl had no hesitation in accepting invitations to dance.She was, indeed, rather besieged by dapper smiling men who claimed her asa partner with gratifying alacrity. This social life is not so dull after all, thegirl decided, sitting for a moment between dances and refreshing herself witha cup of cold, delicious punch. She was searching the room for a glimpse ofher new friend, Jennifer, when her glance fell upon a massive man who wasjust entering the room.Tina stared. It seemed to her that all the other men, whom she had beenthinking to be so attractive, suddenly faded into commonplace before thesubdued splendor of the new arrival. He was accompanied by a muchyounger man, a slender laughing fellow whose eyes were eagerly scanningthe company. Discovering his objective, he led the older man firmly towardJennifer Nairn. Tina felt a quite unaccustomed urge to seek out her new friendherself, so that she might be introduced to the fascinating newcomer.In the event, this was not necessary, for great-hearted Jennifer at once ledthe new arrivals to meet the other débutante.“Oh, Tina, we are so honored!” she said, a little flustered by her awe of theolder guest. “His Grace the Duke of Renfrew has come to our party, and is soeager to meet you! Your Grace, may I present Miss Athena Long? Tina, thisother gentleman is Lord Charles Vernell, a—a childhood friend of mine.”“Very prettily done, minx,” laughed Charles, his dark eyes smiling intothose of his old friend. “Now you must promise us all the rest of the dances,for we have arrived too late to speak for ourselves.”Jennifer attempted a haughty stare and then dissolved into giggles.“Wicked creature! It would serve you right if we refused you even one singledance, coming so tardy! But for old times’ sake you may have the next, whichwe had intended to sit out, to recover our breath. It has been such adeplorable squeeze!” Her glance roved enthusiastically over the beautifullydressed, bejewelled, laughing throng.Charles grinned at her. “Obviously a great success! You are to be felicitated,Jenny!” His eyes sparkled at her look of outrage at the old nickname.As the two old friends brangled happily, Tina was able to study the faceof the big man beside her. It was a cold face, she decided, and made itsowner’s boredom evident. His eyes went past her to scan the crowded ballroom. He was quite obviously uninterested in the prospect of joining thecrush of dancers—and equally uninterested in the young woman to whom hehad just been introduced. A little flame of anger began to burn in Tina’sbreast. She could see no sign of the eagernessto meet her which Jennifer hadmentioned. On the contrary, the wretched man had spoken exactly oneword, on being presented to her: “Charmed.” And looked away.Then a cold fear blew upon Tina’s anger, rousing it to a sharper response.Was her failure to charm the male sex at home to be repeated, more humiliatingly,upon this larger stage, before this more sophisticated, glittering company?At once rage shook the girl, frightening her by its intensity. Ignore her,would he? She spoke directly at the averted face, her voice a little high andshrill, her manner ingenuous as Jennifer’s had been.“Oh, Your Grace, you must forgive me! I have not a single dance left foryou! Such a pity, is it not?” A ripple of mirth.The big man’s head turned sharply, and a pair of very disconcerting grey eyesscanned her flushed features intently. Tina bore his stare bravely, keeping thewide social smile pinned to her lips. As she took in the harsh male beauty of hisdark countenance, her heart misgave her at the program she had so hastily andangrily chosen to enact, but it was too late. Jennifer and Charles were staring ather too, and the girl at least could not hide the dismay in her youthful features.“But Tina—” she began to protest.“Of course I must not force myself upon so popular a young débutante,”said the Duke, his smile even colder and more artificial than Tina’s. “If youwill forgive me, Miss—er—Miss Long? I must seek out some old friends I seehere.” Bowing slightly, he turned and strolled away.“I think John won that round,” said Charles lightly. His bright blue eyeswere kind on the girl’s face, taking in its quiet beauty and the flush of embarrassmentwhich now mantled her cheeks. “Jenny, why don’t you and I joinMiss Long at the buffet? You can ply me with ratafia or whatever dangerousvintages your Grandmama has provided, and you both can bring me up todate on all the London gossip.”Tina answered his well-meant gesture with the sweet smile which had sostruck Lady Delia. She had no intention of playing gooseberry at the reunionof two good friends. She also felt a little faint at the icy incivility of the snubshe had just received. She said, in her normal gentle voice, which was so differentfrom the high, gushing tones she had used to the Duke, “Why thankyou, My Lord, but I think I shall repair to the conservatory to snatch amoment’s respite from this frenzied activity.” She turned gracefully and leftthem before Jennifer could offer her own persuasion.The younger girl looked at her companion ruefully. “They definitely didn’thit it off, did they?”Lord Charles shrugged. “Renfrew’s impossible. Heart of Stone. But yourfriend really didn’t put her best foot forward, either. I suppose she was nervousat meeting the Great Man.”“Well, I don’t think he’s so great,” fumed Jennifer, loyalty to her newfriend uppermost. “He was cold and rude, and deserved to be put off! I’mgoing after her!”Charles took her arm with the easy familiarity of one who had pulled herout of scrapes in her childhood. “Better leave her tonurse her wounds alone,I think,” he said gently. “She seems a charming and attractive girl, when sheis not endeavoring to cross swords with John Stone.” At which, alas, she willundoubtedly catch a very bad cold indeed, he ruminated. He knew thatclosed, arrogant look which John had given the girl as he left. It was a declarationof war—a war that His Grace the Most Noble the Duke of Renfrewnever lost.As she walked swiftly into the spacious conservatory, Tina’s mind was in awhirl. How could she have let that arrogant man drive her into such stupidbehavior? She had less poise than the veriest adolescent! A sensible femalewould have made a push, at least, to charm him out of his indifference, or atleast could have taken her leave of him without such a childish display! Heavenpermit that Grandmother had not witnessed the confrontation, and her own miserable partin it! She found a seat behind a fragrant bank of flowering plants, and tried torelax in the soft light provided by groups of fairy lights.After a few minutes, the soft splashing of the fountain, which was a centralfeature of the conservatory, began to work its special gentle magic upon hertroubled spirits. Perhaps she could recoup the situation. Surely having offendedone man would not be enough to set all Lady Delia’s plans at a loss? She lether mind consider the man as she had observed him in those few tensemoments. He was very large, with broad shoulders and a massive torso abovewell-muscled, long legs. There did not seem to be a superfluous ounce on hispowerful frame. When she recalled his face, Tina felt a curious little stab thatwas neither fear nor anger. His Grace was such a handsome man, but not with theeffete, soft-skinned smoothness of most of the gentlemen she had been introducedto that evening. He was hard, as though he had pushed his body to itslimits of strength and endurance. And yet his garments were more elegant, ifless showy, than those of most of the other male guests. Tina sighed. Definitelya man to be reckoned with—and she had dared to toss him the gauntlet! Sheshivered with a chill that was not quite physical. Then she pulled back into theshadows as movement near the doorway resolved itself into two male figuresstrolling slowly into the conservatory. She recognized the quiet voice at once.“I shall just slip away without further ado. I have made my courtesy to ourhostess, and there really isn’t anyone here I care to linger for.”“You’ll not go without a word to the other guest of honor, surely, John?”Charles’s voice came clearly to the girt in the shadows.“That little virago?” There was no mistaking the edge of contempt in theDuke’s words.“You forced her to it with your blasted arrogance!” his friend protested. “Barelyacknowledging the introduction, treating her with complete indifference—!”“What else?” Renfrew came back wearily. “She is like so many of her type;pretty enough to be spoiled by young bucks with no sense of discrimination,ignorant, bad-mannered, stupid…” His disgust was clear in his deep tones.“But she isn’t like that at all!” protested Charles. “Jenny tells me she’squick-witted and bright, full of fun—!”“I beg you will spare me any further details of Miss—ah—Long’s girlishcharms tonight,” said the Duke in a voice that made Tina’s hackles rise. “Sheis just such an one as I have always disliked—a passably pretty face withnothing behind it but vanity and malice! It is to be hoped that her sponsorswill be able to catch her a husband quickly, before her charms become tarnishedby her bad temper!”With which parting shot, the Duke strolled out of the conservatory, hisyoung friend at his shoulder still protesting.Tina rose slowly to her feet. So that was what His Grace the Duke of Renfrewthought of Miss—ah—Long? She was actually torn between a strongdesire to slap his cold, sneering face, and an equally strong wish to prove tohim that she was good-tempered, intelligent, and charming. Then, catchinga glimpse of her own small, clenched fists, Tina took her temper in hand andsought to regain her lost poise. When she had herself under control again,she returned to the ballroom and proceeded to captivate the younger menwith a dash and sparkle that quite opened the eyes of her grandmother, comeat last to check upon the progress of her fledgling. The child was a Success!Whirling gaily about the huge room, Tina thought that this would proveto the arrogant peer—even in absentia—that she was not the poor wretch hedeemed her!

Chapter 4

On the day following the Nairn Ball, the Duke set out with greatreluctance to answer a querulous message from his sister, LadySophia. Her note had been delivered very early, but His Grace’s butlerhad rightly decided not to trouble his master with the missiveuntil after he had taken his breakfast. Since the Duke invariably rode for an hourbefore eating, this meant that the whining demand from Lady Sophia for herbrother’s immediate presence in her drawing room was not delivered into hishands until nearly eleven o’clock. Sighing, the Duke set out for Portland Place.His sister was waiting for him, frozen faced. This then was to be a prolongedsession, during which she would ring the changes on her grievances,disappointments, rancours, until she wore him down into agreeing withwhatever scheme or demand shehad in mind.Sophia surprised him: first, by springing to the attack without preliminaryskirmishing; second, by the nature of her demand.“Flora must come out this Season, Renfrew. I shall need funds and yourpresence. I had thought we might move into the Town House.”“Impossible,” stated the Duke firmly. The one thing that made his sisterendurable to him was the fact that he need seldom, if ever, be in her compa-ny for more than half an hour. To make a move from the quite adequate housethat Rate had provided for her, into John’s own much more impressive mansion,had been her driving obsession for years. John relaxed. This was just anew move in the old battle.Sophia surprised him again. “Flora needs a man’s strong hand. She hasbecome quite unmanageable. I cannot control her. I fear a scandal.”Fine dark eyebrows elevated above sceptical grey eyes. “You are telling meyou cannot control your daughter?”Lady Sophia brazened it out. “I am saying that the chit is completelyunbiddable, headstrong, and devious to boot! For example: she informed mymaid that she was going with her abigail to the Lending Library yesterday. Idiscovered that she had, in fact, gone into a most undesirable section of thecity to purchase a ticket for—” she paused for effect—”a stage performance!”The Duke frowned. For a well-born woman, even attended by her maid,such behavior would have been hazardous to her standing in Society. For agirl of fifteen, not yet out, the action courted disaster. Young Flora would belabelled a hoyden, hot-at-hand, perhaps worse, if the report circulated.“You have of course told no one but myself of this?”“Do you think me a dim-wit?” snarled Sophia. “Naturally the servantsknow, but perhaps if you gave them money—?”“Is that how you secure your servants’ loyalty?” asked her brother.Lady Sophia glared at him. “I had thought you cared a little for the child!I should have realized that you hate all my children! Had I been a man, theywould have been heirs to a Dukedom—!”“Flora wouldn’t,” John reminded her. “As it is, your own nephew is myheir. We are both aware that you can bullock him and his silly Mama. Cannotyou content yourself with that, Sophia?”“But it may be years!” Anger and jealousy were removing the guards Sophiausually placed on her tongue. “And everywhere I go, I hear nothing but praisesfor your appearance, your wealth, your charm! And endless gossip aboutyour romantic exploits! I live in constant fear that you will forget your obligationsand marry some wretched female quite unworthyof our name!” Hervoice rose.“Enough, Sophia!” commanded her brother, striding toward the velvetbell-pull. “I shall summon your maid. You are quite overwrought. Have thechild brought to me this afternoon about four. No, do not bring her yourself.Let Nigel attend her. I shall talk with her, and decide what is to be done. Perhapsyou might consider removing with her to the Castle at Bodiam?” heasked hopefully. “Or to Rate’s family seat?”Sophia glared. “And leave London just as the Season is beginning? Youmust be joking!”“If you are indeed so concerned over Flora’s behavior, it would seem thata prolonged rustication away from the treats and temptations of the citywould be beneficial,” John said firmly. “I shall know better after I have talkedwith the girl.”Lady Sophia was so dissatisfied with the result of her attack that she lethim go without further harangue.At four o’clock that afternoon Cullon announced Miss Flora Rate and Mr.Nigel Rate.“Bring em in,” ordered the Duke, settling back in the chair behind his deskwith a stern countenance. He was going to have to do something aboutSophia—her endless whining was bad enough, but he could usually avoid listeningto it. But if she intended foisting off all her problems and responsibilitiesupon hisshoulders, he would be compelled to take charge of matters,assert his authority. He had been reluctant, for many reasons, to play the roleof Head-of-the-Family, but he was, in simple truth, its head, and must accepthis own responsibilities for the name’s sake, if nothing else.The two children marched in, apprehensively, obviously expecting aroyal and thunderous set-down. The Duke motioned them to chairs placedin front of his desk, and sat regarding them with an impassive glance.Nigel plucked up courage. “Hello, Uncle John,” he said.Flora, smiling nervously, echoed, “Uncle John.”The Duke fixed his eyes upon her young, flushed face.“I am told,” he said softly, “that you are displaying an interest in the theater.”“Of course Mama has tattled!” snapped the girl, going a deeper red.“Was there any reason why she should not mention the matter?”“It was nobody’s business…” began the girl, mutinously. Then, at hisraised eyebrow and quizzical look, she muttered, “I have nothing to do.Mama never lets me go anywhere interesting! If I have to listen to one moresour old woman babbling gossip—!”“It does sound dull,” agreed her uncle, surprisingly. “What would you wishto do?”Flora drew a deep breath. “I would go riding in the park, attend operas,dramatic performances, balloon ascensions, races,” with another deep breath,she continued, eagerly, “tour the Tower, visit Astley’s Amphitheater—”“Stop!” commanded the Duke with a grin. “You have given us enough tofill the next thirty days! Are you sure that all these delights are actually available?I seem to have lost touch with the richness of London life.”Both youngsters were staring at him incredulously.“You don’t—you can’t mean it?” gasped Flora. “You will really take us to allthese places?”“Or see that you are taken,” qualified their uncle. He scrutinized theyoung faces with some affection. They were, without doubt, the pick of hisnumerous and mostly boring relations. Perhaps he might arrange to takethem to some of the entertainments Flora had mentioned. Certainly theirwhining, selfish mother had never bothered to put herself out for their pleasure.He rose, walked to the mantel, and pulled the bell cord.“We shall have a good tea, and then you will go back to your home andawait my summons.” This rather autocratic pronouncement was softened bythe warm and attractive smile that lit his face. Both young people respondedto it, and the next half-hour was spent most pleasantly in eating the tastymorsels provided by His Grace’s chef, and discussing the treats to come.It did not occur to the Duke to warn Flora not to use the ticket which shehad apparently purchased for the play.

Chapter 5

The London Season was rapidly gaining pace. Night after night, rivalhostesses opened their doors for all manner of exotic fêtes, ridottos,galas, grand balls, and revels. The Season bid fair to become one ofthe great, memorable ones in the history of the Beau Monde. TinaLong and Jennifer Nairn were deluged with invitations, sometimes attendingas many as three affairs in a single evening, but Lady Delia’s satisfaction was,to Tina’s quick intellect, shadowed. The girl challenged her Grandmama.“What is worrying you? Am I not taking well enough in the Ton?” Shewaved a thick bundle of invitations, just arrived. “I did not know there couldbe so many parties crowded into a few weeks’ time.”Lady Delia bestowed a grim smile upon the radiant girl. “You know verywell you have ‘taken,’ Miss! I have already fended off three separate gallantswho wished to be informed of your father’s address, so that they might applyfor your hand. And there are two others—Dallan and Montgomery—whowill find their way to Umphrey without my permission. Do you have a tendrefor any of them, my child?”Tina sighed. “No, Grandmama. They seemed at first to be much superiorto the callow youths I met at the county Assemblies, but underneath themodish clothes and the dashing manner there is only the sameboring…male.”Delia Camden tried to look scandalized and only succeeded in smiling.“Naughty girl! What else would you expect to find under the modish clothes?No, don’t tell me! I’m sure it will be something quite shocking—or else aLatin tag!” She chuckled.But Tina was not to be diverted. “Why do you have that shadow in youreyes, dearest Grandmama?” she persisted. “Am I doing something toembarrass you?”Lady Delia pursed her lips. “No, child, you’ve provided a most interestingproject, and quite enlivened these last weeks. It is—” she grimaced—”Almack’s. I have not been able to wheedle any of the Patronesses into givingyou a voucher! Oh, they are courteous enough, but they manage to put meoff when I make even the slightest of suggestions. They are past mistresses atputting people off,” she concluded waspishly.Tina stared at her. “They do not wish me to attend their parties? But whyis this? Am I not eligible by birth and behavior?”Lady Delia uttered a sound which was almost a groan. “I managed to coaxa hint out of Lady Jersey last night at the Prince’s dinner. It seems that a certainnobleman has been making remarks…”Tina drew herself up proudly. “About me? What could he possibly say tomy detriment? Surely one does not have to have a title or a flawless beautyto receive a voucher to Almack’s? Who is this noble back-stabber?”“It is the Duke of Renfrew, drat him! You wouldn’t have seen him, Tina.He dropped in at the Nairn Ball that fired you off, but apparently stayed onlylong enough to greet his hostess. I cannot for the life of me imagine why heshould have taken you in dislike, for you’ve never even met the creature!” Shefrowned. “I will admit to you, Tina, I had hopes that your particular blendingof brains and beauty would pique his interest, but it seems he has actuallyspoken disparagingly of you.”“On what grounds?” The girl’s voice was quiet, her tone level, but hergrandmother glanced up sharply. Tina’s face was white—with anger?Shock? Indeed, it was a shocking thing to have ill will expressed from sucha powerful source.“It seems,” admitted Lady Delia, “that he considers you tobe spoiled, ignorantand bad tempered. I cannot conceive how he should have gotten suchnotions! It must be that he observed some other young miss behaving badlyand was given your name in mistake.”“I have met His Grace,” said Tina slowly. “Vernell introduced us. TheDuke ignored me, and then when Vernell and Jennifer tried to force him toask me for a dance, I—I struck back at him.”Lady Delia was regarding her with a horror-stricken expression. “Youstruck back?” she repeated faintly. “In what way?”Tina shook her head in exasperation. “I—er—adopted a sort of high girlishvoice and told him I hadn’t a single dance left for him. And laughed.”Lady Delia sucked in a breath. “Laughed at him? Fatal!”“He was also arrogant—so pompous and uncaring,” protested Tina.Lady Delia shivered. Then she forced a smile. This went beyond ordinarysetting-to-rights. To make mock of the most powerful male figure in Londonsociety—! “My dear,” she told her granddaughter, “I am quite at a stand! I donot know how to advise you.”Tina had become aware of what she had done. She had placed herbeloved grandmother in a very difficult and embarrassing position. If a débutantefailed publicly, her sponsor was discredited also. Anger began to burndeep inside the girl. Why should their social success be threatened by thepetty malice of one man? I hate him! she thought bitterly. How carelessly he humiliatesmy grandmother—and destroys me!The older woman was speaking. “We shan’t give up, of course. Invitationskeep coming in, and so far, none of the leading Hostesses have blacklisted us.We shall just have to ignore Almack’s. It’s a dull place, and the food is beneathcontempt…” Already her agile mind was busy with the campaign. “If anyonementions Almack’s to you, child, you must just smile prettily and say youhave been so busy accepting delightful invitations…! Finish with a delicate shrug,and then give your inquisitor that big-eyed look that young Jennifer oftenadopts. Conduct yourself as though Almack’s was the least of your worries.”“Which it is,” declared Tina stoutly. She was filled with admiration for herMachiavellian grandparent, and walked over to hug her impulsively. “Youout-rival Napoleon as a Little General,” she smiled lovingly. “I would backyou against a dozen Dukes!”“We haven’t won yet,” warned Lady Delia, but it was clear to Tina that shehad pleased her grandmother. In perfect accord, the two ladies began to sortthrough the thick pile of invitations.During the next few weeks it really seemed that the Beau Monde hadtaken Tina to its glittering heart. She danced her graceful way through severalpairs of silken shoes, smiling roguishly, flirting discreetly, demurelycharming the dowagers as well as the strutting males. It appeared that darkhairedTina and honey-blonde Jennifer, enhancing foils for one another’s specialbeauty, were becoming the darlings among the débutantes. Jennifer, whowas an excellent horsewoman, soon had her own devoted coterie of admiringyoung gentlemen to attend her on her canters throughthe parks. Tina, puton her mettle by the disparaging comments of Renfrew, set out to disprovethem. So successful was she that she became the most sought-after débutanteon the dance floor, with all her dances promised days in advance of each ball.Lady Delia thought the chit was looking lovelier every day, and was pleasedto learn that Miss Athena Long’s charming yet gentle wit was much praised.Lady Delia began to hope that they might weather the Duke’s disapprovalafter all.And then, one day, two things happened that changed the picture completely.Lady Delia had awakened with one of her headaches, notorious amongher devoted staff. On this occasion it might have been caused by her horrifiedperception, the previous evening, that their only invitation for the followingnight was for a very boring poetry reading at the salon of a womanwho wished to be known as a Patroness of Literature.“It is as I feared,” she confided to her alarmed grandchild. “Everyone whocounts is to attend a Gala evening at Almack’s. The Prince is invited, with halfa dozen other notables. Several hostesses have planned dinners beforehandfor those going on to Almack’s. We had better put it about that I am ill andyou are unwilling to leave my bedside.”Tina tried for a joke. “You must not have anything that cannot be cured intwenty-four hours, for we are already promised to the Dowager Duchess ofNairn for tomorrow evening.”“My migraines are notorious,” Lady Delia advised her. “I once failed toappear at Buckingham Palace for dinner when I had such a headache, andTheir Majesties forgave me. No one will wonder at our remaining at home.”That, however, was just what Tina had no intention of doing. She hadbegun to find even her acknowledged success in the Ton a little unsatisfying,and had returned, while her Grandmother was dozing or otherwise occupied,to certain reprehensible habits of her pre-London days. Forays to the bookshopsand to museums gave her stimulation of both mind and body, and shehad even gotten several further chapters completed of the secret book-projectthat absorbed her interest. So, having been summarily dismissed by aworried Hugget from her grandparent’s darkened bedroom, Tina put on acharming jade-green walking dress and a modish little hat, and, accompaniedby her maid, walked down to her favorite bookstore. There she purchased adozen volumes, of which six were novels, two of them in French. Since LadyDelia routinely discouraged any such obvious indications that her grandchildwas a Bluestocking, this secret extravagance pleased Tina and set a sparkle inher fine eyes.These eyes today had a fascinating green cast, reflected from the modishwalking dress she was wearing. She stepped lightly along the pavement, dutifullyfollowed by her maid, who was pleased to be on the strut behind sopretty a lady, and did not for a moment resent the parcel of books she carried. Driving past in his curricle, the Duke of Renfrew caught sight of theextraordinarily attractive girl, striding along so gracefully, and turned hishead to watch her progress. Surely he had seen that beguiling little facebefore? Such open happiness was seldom displayed by the correct youngwomen of his class.Roused by a hoarse cry of warning, the Duke returned his glance to theroad just in time to avoid a collision with a dapper man in triple-caped drivingcoat. Possibly stimulated by his anger at his own carelessness, the Dukesuddenly recalled where he had met the girl, and the circumstances surroundingthat meeting. He had, by now, come to regret the malice withwhich he had commented upon Miss Long to Mrs. Drummond-Burrell. Itshould have been beneath his dignity to strike back at the girl who was soplainly trying to depress his pretensions! He could chuckle at it now, in retrospect.She had been like a tiny spitting kitten, and although her voice hadbeen shrill and her manner gushing, her fine eyes, ablaze with anger, stillstayed in his memory.Quite unaware that she had passed so close to her enemy, Tina quicklymade her way back to her grandmother’s home. Upon learning that LadyDelia was still laid upon her bed with Hugget in attendance, jealous of hermistress’s peace and quiet, Tina said softly, “I shall not try to bother her,Hugget. I may take a drive out after dinner—in a closed carriage, of course.I am a little restless, and as there is no party to go to—”Hugget, quite aware of the invitationless evening, merely nodded understanding,and returned quietly to take up her vigil in Lady Delia’s dressing room.Tina accepted a light snack on a tray in her bedroom. Then she sent awayher maid, and slipping money into her reticule, pulled on a black, hoodedcape and slipped quietly downstairs while the servants were at their dinner.Smiling gently at the small page left to attend the door, she went into thestreet and down to the cab stand beyond the square. There she engaged avehicle, and asked the driver to take her to the theater in which the popularcomedy-drama was currently being presented.“By Mr. Sheridan,” she added hopefully. “Do you know the theater?”“That’ll be Drury Lane, Miss,” the cabby said.Tina was too much interested in all the fascinating sights of London toworry much about the gross impropriety of the step she was taking. To gounescorted to a London theater was quite beyond permission. Still, she waseager to see the performance of which she had heard so much from her partnersat recent balls. If she engaged a box, and sat well back, with her hoodaround her head, she would surely not be recognized.In the event, it proved impossible to engage a box, since the performancewas most popular. The ticket seller did promise her that only one other person, and that another lady, occupied the box she was to share. “I shall takeall the rest of the seats, then,” Tina informed him. “And you are not to bepushing any more patrons in with me, sir!”The youth grinned appreciation of her strategy, and said rather saucilythat he might just be along later to make sure she was comfortable. Tina gavehim a minatory glance and went to find her place.When she reached the designated box, Tina opened the door slowly andmoved into the darkened space. A girl was leaning over the rail, her attentionfixed upon the crowded, loud-talking audience below her. At thesound of the door closing, this girl turned rapidly and eyed the newcomerwith some alarm.At once Tina understood what was happening. The very youthful countenance,now marred with a look of wary defiance, told her that this girl,like herself, was attending the performance without parental approval—orknowledge. The clothing was that of a much-cosseted young lady, but theelaborate black lace shawl draped over the girl’s bright red hair obviouslybelonged to an older woman. Tina found the child’s attempt to present amature image rather pathetic. Certainly, she reminded herself, she was inno position to carp at a girl who so loved the theater that she would riskpunishment to attend.She said gently, “Good evening! I am so glad I have not missed thebeginning of the play.”The tenseattitude of the other girl relaxed a little, as with a gallant effortat sophistication she said, “Oh, you are in good time, ma’am! Pray be seated!”And then, blushing as she realized she need not play the hostess in a publicbox, she colored and turned away almost angrily.“Thank you,” said Tina gently. “This is the first time I have entered a publictheater in London. I am glad to have a knowledgeable companion.”The girl turned back to her slowly, her face a little pale and her mannertentative. “Your first performance! That is an exciting moment.”Tina came toward her and took a seat near hers. She opened the cloak butdid not remove the hood from her head. The younger girl watched curiously.“Perhaps I should tell you I am thought to be taking a soothing drive in aclosed carriage. I am not known to be at the theater.”The other girl’s face softened into a mischievous grin. “So you are a runaway,too!” she teased, her whole pixie face bright with laughter. “My unclewould flay me alive if he knew I was here. I really wouldn’t have come exceptthat I’d already bought the ticket, and I don’t have much pocket money. MyMama is a pinchpenny,” she ended her random speech resentfully.“Perhaps you’d better move back a little from the rail,” Tina suggested.Hereyes had caught sight of several young male faces turned admiringly upto watch the younger girl’s figure, draped over the edge of the box. “By theway, my name is Tina Long,” she added, conscious of the frown on the child’sface at her assumption of guidance.Her companion, mollified, smiled back at her. “I am Flora Rate,” sheoffered. “Why don’t you take off that cloak? You look warm.”“I do not wish to be recognized,” admitted Tina. “I am in quite enoughtrouble already!”Flora chuckled. The confession seemed to remove the last of the stiffnessfrom her manner, and she sat back in her chair and turned eagerly towardTina. Whatever she might have intended to confide was lost, however, by theraising of the curtain. Both girls settled back to enjoy the play.By the time the first act was over, Tina decided she had never enjoyed aplay more. The London actors were a different breed of beings from theweary, often inept players who toured the counties, or the amateur groupswho whiled away a rain-cursed holiday with “theatricals.” The girls were discussingparticular parts of the play which had especially pleased them, whenthe door leading into the corridor was pushed open and two hard-eyedyoung Bucks came laughing into the box.Tina’s first impulse was to draw back into the shadows, but Flora rose toher feet, her young face flushed with excitement. The young men made theirbows rather flamboyantly, Tina thought, and then addressed Flora.“You must forgive us, pretty lady, but we thought you were…someonewe knew.”“Oh!” Flora’s disappointment was obvious. Emboldened by it, the heavierof the two men came close to her. “But that can be easily remedied, littleone, can it not? That is, if we introduce ourselves, then we shall knowone another!”Flora joined in his laughter.“I am Milton. My friend,” he waved a hand, “is called Thomas. And whohave we the pleasure of meeting?” He leered down at Flora.Tina said coldly, “Whom. Whom have you the pleasure, etcetera. Yourgrammar is as offensive as your manners.”Three heads swivelled to face the grim, black-draped figure in the shadows.“Your chaperone!” said Milton sourly. “I had not noticed her.”“But she isn’t!” protested Flora, disappointed at her new friend’s spoil-sportattitude. “She’s sneaked away from home just as I have!”Confidence restored, Milton coaxed, “Come out and share a glass ofpunch with us, little one. I’m sure your friend will have no objections.”Since Flora obviously had none, Tina was in a quandary. She was certainshe had never met either of the young men at any of the entertainments shehad gone to with her grandmother. Still, she did not wish to draw attentionto herself. How ironic if there should be someone in the theater who had metLady Delia’s granddaughter!“I think it might be unwise, Flora,” she was compelled to say. “Your unclewill flay you when he finds out.”Well, the child had said it herself. Perhaps it might be enough of areminder to prevent Flora from committing a folly.Indeed, the child was looking crestfallen and sober. Milton cast a disgustedlook at the dark figure. “What’s the harm in a glass of punch?” he protestedself-righteously. Flora added her pleas. Tina began to feel like the spoilsportFlora thought her. But she also knew that Flora had no business goinganywhere with the two philanderers who were trying to scrape acquaintance.She tried to catch Flora’s eye, and shook her head warningly.But Flora was drunk with her own daring. She had actually been successfulin duping her family and the servants, and gettingaway to the theater.Flushed with her accomplishments, she longed for the further excitement ofdrinking punch with two flattering male companions. She held out one handto Milton. “I’ll go with you!”“That’s the barber!” grinned Milton. “Coming, Tom?”The other man shrugged. “Might as well. There’s no sport in this pious bitch.”Flora hesitated, offended at his crudity to her new friend. “Will you notjoin us, Tina? I am sure you must be as thirsty as I am, after all the laughingwe did.”“I wish you would reconsider, Flora,” she urged. A wicked scheme presenteditself to her. “You recall how your uncle acted the last time he caughtyou with a strange young man?”Three pairs of eyes flashed to her face. Flora frowned in bewilderment.“But he—” she began to object.Milton, not so sure now of the wisdom of his behavior, blustered, “‘Tisonly to drink a glass of punch in a public place. There’ll be half of London inthe lobby to chaperone us.”This idea was naturally distasteful to the girl who was absent without leavefrom her home. She closed her mouth and looked from Tina to the men.Thomas, less aggressive than his friend, was also having second thoughts.If the forward little piece was really Somebody, or had a fire-eating relative—! It seemed to him wiser to be off to easier, less dangerous, conquests.Tina observed his dampened enthusiasm with relish. Feeling stimulated by theplay-acting, she embroidered her tale. “Why, Mr. Thomas,” she said sweetly, “avery dashing young blade, somewhat of your appearance, tried to cast out luresto Flora in the Pump Room in Bath. My friend’s uncle hired two bravos to accostthe hapless fellow on his way to his rooms that evening. They battered the poorwretch into insensibility. But I am sure you will not let that prospect daunt you.”Thomas was already easing himself out of the box. Milton cast a resentfullook at the older girl. “Of course I would not—if I were fool enough tobelieve you. But it is almost time for the interval to end, and we mustreturn to our seats. Thanks to your bloody interference, your friend haslost the chance to refresh herself!” With this petulant protest, Miltonswept Flora an ostentatious bow, glared at Tina, and followed his friendfrom the box.“Now see what you have done!” wailed Flora, dissolving into tears.Tina led her, crying, to a chair away from the railing.“Who is that lady in the opposite box?” she asked ingenuously. “She seemsto think she knows you, Flora.”At once the girl stopped crying and huddled back against Tina. “Oh, Idare not look! Who is it? Do you recognize her?”“No,” admitted Tina with perfect honesty. The woman had not evenglanced in their direction, but the ploy had been a good one. Flora was bynow thoroughly frightened out of her tantrum, and turned her tear-stainedface pathetically toward the older girl.“I think I had better go home,” she whispered. “I have spoilt the eveningfor us both.”“Indeed you have not,” said Tina gently. “It was those encroaching fellowswho spoiled it, Flora. A shab-rag couple, with more hair than wit, as mybrother Killy would say. But you can rest assured that they will not darereturn to pester us! Shall we try to enjoy the rest of the play?”“Lady Teazle, Lady Teazle, I”ll not bear it!” came the voice of the actor whoplayed Sir Peter. The audience was intent upon the stage. Flora, however, hadtaken fright. The unpleasant scene played out in the box was a far cry fromher adolescent fantasies, and had quite destroyed her pleasure in her stolenouting. She was beginning to realize that she had been saved from a disastroussituation by the good offices of her new friend. She insisted on leavingthe theater while everyone was absorbed in the play.Tina, who had been enjoying Mr. Sheridan’s wit, was reluctant to leave inmid-scene, as it were. Still, she found herself even more unwilling to let thewilful child make her own precarious way out of the theater and home. Shedrew a deep breath of frustration, staring down into the tear-streaked, childishcountenance. Did no one care about the girl? Was there no mother to seethat she had enough activities suitable for her age to keep her from yearningafter these forbidden treats? And this uncle who was so unfeeling—would henot be better escorting the child to some of the functions which might be atonce interesting and relatively innocent? Men were such selfish creatures!Her angry disapproval of Flora’s heartless family prodded her into going withthe girl to see her safely home.Since the play was still in progress, there was no difficultyin securing ahackney to take them to Flora’s residence. The girl, subdued and nervous,gave Tina her address in a low voice, and clung to the older girl’s hand all theway to the oppressively elegant mansion.Tina smiled encouragingly at her as the cabby opened the door. “So, mydear, you are safely arrived! You will do very well from now on, I feel sure.”Flora refused to release Tina’s hand. “I do not know how to thank you,”she muttered.Tina pressed her fingers lightly and said with a warm smile, “If you meanthat, I can soon tell you how to reward me for whatever little service I mayhave performed. Will you promise me that you will not again creep away tothe theater without some member of your family or an older friend in attendance?It is really much more pleasant to share the delights of the play with akindred spirit, you know.”Flora slanted a mischievous grin under long lashes. “I have found that tobe fact! Thanks to your story of the battered betrayer, those two wretchesshowed their true colors!” She giggled. “Oh, how I wish you were my friend!My life is so dull and—and lonely! You made it all so jolly!”Tina tried to bring the leavetaking to an end. She was sorry for the prettychild, but quite understood how little a chance-met stranger could do torelieve her boredom and loneliness. She said, lightly, “It was really verywicked of me to tell those creatures such a whisker about your uncle. I amsure the poor man never hired a bully in his life.”The cabby, standing by the door, gave them a sour glance. “Be ye ladiesplannin’ to spend the night in there?” he asked.Flora’s clutch tightened.“Uncle John would have no need to hire bullies,” she said. “He is a notableexponent of the art of fisticuffs, and would be quite able to mill those villainsdown without aid! But I loved your story. It was so—exciting!” She pulled atTina’s hand. “Oh, do come in with me! We can have tea—or a glass ofratafia—at least, you can,” she added. “I am not permitted to indulge in it yet.Oh, do say you will come in with me!”Correctly estimating that the urgency behind the invitation rose in greatpart from Flora’s reluctance to enter her home alone, Tina sighed and precededher out of the hackney. Paying off the driver, she smiled at Flora.“Yes, thank you, I will come in with you. I owe you something for promisingme not to go unattended to the theater, do I not?”Thankfully, Flora led the way up the massive steps and plied the knocker sosoftly Tina feared no one would hear it. To her surprise, the great door swungopen almost before Flora’s hand left the kocker. A stern-faced butler frowneddown upon the two girls, then stood back and waved them into the hallway.“Where have you been, Miss Flora? Her Ladyship is most annoyed! Comethis way at once, if you please!” No courtesy for Flora’s guest.Flora had deflated into a miserable posture. Gone was the air of sparklingmischief with which she had greeted the intruders in the box at the theater.Gone even the wide-eyed, pathetic little figure who had pleaded with Tina inthe hackney. This was a girl going to torment, dumbly accepting punishmentshe knew she could not avoid. Something in Tina rebelled against the transformation—or rather, against those who had so effortlessly effected it.“I shall come with you, my dear Flora,” she said in her most haughty voice.She glanced arrogantly at the shocked servant. “It is to be hoped that I shallbe received with more civility in the drawing room than I have encounteredin this hallway.”She threw back the dark hood, revealing her small beautiful face crownedin gleaming black hair and illumined by the huge brown eyes now blazingmagnificently. The butler was stunned by her regal appearance as much as byher words of criticism. Even Flora looked up at her new friend, the faintestflicker of hope in her frightened countenance.Tina waved a hand at the butler. Completely subdued, Groat turned andled the way up the wide stairs, past the ostentatious gold frames enshriningthe noble ancestors of this small, forlorn child beside her, now clinging desperatelyto her hand. What had they done to the girl, this family of hers? Tinahad been used to a good deal of cosseting from her own, amiable, family andwas truly shocked to observe the behavior of a girl who was reduced to muteterror at the prospect of meeting her Mama. With every step she took up thecarpeted stairway, Tina’s sense of outrage increased. Her reading, wide-rangingthrough several languages and as many centuries, had prepared her toaccept the idea of cruel parents and innocent young victims. Had notAgamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess to appeasesome gods the father himself had insulted? Had not Creon ordered thatAntigone, his own son’s fiancé, be buried alive? Had not Medea murdered hertwo children? By the time Tina reached the drawing room, she had recalledJuliet and the cruel insensitivity of her parents. She swept into the ornatelyfurnished chamber prepared to do battle for poor Flora.Her somewhat tempestuous entrance was observed and then ignored contemptuouslyby the middle-aged, high-nosed dame on a satin chair by themeager fire.It is no wonder the child looks pinched! This place has the chill of a dungeon, thoughtTina wrathfully. Flora is denied physical warmth as well as love! She put an armaround the shrinking girl.The older woman, dressed in an elaborate but unbecoming gown, spokecoldly to her daughter. “This latest example of irresponsible behavior uponyour part, Flora, has confirmed my judgment. You will return to the countrytomorrow morning, before you can disgrace the Family.” She shook her headat her daughter’s cry of anguish. “Do not offer excuses. I have no wish toknow in what squalid surroundings you have been amusing yourself, nor withwhat ill-bred companions.”“My breeding is obviously different from your own, Milady,” said Tina,carried away from prudence at the sight of Flora’s white, strained face. “In myparents’ home, a guest is treated with courtesy, and a daughter is given a lovinghearing before summary judgment is pronounced! The poet Blake trulysays: ‘Cruelty has a human heart’!”Lady Sophia was goggling at this impertinent set-down, when a deep,amused male voice spoke from behind Tina. “God help us, a Bluestocking!”Tina whirled and felt her heart jar in her breast at sight of the tall, powerfulman who stood just inside the open doorway, regarding the three womenwith a sardonic smile. It was the arrogant, hateful Duke of Renfrew! Tinadrew a deep breath, more than ever ready to fly to the defence of a girl whohad this monster for a relative. But before she could frame her attack, the manlooked beyond her to the angry woman upon the chair.“These young ladies have been attending a very proper—and I am sure,boring—reading of verse at the home of Lady…” He paused as though tryingto recollect the name of their hostess, and his challenging stare mocked Tina.“Lady Teazle,” Tina supplied composedly. “And the—readings were farfrom boring.” Let him handle that one, the arrogant devil!“I suppose it is all a matter of taste,” acknowledged the devil, with a grinthat set her nerve-endings to tingling. “If you had proceeded with the leastmodicum of tact, my dear Sophia, you would have discovered that this ladywho accompanied your daughter this evening is Miss Athena Long, a wellknownscholar and granddaughter of Lady Cordelia Camden. She and theDowager Duchess of Nairn are firing off their débutantes this Season.”“I have not seen either of them at Almack’s,” objected Lady Sophia, scrutinizingTina with a jaundiced air.“I am afraid Miss Long is too busy with her studies to care for dancing—orso I have been led to believe,” and his smile at Tina was as cruel as his wordshad been in the conservatory.“Does Lady Camden permit you to go unescorted to soirées?” Lady Sophiapursued relentlessly. “And why did you, Flora, fail to inform your maid as toyour destination when you went out? The stupid girl did not seem to knowanything of your plans when I questioned her!”Renfrew laughed. “But then you have such formidable manner when youare questioning anyone, my dear Sophia! Perhaps you frightened the poorfemale into speechlessness?”Lady Sophia glared at her brother. Tina could see that there was no lovelost between the pair. She hated the Duke, of course; but he had intervenedwith a wily suggestion in a moment of stress, and Tina decided to use him asan ally to help poor Flora.“Her Ladyship spoke of you tonight, Your Grace,” she smiled complacently.“She said you—”The Duke held up one strong, lean hand. “Spare my blushes,” he intoned,his eyes bright and predatory, “or I shall have to tell everyone what she saidof you, Miss Long.”It was a warning, clearly. Tina stared at the mocking face for a momentand then backed down. “It was flattering,” she advised him, and helaughed shortly.His sister regarded the two suspiciously. “You know this girl well,Renfrew?” she queried.“I was introduced to Miss Long at the Nairn Ball. We have met a few timessince.” His air was off-hand, discouraging comment.Lady Sophia was never content to let well enough alone. “I had not realizedyou had literary pretensions, John,” she sneered.Tina was seized by an irresistible urge. “But Lady Sophia, His Grace’striplets are famous, and his sonnets quite bring me to raptures!” She sighedtheatrically, and rolled her eyes heavenward.To her surprise, the Duke threw back his handsome head and laughedheartily. Then, sobering under his sister’s vitriolic stare, he said smugly, “I amflattered to have made such an impression upon you, Miss Long.”Drat the man, fumed Tina. He knew what he had said about her—andalso that he had scotched her chances for a voucher for Almack’s. Suddenlyall the fun drained out of her, and Tina wanted nothing more thanto leave this maddening man and his cruel sister and seek sanctuary inher grandmother’s home. She turned and made a graceful curtsey toFlora’s mother.“Now that I have seen Flora safely home to you, Milady, I must take myleave. My grandmother will be waiting to hear about the—the reading.”Lady Sophia gave a grudging nod, and Flora thankfully escorted her newfriend out into the wide hallway and down the stairs. As they left, both girlsheard Lady Sophia’s suspicious voice saying, “I have not heard of a Lady Teazle,Renfrew! There is the dowdy Gracelle female who is forever rambling onabout poets, but she—”“They are all beyond your notice, Sophia,” the Duke’s deep voice came tothe girls. “I advise you to forget it.”“I would not have Flora turning into a female pedant!” snapped his sister.The girls hurried on down the stairs.“How will you get home?” whispered Flora. “Shall I ask Groat to summona hackney?”“That will be unnecessary,” the Duke’s voice advised them.“How did you get here?” Flora cried out. “You are upstairs talking to Mama!”“I am?” queried the Duke silkily. “And I thought I was about to drive MissAthena Long back to her grandmother’s house. For you must know that Icould not permit her to try to find a hackney at this hour. Not even a Bluestockingcould survive the scandalif it came out that she was roaming thestreets unescorted at midnight!”Both girls were forced to admit the truth of this. Flora hastily kissed Tina onthe cheek, pressed her hand in a speaking manner, and fled back up the stairs.“Silly little chit,” muttered the Duke, and offered his arm to Tina.As Groat was at this moment opening the great front door, Tina acceptedthe proffered arm with good grace and trod down the steps beside him.To her surprise, the Duke helped her up into a dazzlingly smart curricleand tucked a light robe over her knees. This was very acceptable, as the nighthad turned chilly. Without conversation, the Duke tooled his pair through thequiet night streets. It was not far from Lady Sophia’s home to that of LadyDelia, and the girl hoped the silence might be maintained for the whole journey.This hope, alas, was not destined to be realized, for the big man loomingat Tina’s shoulder took a path through a shadowy park, and turned to face her.“And now you may explain why you saw fit to spirit my silly niece off tosee The School for Scandal without letting her inform any of us that you weredoing so.”Unwilling to betray Flora, Tina refused to answer. There was a strained silence.Then the Duke brought his pair to a halt. “You had better decide to explainyour little stratagem, for I intend keeping you here until I know the whole.”This patronizing bullying set Tina’s teeth on edge. Wanted to know thewhole, did he? She turned and glared up into the dark face looming aboveher—too close.“But I thought the omniscient Duke of Renfrew already knew everything—about everything,” she intoned with icy sweetness.Her antagonist threw her off again, this time by chuckling softly. “Whata strange, many-faceted creature you are,” he said silkily. “Pedant, coquette,schemer, enigma! Which one—if any of them—is the true persona? Are youshallow or wily, angelic or vicious? You will tell me now, truly, exactly whyyou took my niece to a play. Did you arrange for her to meet some of yourless acceptable friends there? Perhaps hoping to entrap the child?”Tina flung up her hand before he could continue. The smack of it againsthis cheek was loud enough to startle the high-bred team.The Duke caught at her hand.“That was ill advised,” he said quietly.Tina was beyond caution. “I do not have to remain in this curricle to listento your vile insults,” she flamed. “I found myself in the same box with yourniece this evening, both of us having slipped away to indulge an interestwhich even you must admit isa natural one. I had never met Flora before, butit struck me at once that she was very young to be in such a place unchaperoned.In addition, her enthusiasm, quite natural in itself, might have beenmisinterpreted by a more worldly eye.” She paused, trying to phrase herexplanation in a way that would present Flora in a better light. She hated anddespised this man, but her own feelings must not be permitted to do harm tothe younger girl. She went on in a quieter voice.“Flora was so enchanted with the whole experience that she was—” Tinasought for words—”perhaps more exuberant than—than—”“She was making a show of herself,” finished the Duke grimly. “Whatexactly was she doing?”“She was—er—hanging over the railing of the box, staring at the audiencewith interest and pleasure,” answered Tina.The Duke groaned. “And of course making herself the focus of attentionfor every lecherous—”“She is very young,” protested Tina. “She had no idea!”The Duke drew a breath. “What next did my idiotic niece do?”“I engaged her attention, and managed to draw her away from the frontof the box. We conversed very amiably until the play started, when of coursewe both attended to the action upon stage. It was in the first interval—” Hervoice faltered.The Duke raised his eyebrows. “Now we get to it. You invited somefriends to your box?”“You are the most insulting, bigoted, foul-minded man I have ever had themisfortune to meet!” seethed Tina.The Duke laughed derisively. “I know your sort! No more pseudo-virtuousbridlings, no more play-acting! I want the truth—at once!”Tina set her teeth. “At the first interval two men came into the box withoutknocking. I hid in the shadows, my hood over my head. No, before youask me! I had never seen either of them before. They announced to your niecethat their names were Milton and Thomas, and asked Flora who they had the pleasureof meeting. I told them I found their grammar as offensive as their manners.”Again surprising her, the Duke laughed. “Ever the pedant!” he mocked.“You cannot have it both ways,” Tina flared. “If I am a pedant, I am not—”“Not what?” mocked her tormentor. “You are well read enough toknow that some of the greatest courtesans have been intelligent, evencultured women.”“Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?” gritted Tina, unable tobear his mockery.“Tell on!” His teeth flashed in a grin.She could not understand the mood that seemed to have seized him. Hiseyes glinted with laughter, yet he had accused her of dreadful things! Tinashook her head, wishing that she had some of Maddy Cope’s understandingof the male sex. “The proper study of mankind is man,” she heard herself saying,to her horror.The Duke grinned at her. “Now I wonder why Pope’s Essay on Manshould be on your mind at this moment? Can it be that there is a man youwish to understand?”“Quoting poetry is a bad habit we Bluestockings have, so my Grandmotherinforms me. She despairs of launching me successfully. And of courseshe is right. With enemies like you, Your Grace, no woman could hope to beaccepted in Society.”Even in the dim light, Tina could see that he was frowning angrily. “Itis not my disapproval but your own immature behavior which will bar youfrom the Polite World! You have not yet told me what happened in thetheater box tonight.”“At first,” said Tina in a low voice, “the two men took me for Flora’s chaperone.I had my hood up, as I told you. Flora at once disabused them—”“She would!” muttered the Duke.Tina paid him no attention. “They urged Flora to go down to the lobbywith them for a glass of punch. I tried to dissuade her. When she insisted, I—I concocted a tale.”“Predictably,” agreed the Duke provocatively.Again the girl ignored his interruption. “I reminded her of the time heruncle discovered an unsuitable youth paying court to her. Hiring two bullies,this uncle had the unfortunate youth beaten into insensibility. Thomas andMilton retreated with more haste than dignity.”“Was I the rather inadequate hero of your tale?”Tina refused to rise to this challenge. “Since I did not then know Flora’suncle was Renfrew,” she said quietly, “you were not.”“Or you would have made my role in the drama even less heroic?”Tina continued doggedly. “After the men withdrew, Flora was alarmed atthe unpleasant possibilities of her situation. We came home in a hackney.That is the story.”The Duke, silent, gave his horses the office to proceed. The journey toTina’s home was speedily accomplished. The Duke helped her out andaccompanied her to the door.“Shall I ring, or do you prefer to slip in by a side door?”Disdaining to answer, Tina plied the knocker. Then she turned to theshadowy figure beside her. “I should be grateful if you would leave at once,”she said quietly. “I shall have enough trouble without having to explain you.”Laughing quietly, the Duke made her a bow and strode back to his curricle.He had driven away before her grandmother’s butler opened the door.

Chapter 6

Tina’s grandmother did not learn of her misadventure. Dolby, thebutler, with whom Tina hadcome to be a prime favorite, simplyneglected to mention that he had let Miss Tina into the house atmidnight, when everyone else, including Lady Delia, believed herto be safely tucked into her bed hours earlier.Dolby had a word with the girl as he served her breakfast the followingmorning. As he offered her a platter of delicious baked hamslices, the butler asked her in stern fatherly tones where she had been lastnight and with whom. Looking up at his kindly, concerned face, Tinatold him.His advice, quietly given and gratefully received, was that Miss Tinarefrain from flouting the established rules of Society, lest she become notorious,find herself unsought, and dwindle into an ape-leader.Much struck by this dismal picture, Tina assured him that she would followhis advice to the letter. He refilled her cup, presented the ham a secondtime, and expressed the opinion that the day would be fine. Tina agreed, andthey parted with mutual respect.Six days later Lady Delia came into the library, where Tina was working onher book. The girl saw at once that her grandmother was in high gig. A sympatheticsmile brightened her rather solemn face.“Do open the budget, Grandmama,” she coaxed. “I can see you are cocka-hoop about something!”For once ignoring the child’s regrettable tendency to use cant, Lady Deliathrust an invitation into her hands. Tina scanned the impressive missive withmounting interest and pleasure.His Grace the Duke of Renfrewrequests the honour of the companyof the Lady Cordelia Camdenand Miss AthenaLong at a Ball…“But Grandmama, this is impossible—!”“And why do you say that, you silly girl, when you hold the invitation inyour hand?” Lady Delia frowned. “I wonder what caused his change of heart?I was so certain he had taken you in dislike! He is such an arrogant creature,playing Providence with everyone’s life!”“Why, then, we must refuse his invitation, and teach him that he can’tdirect our lives,” said Tina, more cheerfully than she felt.“Are you mad?No one refuses Renfrew!” said her grandmother absently.She was already planning her campaign to get her beloved, if difficult, grandchildfirmly established in Society. “We have a week. Time to get a new dressfor you, my dear. I have never felt that you looked your best in the pastelswhich seem to be reserved for débutantes. Pink! Baby blue! Missish. With yourlovely, unusual coloring, I think, perhaps…apricot!”Tina could feel laughter rising within her like a warm, bubbling tide. Thearrogant Duke had sent her—despised double-dealer though he had namedher—an invitation to his Ball! She chuckled softly.“Apricot? Are you planning to drape me in fresh fruit?”Lady Delia rightly ignored this badinage. She went on, firmly. “Yes, that’sthe color! It will give your face warmth, and set off your beautiful hair andeyes. I’ll go to Melanie. Something rather special, I think. None of this ingénueplainness. And the Camden pearls, of course.”Tina expressed her gratitude suitably, but there had come into her expressiona little uncertainty. Lady Delia, sharp-eyed, saw it and challenged her.“I wonder,” asked Tina slowly, “why he has done it? Could it be some plotto pay me back for my unguarded comments at the Nairn Ball?”“He has probably been observing your behavior at the last few functionswe have attended, and has realized that your pert remarks on the evening ofyour first meeting were due to nervousness, and were not characteristic ofyou, my dear! He may be arrogant, but Renfrew is a just man, I would swearto it! I am sure that is what has happened.” She stared at Tina. “Circumspection.That must be your watchword, Athena. If Renfrew is seen to have forgivenyou, the voucher for Almack’s is in our hands!”Tina tried to master her resentment as she considered the power held bythe haughty Duke. It irked her that his slightest word should determine herfate and cut up or restore her grandmother’s peace. Strangely enough, shestill felt that odd warm glow of happiness within her. He had changed hismind! Or,more interesting, had a change of heart, as Lady Delia had put it.Could it be that he had begun to like her? Tina frowned. It was probably justthat he was grateful for her rescue of Flora.Tina had not heard from the girl since the night at the theater. She hopedher formidable Mama had not sent her into limbo as she had threatened.Sighing, Tina watched her grandmother bustling out of the library on thefirst of many important errands connected with the invitation—not the leastimportant of which would be to discover whether her old friend’s granddaughterJennifer had also been invited. Tina turned resolutely back to hercomposition. The book which she had coaxed Lady Delia into permitting herto work on was the fruit of an idea she had had while watchingher maid andthe maids of her mother and sister at Malong Hall. The young servants hadbeen pathetically anxious to “improve themselves” so that they might be asknowledgeable as the Town servants who frequently accompanied their mistressesto visit withthe Longs. At one point, Athena had decided to work withthe girls, improving their pronunciation and vocabulary, as well as openingto them just a glimpse of the life of the mind.Dulcinia Long had not approved of her bookish daughter’s efforts, but shehad merely warned Tina not to lead the chits to think above their station.At which moment, in a surge of anger which quite surprised herself, Tinahad resolved to create some sort of manual which young servants could useto enrich and enlarge their mental capacity. Hence the book. Of course LadyDelia had been horrified to learn what a ruinous diversion her grandchild wasengaging herself in, but when, at the end of a particularly powerful lecture onthe evils of appearing bookish, Lady Delia saw the stubborn set of Tina’s softlips, and the mulish thrust of her jaw, the older woman stopped with adespairing shake of the head.“I can see I am not having much effect upon you, Athena! Yet you agreedto be guided by me. Do you not realize that to be known as the author of abook puts you at once beyond the boundaries of the Beau Monde? A literarytradesperson! It would be awkward enough if you wrote amusing verses occasionally—for such faddish dilettantism is permissible among males and safely-married females. But a book about the education of servants! I cannot thinkwhat everyone would say! Can you not at least suspend work upon this volumeuntil you…that is, until—”“Until I am safely wedded?” Tina completed wryly. “Oh, Grandmother, ifyou only knew how urgently I long to put my mind to use, sometimes, uponsomething more challenging than the latest gossip! It was the dearth of mentalstimulation which drove me away from the Assemblies at home—and youknew it when you brought me to London.”Lady Delia nodded rueful agreement. “I cannot understand this need to beforever whetting your wits against a problem, but I will admit you have neverdeceived me about your weakness, child. Continue to work upon your tutelarytome, then, if you must,” and she twinkled at the now-smiling girl, “butas you love me, do not let anyone outside these walls know what you aredoing! I promise you, such knowledge will be fatal to all my plans for you!”Now as she turned once more to her work, Tina wondered if, in truth,she was sensible to continue in a campaign to catch an acceptable parti.Acceptable to whom? Her parents wished only for their charmingchangeling to be happy; Grandmother had the same goal, but saw it asbeing brought about through marriage to a man with social position. Tinastared at her manuscript without seeing it, as she asked herself the question:What would make me happy? Then to her shocked surprise, the image of adarkly handsome, mocking, arrogant face rose before her inner vision.…Renfrew!The one man in allLondon to whom the idea of marrying Miss AthenaLong would be the most repugnant! The man who had scorned, insulted,sneered at her! Who had even frustrated Lady Delia’s attempts to get her avoucher to Almack’s! How could his face, his name, come so powerfully intoher mind? Tina put away her manuscript in its special drawer and went to herroom, disturbed by her own wayward heart.

Chapter 7

Lady Delia’s dressmaker produced a triumph. The apricot gown was alland more than she had hoped. Its softly rich color gave delightfulwarmth to the pretty face; its artful draping made the most of thesmall slender figure. And it was, in truth, the perfect background forTina’s lovely hair. Lady Delia caught her breath as the girl entered her grandmother’sroom the night of the Duke’s Ball. She had never realized how hugeand mysteriously golden-shining Athena’s eyes could be, or how attractivewas her youthful grace. The current fashion was for tall, stately blondes withmassive bosoms and long-nosed, classical features. This girl was the antithesisof the mode, yet she managed to radiate a kind of magic sweetness in thenew gown.“The color suits you,” announced Lady Delia simply. Tina smiled. “I thinkso, too, Grandmama,” she said happily. “Who would have thought a simpleapricot had so much good in it!”“Is that a quotation?” asked Lady Delia suspiciously. “If so, I beg you not torepeat it.”Tina’s joyous ripple of laughter brought the smile back to her grandmother’sface. The older woman did herself present a noteworthy appear-ance. She had chosen brown velvet and the Camden rubies, and offered anopulent yet modish image.“I believe we shall do very well,” she said, leading the way down tothe carriage.Her words seemed prophetic. A veritable, crowd of Corinthians, Bloods,and petty noblemen surrounded Tina as soon as she had paid her respects toLady Sophia, acting as her brother’s hostess. This lady greeted her with coldcivility, saying only, “Ah, yes, you are the one who is interested in poetry,” asthough it were a gaucherie. Tina was thankful to escape to the warmth of theobvious interest of the Duke’s male guests.As for the Duke himself, she had refused to face him as she followed hergrandmother down the reception line. She had kept her eyes upon his chest,tonight elegantly robed in a shirt and cravat of finest lawn. As his large handclasped her small one, he had pressed quite hard, and turned the fingers slightly.“What! No ink stains?” he murmured wickedly, enjoying the quick rush oftender color to the girl’s cheeks.He cannot know of the manuscript! was the girl’s first terrified thought. Thenshe recalled that Bluestockings were supposed to be distinguished by inkyfingers, or at least dusty ones, and drew a thankful breath. She moved quicklydown the line, accepting introductions to the Duke’s heir, Harry, whosnubbed her; Flora, looking very subdued and unhappy, but brightening atsight of Tina’s face; and ending with Nigel, Flora’s younger brother, who hada pleasant open friendliness which soothed Tina’s exacerbated spirits.The healing continued very prosperously under the marked attentionsTina received during the evening. In fact, the only man who did not seem towant to know her better was her host, who, after his initial greeting, did notseem aware of her presence. Tina told herself that as the host, the Duke hadof course to do many duty dances, and was encouraged in this belief bycatching sight of him moving gracefully around the dance floor with hergrandmother. But after the elaborate and delicious supper, which Tina andJennifer ate with four attentive young men as their partners, Tina felt a suddenweariness possess her. Somehow the evening, so eagerly awaited, hadturned heavy and dull. Looking around the circle of animated faces at hertable, she could not understand her deep sense of disappointment. When thegroup rose to return to the ballroom, Tina found herself strangely reluctantto follow.A hard hand caught her elbow as she lagged behind.“May I have this extra dance, Miss Long? The orchestra are playing severalshort dances while the guests are at dinner.”By this time, Tina and her impromptu partner were at the door of the ballroom.It was true; the musicians were rendering some dashing tunes of whicha number of young couples were taking advantage. Tina recognized Jenniferand Flora, both laughing and obviously pleased with their youthful partners.Tina turned her face up to meet the Duke’s intent gaze.“This is the Children’s Hour, I see,” she said with a wide, lovely smile.“Thank you for indulging us.”The Duke swept her rather roughly into his embrace. “We are neither ofus to be classed with the schoolroom set, Miss Long,” he said, irked that sheemphasized the difference in their ages.Tina’s heart fell. She had longed for this man to take her into his arms, yetnow he had done so, it seemed that they would be at odds during the briefdance. She tried another subject.“It was good of you to ask me to your Ball,” she began.“Flora made my life miserable until I did so,” the Duke replied coolly.“She has been forever plaguing me and my sister to ask you to becomeher companion—”Tina stiffened in his arms.“What arrogance!” she hissed, her small face flushed with anger. “I couldhave become a governess without coming to London for the Season! Do youthink Lady Camden would approve of my hiring out as a servant?”The Duke watched her furious little countenance with a rueful smile. “Ihave said it wrong again,” he acknowledged, but Tina was too hurt and angryto listen. “I only meant—”“You meant to put the devious little schemer in her place—as one of yoursister’s servants!” flamed Tina, a little restricted at having to conduct the quarrelin low tones. She tried to get out of the Duke’s arms, but the maddeningman merely tightened his embrace. Tina was about to create a scene when themusic ended, and the laughing young couples began to move off the floor.Jennifer and her swain came up on one side, and Flora hastened toward Tinaon the other.With a sardonic grimace, the Duke made his bow and walked away. I shallgo home at once, fumed Tina, but even as she thought it, she knew she couldnot so distress her grandmother. Making her excuses to Jennifer and Floraand their partners, she slipped away.Not to a conservatory, she advised herself. I do not have good fortune in sucha place. Opening a door, she was enchanted to discover a great library, withshelves of books on all four walls and a fine fire crackling in the grate. Tinadrew a breath of satisfaction and began to prowl along the walls. Within aminute she had found a book she had often heard of but never read, and hadsettled herself in guilty comfort at one end of the room beside a shaded lamp.She was interrupted in her absorbed appreciation of the book by thesound of the door suddenly being thrust open.Facing back into the hall, a girl with a head of blonde curls and a strikinggreen dress was speaking to someone, obviously a servant.“…now you will do as I instructed you—at once! Give my message toHis Grace.”Tina, putting down her book reluctantly, was rising to announce her surelyundesired presence when the girl went on. “Send another footman here tome this instant!”As the girl shut the door and turned into the room, Tina found herselfsinking down into the chairwhich was facing away from the door. The girlmoved toward the fire, humming softly to herself. Tina could see her clearlyin the firelight, although the great library was poorly illuminated by twosmall lamps. Tina recalled seeing the girl several timesduring the evening, forher voice was louder than average and her dress more extreme than Tina herselfapproved. Why had she sent for the Duke? Tina was appalled to realizethat she might be interrupting a planned rendezvous, and was about to riseand make whatever awkward excuses she could dredge up, when a knockcame upon the door and a servant entered.The girl whirled to meet him. “It took you long enough,” she snapped,and then went on. “Go to the card-room at once and find my father. He is SirOswald Pennet, a heavy-set man with a balding head. Tell him he is wantedin the Library—and stay with him to lead him here!”Tina sank down again into the chair. There was a plan afoot, that wasobvious, but whether it would be to His Grace’s benefit was not equally clear.At this instant the door opened without preliminary warning, and theDuke strode into the room. Seeing the girl waiting for him in front of the fire,which silhouetted her figure tantalizingly, he halted and frowned at her.“Miss Pennet! What is wrong? I received an urgent message—”While he was speaking, Colinette walked toward him, lifted her hand toher neckline and tore her gown from one white shoulder. Then, smiling, shetousled the careful arrangement of curls on her head. Looking shockinglydisheveled, she began to laugh at the expression on the Duke’s face.The door opened. With a swift movement, Colinette threw her armsaround the Duke’s shoulders.A heavy-set, balding man walked into the room, observed the tableau,and roared, “Your Grace, what is the meaning of this?”Tina came forward, clapping her hands. “Well done, Colinette! You would wina place in any theatrical company, I vow! I have never seen a better performance!”It was hard to tell which of her three auditors was the more astounded.Then Colinette, quick off the mark, began to sob noisily. Her father stared,red-faced, from one to another. The Duke’s hard, handsome countenance hadassumed its wonted hauteur.After a moment, Sir Oswald said grimly, “I demand that someone explainthis disgraceful scene to my satisfaction!”Tina smiled serenely at him. The Duke watched her intently. “I have beenhere in the library since supper. Your daughter came in, sent a footman tofetch the Duke, and one to bring you.” She turned to the other girl. “Colinette,perhaps you would wish to explain to your Papa what next occurred?”Colinette hissed at her. “I wish to say nothing! The situation speaks foritself!” She cast a languishing glance at the Duke.Sir Oswald glared at the silent nobleman who was now leaning casuallyagainst the mantel, watching the scene with an air of cynical amusement.Sir Oswald’s eyes darted from one to the other like an actor who has beengiven the wrong cue. Then he faced the Duke, blustering,“How do you explain this, My Lord Duke? My daughter’s disarray…her tears…?”“I make no effort to do so,” replied Renfrew imperturbably. “I am as muchin the dark as you appear to be, sir. I arrived here two minutes before you, tobe greeted by this—ah—situation. I can only infer,from what Miss Long says,that your daughter has been practicing for some sort of theatrical performance,and that the two of them wished to…surprise us.”Sir Oswald gnawed at his full lower lip. “I cannot accept that, My LordDuke! My daughter’s clothing ripped from her—her hair falling down—”“Why don’t you ask her?” suggested the Duke, obviously bored.The baron turned upon his daughter. “Well, Colinette, what has happened?”He glanced sourly at Tina. “What is this girl doing here?”The blonde minx turned a furious face toward the awkward witness to herstratagem. “You were here all the time?” she blurted. “Why did you not speakup sooner?. You’ve ruined everything, you interfering little bitch!”Tina laughed. “Perhaps you had better mind your tongue, Colinette. YourPapa and the Duke will be guessing that you had some sly little plan to entrapHis Grace—”“That’s a lie!” cried Colinette, and broke into heartrending sobs.It was too late. Her father, who might have supported her ploy had it notbeen for the unexpected observer, was now as angry at his bungling offspringas he had formerly been at her supposed seducer.“Pull your dress together and tidy your hair,” he said. “I’ll get yourcape and take you home.” He strode into the hall, slamming the doorbehind him.In the ensuing silence, Colinette pulled up her dress and ran her fingersthrough her hair. She did not look at either of her companions. Tina peepedat the massive, unbending figure of the Duke and glanced quickly away. Hewas not frowning, buthis expression, for some reason, frightened Tina.Ye gods! she thought, with a thrill of panic, he cannot believe that I was party toany of this!Sir Oswald, grim of face, returned with his daughter’s cloak. In silence hepulled it around her.The door was thrust open again, and a stout, sour-visaged dame sweptinto the room, scanned the occupants, and said in a very loud voice, “Whatis the meaning of this?”The Duke lifted one cynical eyebrow. “Not again!”Lady Pennet ignored him. “Colinette, why are you here in this state ofdishevelment? she began, and then her eyes returned to her well-cloakeddaughter with surprise and censure.“It won’t fudge, Mama,” said Colinette sharply. “This—this little drab hasbeen here the whole time.”Lady Pennet made a quick recovery. “You mean there has been an orgytaking place in this very room?” Her small eyes darted from one to anotheras she assessed her chances at some discreet extortion.Tina gave her a complacent smirk. “I am the Duke’s fiancée. Oh, we havenot announced it as yet,” she said, in reply to the utter incredulity on three ofthe four faces before her. “You will understand that arrangements must be made!I trust you will not seek to make public what you have heard here tonight? Gossipcan be so awkward,can it not?” And she looked meaningly at Colinette.Sir Oswald caught his wife’s arm as she opened her mouth to continue theattack. “Shut up, Ophelia!” he advised tersely. “That cock won’t fight.”When the Pennets had closed the door behind them, Tina exhaleddeeply. “Phew!”“Yes,” agreed the Duke. He watched her as she walked over and sat downnear the fire. “I suppose you think you have done something clever?”“As a matter of fact, I do,” admitted Tina smugly. “I believe the phrase issaved your bacon.”“And of course you had nothing to do with the original conspiracy,” hecontinued smoothly.Tina flung back her head proudly. “Your Grace, I did not!”“I do not choose to believe you,” the Duke said coldly. He held up arestraining hand. “Oh, perhaps you were not in the little minx’s confidenceearlier, but you were quick enough to take advantage of the situation, wereyou not? ‘I am the Duke’s fiancée,’” he quoted savagely. “And you tell me youdon’t know that will be all over London by tomorrow evening?”“But I warned her not to gossip, lest I spread the story of her daughter’strick,” faltered Tina.“Are you naive enough to think that will stop her? If she gets her story infirst, anything you may say will be taken as mere desperate defence.” Hescanned her appalled face sardonically. “Oh, you have feathered your nestwell, little opportunist!”Tina’s dark eyes met his steadily, although her face was pale. “You cannotbelieve that,” she pleaded.The Duke’s derisive smile was his only answer.Tina set her jaw. “I shall return home at once,” she said quietly. “When Iam no longer in view, any possible gossip must die for want of an object.”“Running away? Is that your only response when you have suffered a setback?”sneered His Grace. “Think a moment! If the new fiancée suddenly disappears,what a feast that will offer to the gossip-mongers! They will be sayingI have murdered you.” And from the look on his face, Tina feared that wasjust what he would like to do.“No, we must play the game as you have announced it, little schemer,” hesaid coldly. “I promise you, I’ll make you regret your double-dealing,”“Let us break it off, publicly,” pleaded the girl.The Duke laughed harshly. “You think that will restore my prestige? To bejilted by a wretched chit of a Bluestocking?”“Then you may jilt me, publicly!” urged the girl, now appalled at the situationinto which her light-hearted, well-meaning words had plunged them both.His Grace regarded her consideringly. “It occurs to me that I might find a usefor you, Athena. What a misnomer that is,” he added, mockingly. “Goddess of Wisdom!You’ve scarce two wits to rub together, making such a totty-headed play as toclaim to be my affianced wife! Why did you do it, if not to feather your own nest?”“I was trying to save you from a rather sordid little plot which that girl wassetting up under my very eyes,” protested Tina.“By seeking to victimize me yourself?” prodded the Duke scornfully. “Alikely story!”“What use—can you find for me?” pleaded Tina, seeking to end his sneeringquestions by harking back to his disturbing statement.His Grace pursed well-cut lips. “It will suit me to permit the subterfuge tocontinue during this Season. I shall use you to fend off further attempts atforcing me to the altar.”“Are you not afraid I might take advantage of you?” challenged the girl,for some reason very sore at heart.The Duke laughed harshly. “I am completely in control of the situation,”he said. “When I am safely through the Season, I shall discover that we arenot, after all, suited, and renounce the relationship. With your full agreement,”he added, threateningly.Tina glowered at him. Wild thoughts of vengeance pulsed in her mind.Renounce the engagement, would he? What if she were first to do so? Infront of his friends? That would serve him right!The Duke watched the angry, uncertain expression with an enigmatic smile.“Go and fetch your grandmother here,” he ordered. “I shall set up mystrategy with her before making the—public announcement.”“Oh, cannot it wait until tomorrow?” urged Tina. Every minute she stayedclose to this overpowering male, her senses weakened her will. He was so—masculine, all the magnificent height and strength and virility of him! Shefeared to draw a breath, lest his male ambience quite unnerve her.The Duke grinned callously. “Beginning to find it is not as easy as yousupposed? Get your grandmother! I won’t tell you again!”In a blaze of fury, Tina swept from the library, pursued by low,mocking laughter.Lady Delia was more surprised thanher granddaughter when the Dukeannounced his decision. After welcoming her to the room, inquiring after herhealth, asking if she had enjoyed the Ball, and receiving her gracious assurances,the wretched man cocked a derisive eyebrow at the fuming Tina.“I have asked that you meet me here in private so that we may resolve arather delicate situation,” he began. “It has been agreed between your granddaughterand myself that we should announce our engagement tonight, atthis Ball—”The normally composed Lady Camden gasped “What?” and stared incredulouslyfrom His Grace to Tina. Then, making a quick recovery, she said, “Butthat is quite impossible! Her parents—”“It must be tonight,” said the Duke portentously.“How he is enjoying this, the devil!” thought Tina, seeing the flow of expressions—alarm, suspicion, dismay—which moved across Delia’s countenance.“There is nothing like that,” Tina said austerely, and was enraged toobserve His Grace smothering a laugh.“I do not understand,” whispered Lady Delia. “I beg you to confide in me,dear child.”“There is nothing to confide, Grandmama,” said Tina hotly, her eyes defiantupon the Duke’s. “It is only that—”“That we have agreed to announce our engagement,” interposed the Dukesmoothly, “and I should like it, above all things, to have you at my side asAthena and I face the guests in a few minutes.” He smiled beguilingly at theconfused older woman. “Will you not give us your blessing, Lady Delia? I amsure Athena’s parents will be happy to be guided by your decision!”He slanted a mocking glance at Tina. Since you came here to London for the solepurpose of catching a husband, his smile told her. Tina had not enough nous tofence with a man of the Duke’s sophistication. Desperately she told herselfshe would explain everything to her grandmother, refuse to sanction theannouncement, rush from the mansion into the street—and while she wasreviewing these unsatisfactory alternatives, the Duke was bowing over thehand of a suddenly gracious Lady Camden.“Thank you for your generosity and your support,” his deep voice soundedlike a knell in Tina’s ears. He offered an arm to both ladies, led them fromthe room, paused for a moment to speak a word to his imposing butler, andthen led his two companions slowly and witha sudden air of great formalityinto the ballroom.The musicians were resting between dances. The Duke continued hisslow and imposing progress directly across the shining floor. Gradually thesmall party was observed, and the guests stood back to provide it free passage.It had all the dignity of a royal progress, Tina thought, unable to facethe curious, envious, or startled stares of her fellow-guests.In the event, her rosy cheeks and lowered glance did her no harm withthe sticklers present. Lady Deliaalso contributed to the correctness and toneof the proceedings. The older woman was much liked in the Ton, for she wasunfailingly good natured and kind. So it was with almost universal good will,albeit with rampant curiosity, that the guests crowded in after the trio to learnthe reason for His Grace’s behavior.His announcement stunned his guests. There was a hiss of comment, severalstartled exclamations, and finally a general murmur of congratulations. CharlesVernell hastened forward, with Flora on his arm, to shake his friend’s hand whileFlora kissed Tina’s cheek. Then the Duke indicated the doorway, where the butlerappeared, attended by half a dozen footmen bearing trays of glasses.“I invite you to pledge the health of my fiancée, and our happiness,” hecalled out. The footmen were busy with glasses and champagne. Lady Sophiaappeared at His Grace’s shoulder, affronted that he had not informed her ofthe step he was taking, but unwilling to remain out of the limelight at thisimportant moment. Soon the Duke had arranged an informal line of his family,Charles, Lady Delia, and Tina, to receive the guests’ congratulations andgood wishes.Once or twice during the reception, after some particularly outrageousexpression of his happiness in his new estate, the Duke slanted a malicioussmile at Tina. She smiled back with saccharine sweetness, which unfortunatelyonly seemed to amuse the wretched creature.When the seemingly endless parade of well-wishers had finally passed,the Duke gave a sign to the leader of the orchestra. The musicians obliginglystruck up a sentimental waltz, and His Grace the Duke of Renfrew led hisnew fiancée out onto the floor. Tina cast him an agonized glance.Through a wide, fixed smile he murmured down at her, “Oh, yes, my dear,you are going to dance with me for as long as I wish. I intend to get full measurefrom this—this engagement. Now smile, and don’t miss your step!”Cruel beast! Tina set her jaw, lifted her head and swung out with all the styleof which she was capable. He should not shame her in front of his curious,back-biting friends! Athena Long would prove herself equal to whatever challengethis hateful man could make.Well content with the success of his strategy, the Duke swung his littledeceiver gracefully around the floor, and a number of his acquaintances beganto think that John Stone had chosen more wisely than they had at first decided.For the girl, an unknown debutante, looked positively regal—or at least, ducal—in a most attractive gown, whose warm color brought a delicately becomingflush to her pretty face. All that lovely shining hair, thought some of the seasonedBucks: how erotic it would look spread across a white pillow! And those huge, golden, eyes: howchallenging they were in that sweet face! How they would melt and glow with passion!The female observers murmured their surprise and aired their conjecturessotto voce. It might be unwise, to say the least, to be overheard criticising thefuture Duchess of Renfrew. A very few dissidents openly questioned the suitabilityof the unequal match, and a few others demanded plaintively to betold who this Miss Athena Long could be, since one had never met her atAlmack’s! But Flora’s enthusiastic pleasure in the match, and Lady Delia Camden’ssmiling confidence, went far to silence conjecture.Gradually the floor filled with other dancers, and the agony of being thefocus of all eyes was reduced for Tina.“Can we stop now?” she muttered to her smiling partner.“Do not tell me you are tiring of me already, Miss Long? I shall expect abetter show of interest than that, for the duration of our engagement.”“I warn you, sir—” began Tina in a low, husky voice, “do not push me too far!”“You warn me?” mocked her tormentor. “But I am sure your greedy littleplan involves seducing me into making this sham engagement a reality!” Hepulled her body close to his. “Does it not?”Tina’s step faltered. Wide eyes fixed upon his, her face slowly drained of color.The Duke held her firmly, his own gaze puzzled and wary. “Are you tryingto pretend that you are not the hardened coquette I judged you?” heasked. “You’ll catch cold at that!”“Your crudity offends me,” whispered Tina.“Crudity? Shall I put it in literary mode, Miss Pedant? Repeat Juliet’sfather’s command to fettle your fine joints? Did you think I would accept thisforced engagement without recompense?” he sneered. “Ill demand paymentwhen I am ready. In the meantime, remember not to defy or anger me, andyou will find I am not so harsh a master.”Then with a mocking smile, he returned her to the chaperonage of his sisterand Lady Delia, whence Charles Vernell swept her off immediately to dance. Andso it went for the rest of what was surely the most exciting Ball of the Season.

Chapter 8

The last guest had hardly disappeared through the massive frontdoors before Lady Sophia turned on her brother in furious confrontation.“You will explain this—this preposterous, degrading rigyou are running!”Flora and Charles, who had been laughing together at some incident thathad occurred, were instantly silent as the virulence of Lady Sophia’s attackregistered itself upon their attention.The Duke endured his sister’s furious glare calmly.“What rig is that, my dear Sophia?”“This shameful, hurried announcement of your marriage, made withoutconsultation with me—”“What have you to say about whom or when I marry?” asked the Duke in a voicewhose coldness would have warned a more sensitive woman than Lady Sophia.“If I had been born a man!” she raged, the old, festering wound driving herto dangerous outspokenness.“Thank God you were not,” snapped her brother, for once losing hishabitual composure. “For a worse representative of ducal dignity I couldscarcely imagine.”Astonished by this sudden flare-up of antagonism, Charles and Floraexchanged anxious glances.Sophia was not yet routed. “Perhaps you will condescend to enlightenme,” she sneered, “just when the decision to wed this country miss was discussedwith the family? I have heard nothing of it!”“You heard it tonight, when I made the announcement.”“That does not satisfy me! To be left ignorant and embarrassed before agaping crowd of my friends, all of whom demanded to know why they hadno hint of this—this amazing development—!”“I am afraid the satisfaction of your friends’ curiosity is not a matter ofmoment to me,” the Duke advised her frigidly.“But you have consistently refused to consider wedding any of a numberof highly acceptable young females in the last ten years!” shouted Sophia,beside herself with anger and resentment. If he did indeed intend to marrythis girl, he would assuredly come up with an heir within the year—and then,alas for all her hopes!“Perhaps I have fallen in love,” suggested the Duke in the silky toneswhich so enraged her.“Love! Pah!” she snorted. “No matter how poorly you fulfil the Ducal role,I had considered you superior to such middle-class fustian!” She paused,shocked out of her tantrum by the sudden implacable contempt on theDuke’s features.“I shall forget this entire conversation, Sophia.” He stared her down untilher gaze fell before his. “You would be well employed checking Gogo’s currentactivities,” he advised coldly. “He has borrowed against next quarter’sallowance twice already, and my secretary tells me he has debts—and greedymistresses—all over town. I will subsidize his extravagances no longer!” Hisvoice had softened toward the end of this rebuke, but it was clear to his listenersthat his decision was inflexible.“I—I had not known,” faltered Lady Sophia. “It is not a mother’s businessto be prying into what her grown son is doing—”“But it is a sister’s right to dictate her brother’s behavior? To accuse him offailing his duty in front of witnesses?”Sophia looked abashed as she realized exactly what she had said, butthe glare she gave her brother as she swept out to her carriage was hostileand unforgiving.“Well!” breathed Flora uncertainly. “It appears that Mama has forgottenshe has a daughter.”“Charles will see you home,” said the Duke absently.“Delighted,” said his friend, “and then I shall return here.”The Duke raised a quizzical eyebrow.“As Your Grace’s best man, I shall need to be familiar with all the arrangements,”explained Charles with his most engaging grin.The Duke shrugged. “I suppose it was inevitable. Well then, return if youmust. I shall await you in the library.”Half an hour later, the Duke was pouring a glass of brandy for his friend.Silently he raised his own glass.Charles was not permitting that. “May I offer my sincerest congratulations,old fellow?” he asked, his expression appropriately solemn while hiseyes glinted with amusement.The Duke looked sceptical. “Thank you,” he responded. A rueful smiletwisted his lips.“It was a trifle sudden, was it not?” Charles continued. “I mean, I distinctlyrecall your saying that nothing on earth could get you to the altar…thatall women could be—ah—divided into two classes—”It seemed the Duke had not wasted his time while he waited for hisfriend’s return. He gestured with his empty brandy glass and correctedCharles solemnly. “All women, like all Gaul, can be divided into three parts.”He poured more brandy into his glass.“Which are?” prodded Charles, grinning.“Beautiful and stupid; bookish and ugly; and my sister Sophia. Who is,thank God, unique.”“Into which category are we to place your fiancée?” persisted the younger man.When the Duke refused to answer, Charles went on more seriously,“Flora’s in alt over the whole affair. She seems devoted to Miss Long. I gatherthey have met?”“Yes. Athena rescued the silly little noddy when she got herself into apickle at the theater—”Charles frowned. “Flora was at a theater—alone?”The Duke nodded. “Got some maggot in her brain and crept off by herself.Got a seat in a box which later was invaded by a couple of loose-screws,as Athena gave me the tale.”The younger man was appalled. “But John! The risk Flora took!”The Duke frowned. “All ended well, thanks to Athena. It seems she alsowas eager to enjoy Sheridan’s comedy, and found herself sharing Flora’s box.My—ah—fiancée managed to discourage the interlopers, and brought Florasafe home.”Shocked into sobriety, Charles whistled a thankful sigh. “No wonder youare grateful to Miss Long! I take it you were able to conceal the little adventurefrom your sister’s knowledge?”“Happily, yes.”When it appeared that the Duke had no intention of saying more,Charles persisted rashly, “Was it from gratitude that you asked Miss Long tobe your wife?” Meeting his friend’s icy stare, he went on, “No, don’t pokerup on me, John! I know you too well. You cannot keep telling me for monthson end that you despise the whole Female Sex, and then suddenly presentus with a wife—!”“I am not married yet,” said the Duke grimly. “What is more, I have nointention of discussing it further. If you have had enough brandy, Vernell, I’llbid you goodnight!”Quite unruffled by this rude dismissal, Charles laughed, clapped his oldfriend on the shoulder, and said, “I’ve often heard it said that a manbecomes prey to mental disorders at the thought of entering the weddedstate. I had not expected to find the imperturbable Duke of Renfrewreduced to such a pitiable state!”“Oh, go home!” snapped the imperturbable Duke with a snarl.After Charles had taken his leave, still laughing, the Duke sat in thelibrary glowering over his empty brandy glass. He told himself that MissAthena Long was a cheap opportunist, a wily schemer, and made severalother disparaging judgments. Then his conscience reminded him how quicklyand cleverly she had come to his defense, even after he had delivered adevastating snub and some insults whose crudity surprised himself. Why didthe female get under his guard so deeply and so successfully? She had savedhim when the unspeakable Pennet minx had sought to trap him. Her parentswere probably in it, too; at least the mother was. The Duke set his noble jaw.The harridan had probably put her daughter up to it! What a disaster such amarriage as that would have been! The Pennet woman was another Sophia.At least he had Athena Long to thank for getting him out of that trap! For agrim moment he wondered how he could have extricated himself if the Longgirl hadn’t popped out of the shadows.Another thought, even less pleasant, struck him. Could the two girls havebeen in an alliance to run a rig on him? It hardly seemed likely. ColinettePennet had looked shocked and then infuriated when Athena appeared. TheDuke was forced to give Athena the benefit of the doubt—at least until hecould marshal some real evidence against her.He tried again to think of another course of action which might have—how had the chit phrased it?—saved his bacon. There didn’t seem to be one,except for the line Athena had taken. It had been neatly done, actually. TheDuke grinned reluctantly. Little devil! She had played her role with intelligenceand self-possession, letting the minx and her precious father know therehad been an impartial witness to the attempted entrapment, then introducinga note of amusement that might have disarmedschemers less determined thanthe Pennets. Her gesture had even given them a way out, if they had wishedto take it. All a silly joke! Quickly forgotten! A grin of reluctant admiration softenedhis harsh expression.Athena. She had her wits about her, the little Wise One!At this thought, the Duke frowned again. She did indeed have her witsabout her. Could a country miss, in her first Season, act with such savoir faire,such instant comprehension and mastery of the Pennet’s attack? And towhat—or whose—actual benefit? For the result of her play-acting had been tosecure for herself the Catch of the Season.The Duke’s well-cut lips drew into a sneer. She had probably believed hewould be grateful—or stupid—enough to let her get away with her trick! Well,John Stone would show the little plotter just what she’d won by her wiles! Andmake damned sure she didn’t enjoy it! At the end of the Season, he’d drop herso firmly that she’d never dare to show herself in London for a second Season.Somehow the idea of having Miss Athena Long in his power for thenext few months was a surprisingly enjoyable one. Getting up from hischair, the Duke walked over to pour himself another glass of brandy. Suchaction had become a necessity, for John Alexander George Stone, twelfthDuke of Renfrew, now well over halfway drunk, most reluctantly foundhimself listening to the very small voice of his Conscience, which wasfirmly reminding him that his only evidence for the girl’s duplicity was hisown jaundiced opinion of women in general. His Conscience was also presentinghim with a vivid picture of a pair of amazing golden eyes whichhad met his in open honesty, her very outrage at his charges disprovingthose same charges. In vain His Grace reminded himself that females wereconsummate actresses; that they were prone to duplicity; that they were atthe same time wily and stupid. And quite incapable of loyalty to anyoneor anything but themselves.It was no use. He could not get those lovely eyes, so open and honest,out of his memory. In a quite uncharacteristic act of fury, the Dukeflung his brandy glass against the fireplace and smashed it into pieces. Allright! Athena Long was not a schemer! The Duke prided himself uponbeing a pretty acute judge of his fellow men—and women—and to thebest of his knowledge and belief, Athena Long was neither dishonestnor self-seeking.And so he would still continue to enforce the control he had gained overher. He would use her as a shield against the scheming little Pennet and herilk. And at the end of the Season, he would give Athena a rare treat (at themoment unspecified), and perhaps even assist her toward that suitable matchfor which she had undoubtedly come to London.The thought pleased him so little that the Duke, completely exasperated,staggered upstairs to his ducal bedchamber in a fury all the blacker forbeing incomprehensible.Drunk as a wheelbarrow! judged the footman, putting out the hall lightsthankfully. He did not blame his master. Any man, caught at last, was entitledto drown his sorrows.Driving home in her luxurious town carriage, Lady Delia beamed at hersurprising grandchild. It would seem that, in spite of several severe handicaps,the child had, virtually unaided, captured the finest Prize in theMarriage Stakes.“Are you going to tell me how you did it?” she demanded, when she couldwait no longer.Tina showed no disposition to be coy. “I was trying to save him from ascheming female—and he let me,” she said morosely.Naturally Lady Delia could not rest until she had discovered the wholestory. Then, sitting back against the squabs, she began to chuckle. “I mightbe tempted to comment that ‘Fools rush in—’ except that no one who haspulled off the coup of the Season could be labelled a fool. How do you andyour fiancée intend to proceed?”Tina’s sore heart misgave her. The Duke’s scarcely veiled threats, his crudeinsinuations, had left her with no desire to prolong their association. Surelyhe had not meant what he implied? He had been angry, of course. He hadrightlyresented the manipulations of the Pennet girl and her parents. Butsurely he had seen her own action for what it was? An impulsive, perhapsfoolish, but never self-seeking gesture to defend an innocent man from beingblatantly victimized? She sighed.“Let us wait and see what His Grace wishes to do,” she begged. “I amsure he will have a fine plan to get us all out of this entanglement. Youknow, even better than I, how absurd it is to think of him wishing towed me!”Lady Delia was smiling. “We must burn your manuscript at once,” shedecided, in a characteristic non sequitur. “Do not mention your book, I begof you! It would be more than enough to wreck everything if it were evenhinted that you—write.” The last word was a whisper.Some unconquerable spirit within the girl caused her to admit with a wrysmile, “But dear Grandmama, I took the finished book in to the printer today.Perhaps that is our way out of this intolerable impasse! He can shed me withoutshame to either of us!”“Do you really think so?” inquired her grandparent. “The Duke may findsome on the fringes of society who would not condemn him for breaking hisplighted word, but you, poor child, would be best advised to enter a nunneryat once—or go back to Malong Hall,” as though the two alternatives wereequal in ignominy.This matter-of-fact judgment was sufficient to stifle dialogue. The twoladies rode on in silence.

Chapter 9

Lady Sophia Rate arose at an unseasonably early hour the nextmorning, determined to discover the full and true facts in thematter of her brother’s engagement. For all that she was arrogant,mean spirited, malicious and vindictive, she was not stupid, andnothing about last night’s announcement was in her brother’s usual style.Throughout a wakeful night she had searched her memory for any detail,however small, about the unworthy Miss Athena Long. Lady Sophiaspent the morning following up these scanty clues. By noon, she restedin triumph.After a refreshing luncheon, she sent a footman with an urgent invitationto Miss Long in Portman Square, and summoned Flora to her sitting room.The girl arrived happily, bursting into excited comment upon UncleJohn’s engagement.“I would rather hear a little more about the poetry-reading you attendedwith Miss Long,” said her Mama, repressively.Flora’s eyes widened apprehensively, and she lost some of her bright color.Her mother nodded sourly. “There was no invitation to a soirée, was there?Or if there was, you did not accept it. Do not bother to lie about it! I havetalked to Lady Gracelle Manning. She informs me neither you nor Miss Longattended her poetry-reading.”“You are determined to have it all over London,” accused Flora. “Have youno care for my reputation?”“That is what you are here to talk about,” snapped Lady Sophia. “Whereexactly did you go that evening, and how does that Long girl come into it?”Haltingly, with frequent corrosive comments from her Mama, Flora toldher story. When she was finished, Lady Sophia said, “At least, between you,you have kept the matter from becoming common knowledge—one thing tobe thankful for in this imbroglio! I shall send you down to Bodiam Castletoday, and then see what is to be done about rescuing Renfrew from thisharpy’s clutches. She has used your folly for her own selfish gain.”“Miss Athena Long,” announced the butler, issuing the girl into Milady’ssitting room.“Be seated,” commanded Lady Sophia. Then, meeting Tina’s cool glance,she said, less harshly, “If you please.”Tina, smiling gently at Flora, took a chair close to her.“You may go to your room, Flora,” said her mother.Flora drew a sustaining breath. “I would prefer to remain,” she said. “It ismy future, you know! And I don’t wish you to say things to Athena whichwill hurt her…” Her voice trailed off under the impact of Lady Sophia’sastounded stare.“You are defying me, Flora?”“You so often say—things which—which I’m sure you don’t mean. I wouldnot have you tell Miss Long I did not love her as dearly as a sister,” said thegirl doggedly.“Just what did you wish to say to me, Lady Sophia?” asked Tina, to diverther hostess from a further attack upon the younger girl.“I wished to inform you that I know the whole of the disgraceful romp youled my daughter into at the theater—”“Mama!” protested Flora.“Be silent, or I will have you taken to your room! I wished to inform you,Miss Long, that your little game is ended. Whatever the threats you haveused to prevail upon Renfrew to make you an offer, they will not avail younow. I intend to denounce publicly the whole conspiracy. I give you this singlechance to break off the engagement at once. Tomorrow I shall act!”“You have no hesitation at blackening your daughter’s name, or makingyour brother a laughing-stock?” asked Tina coolly.Her poise surprised her antagonist. Lady Sophia continued in a lower voice.“Renfrew may have to suffer a few jests, but our position is strong enough toweather the storm of conjecture and criticism,” she said complacently.“You hate him, do you not?” asked Tina. “I had heard it said, but had notbelieved it. Your own brother! And do not forget that his consequence is, inpart, your own. The name will suffer if you do as you say.”“I shall of course make it worth your while to renounce Renfrew,” herladyship continued, paying no attention to what Tina had said. “I have notifiedmy secretary that a lump sum is to be brought to me here in a few minutes.You will take that and leave London. After having renounced your claimto my brother publicly.”Flora began to cry softly. The girl’s grief was the last straw to a sensibilityalready exacerbated by the insults, unwarranted assumptions, and generalnastiness of Lady Sophia.“I seriously hope you have not, in fact, given your secretary such an order,Lady Sophia,” Tina said in a low, tightlycontrolled voice. “I intend going toHis Grace immediately to inform him of your threats. I am sure he will beable to deal with your plan as it deserves.”She walked out of the room, down the wide stairway, across the ornatelyfurnished hall and out through the front door to where her grandmother’scarriage waited in the street. Seated within its comfortable interior, she gaveway to the shock and dismay which had shaken her at the disclosure of LadySophia’s venom. It was several minutes before she could steady her voiceenough to give directions to the waiting groom.“Please ask Tom Coachman to take me to the residence of the Duke ofRenfrew,” she managed.When the carriage was rolling on its way, Tina sank back against the velvetsquabs and dealt with the tempest of alarm, fear, and mounting angerwithin her. Through it all persisted a picture of poor Flora, frightened andcrying bitterly, her red hair bright above her pallid little face.When the coach drew up before the Duke’s Town House, Tina was readyfor the encounter. She was able, with a steady glance from her amber-browneyes, to intimidate Cullon, His Grace’s butler, into leading her to the library.Within minutes, the door swung open again, and a grim-looking noblemanadvanced toward her.“If you say, ‘To what do I owe the honor of this call?’ in that odiouslytoplofty voice, I shall strike you!” she told the big man.A smile slowly softened his harsh expression, but it did not have a similareffect upon Tina’s temper. “Do not laugh at me!” she snapped. “Thanks to yourimpossible sister, we face social disaster!”Silently the Duke indicated a comfortable chair. Tina sank into it, beingby this time ready for support of any kind. He took his place close to her.“Try to calm yourself, Miss Long.”This reasonable request acted like a red cloak to a bull.“Calm myself—? Just wait until you hear—”“I am waiting,” said the Duke unforgivably.Without further ado, Tina emptied the budget. As she spoke, His Grace’scountenance assumed a grimmer aspect. At the end he rose sharply to his feetand began to stride up and down.“How long ago did Sophia spew out this detestable nonsense?”“I came directly to you from her house.”“We shall return there at once.”“You may go there,” objected Tina. “I shall certainly not do so. If I amforced to listen to any more of her venom, I shall—do her an injury!”His Grace glanced at her sharply. “What do you intend doing?”“I am returning home to Malong Hall today. I wish nothing more to dowith any member of your family.”“Not even poor little Flora?” asked the Duke softly, taking what Tina feltwas a despicable advantage of her softheartedness. Then, before she couldrespond to that appeal, he said with a cold smile, “So we see exactly howmuch your protests on her behalf are worth! Run away to your rustic retreatlike a scared little mouse, then, Miss Bluestocking! Or is it that your pedant’sheart is too dry and self-absorbed to admit a lonely child?”Quite justly enraged by these unwarranted and diverse attacks, Tina clenchedher small fists and glared into her tormentor’s icy countenance. “Of course I careabout Flora! Did I not miss the Sheridan play to see her safely home? But I canscarcely admit her to my heart if she’s banished to a remote castle somewhere—probably locked in a dungeon!” She halted, glowering at his suddenly sympatheticface. His warmth affected her like the sunshine breaking through clouds.She drew a trembling breath, her eyes wide on the handsome face so close to her.The disturbing creature seemed well aware of the effect he was havingupon her. “You are quite a little fury, for a dry female pedant, are you not? Ihad not known that soft amber eyes could flash with so much fire!” Tina foundherself disarmed as he continued in a civil tone, “If I can promise that Flora willnot be sent down to moulder in the dungeons at Bodiam, will you in turn agreeto remain in London and befriend the child? That was all I meant when I askedyou last evening to become her companion, you know. Just be her friend,andaccompany her to all those delightful places she hungers to see—Astley’sTheater, the Wild Animal Enclosure, Mr. Sheridan’s latest play.” He paused,and his fine grey eyes ran over her changing countenance with a wickedsparkle. “Of course I shall have toaccompany you both to that particular diversion,shall I not? Perhaps with Charles? He too has a fondness for little Flora.”When Tina, too startled by this change of manner to reply, continued tostare warily at him, the Duke smiled and went on, in a strangely offhand way,“Of course there would be a few other—ah—obligations.”Tina would not permit herself to be duped by this new, wily softness.“Exactly what other obligations?” she demanded.The Duke shrugged. “Since you yourself announced our engagementinthe presence of one of London’s chief gossips, who had no reason to thinkkindly of either of us at that moment, I imagine you might be aware of yourobligations. Unless,” he went on with some of his normal provocativeness,“you really were trying to trap me yourself?.”Much though she resented it, Tina was forced to admit the logic of hiscomment. “I have told you I only did it to save you from being trapped by thatColinette! I could not permit anyone to be so ensnared!” she protested.Unwisely, as it proved.For His Grace retorted reasonably, “If that is true, you must remain in Londonto give credence to our mock engagement, must you not? We shall have to be seentogether at a few important soirées, Perhaps at some balls, and certainly at LadySally Jersey’s Ridotto, a highlight of the Season—and your entrée to Almack’s.”Tina was stunned. The bitter, unapproachable nobleman was acting asthough he actually found the idea of squiring Miss Athena Long to fashionableentertainments to be a pleasing one!More amazing, he had somehowsecured an invitation for her to the Season’s most important function, and, ifhis last remark could be credited, a voucher for her to attend the most exclusiveclub in London. Tina stared at the dark, saturnine corsair’s face, whichwas regarding her with complacent arrogance. What was he up to? Was heshowing her these delights, only to snatch them from her outstretchedhands? Tina had no way of knowing. So, being Tina, she asked him.“Why are you doing this for me, when you already had me barredfrom Almack’s?”“Perhaps I regret my hasty action. We are supposed to be engaged, you know.”Tina addressed her attention to that aspect of their problem almost withrelief. “You will need to harness your sister’s malice pretty promptly, if youwish our pseudo-engagement to be received with credence in the Ton. Shewarns me that if I am not out of town by tomorrow morning, she will spreadthe story that I took Flora to the theater and introduced her to some questionablepersons in order to force you to propose marriage.”“Is Sophia aware of Colinette’s attempt to blackmail me into an engagement?”asked the Duke sharply.“I said nothing about it,” answered Tina, “and no one else except thePennets know. They would hardly be eager to spread the news of theirdaughter’s trick, surely?”The Duke frowned. “It is impossible to judge how far Sophia would go inher efforts to embarrass me,” he said at length. “I believe we must confronther together, at once, and try to stop her vicious tongue. Come, Athena!”Rather to her surprise, for she would have wagered a large sum that nothingwould get her into That Woman’s house again, Tina found herself beingushered into Lady Sophia’s presence shortly thereafter.Their hostess greeted them with a predatory smile.“Now I wonder what can bring such an unlikely pair to my drawingroom?” she sneered. “Can it be my threat to make a certain announcement?”Watching the Duke’s face, Tina wondered with a small frisson of alarmhow even his redoubtable sister dared to use the word threat to him. However,when he spoke, the Duke’s voice was level and unemotional. “No, Sophia,I came to return your compliment.”Her confidence shaken, Lady Sophia demanded that he explain himself.“You did me the courtesy of warning me that you were going to spread acanard about my affianced wife and your own daughter. You know it is a lie—Flora and Athena have told you so. Yet, knowing it will dishonor our ancientand honorable name, make it a target for scorn, you still persist in your threat?”“I have courage, John,” Sophia blustered.“Then I will now give you notice of my intentions. A warning, if you like.”There was not even a hint of softness, of mercy or pity, in the Duke’s ironglance. “Tomorrow morning I shall instruct my agents to refuse to pay a singlebill from George’s creditors. The large amounts they currently give him,for his mistresses and hangers-on, at his urgent pleading, will no longer beavailable. Further, George is, from tomorrow morning, to be persona nongrata in any residence or club of mine…”Lady Sophia presented a face livid with scornful anger. “Is this supposedto bring me to my knees?” she snapped. “It will do George no harm—”“You had best consult with your son as to that, Madam,” said the Dukecoldly.”The exclusion applies also to yourself. You are no longer welcomein any house of Renfrew.” His lips curled in a thin, mirthless smile at thesudden look of dismay that crossed her face. “If we Stones are to give ourprivate affairs to the Ton for discussion, let us give them something worthchewing upon!”Lady Sophia looked as though her brother had struck her in the face.Shock, disbelief, fear were clearly visible in her expression. “You jest!” shemanaged, through lips suddenly slack.“You think so?” asked the Duke softly, in such a tone that even Tina, a noncombatant,felt afraid. “Ask yourself how well your proposed treacherousdebasing of our name matches your constant claim that you should have beenthe Duke. There have been men—and women, too—of our line who wouldhave suffered torture rather than permit what you so lightly threaten! Perhapsyou should retire to Bodiam to think upon your responsibilities to our family.”Silenced, Sophia stared at him, her face ugly with warring emotions.“Give George my message,” said the Duke, and led a silent Tina fromthe house.The girl remained silent as the Duke handed her into his town carriage.When they were once more rolling through the streets, the man glanced ather, his expression forbidding.“No comments? No frantic questions, no female flutterings? Have Ireduced you to terrified silence?”Tina faced him calmly. “I am sure you are now about to inform me as tomy part in your plan,” she said.One dark eyebrow quirked derisively at the girl’s self-possession. “Youcontinue to surprise me,” he said, in a milder tone. “Is it time for me to determinewhich of the roles you play is the true Athena Long? Or is there anythingto you but a set of masks?” He threw one arm lightly across her shouldersand drew her toward him with irresistible pressure.After a single frozen instant, Tina allowed him to pull her against hischest. She kept her glance fixed on his face, her expression wary but withoutfear. He held her so, against his chest, for a long moment, his gaze intent.Then, still without words or tenderness, he bent his dark head and pressedhis lips against hers with passionless force.Tina had never been kissed by a man outside her family before thismoment. She found the experience astonishing. First she was aware that hisskin had a fresh smell from some aromatic soap or perhaps a masculine lotion.His hard embrace made her aware also of the scent of fresh linen, and aninteresting warm tang that probably came from his flesh. She took a delicatesniff, toconfirm her theory.The Duke’s heavy-lidded eyes opened wide and focused on the lovely,small face so close to his. But Athena had already moved on to a second surprisein this business of kissing. His lips over hers tasted of some kind of flavor,which was a blend of aromatic and bitter. It was vaguely familiar. Surelyher father and brothers often carried just that piquancy on their mouths?“Beer!” she announced happily, drawing her face back from his relaxinghold in order to speak. “You have been drinking beer!”The Duke’s stern face melted into a rueful grin. “It is usually considered arestorative after too heavy an indulgence in liquor the previous evening,” headmitted. Tina, looking into his eyes, was conscious of a strange new feelingdeep inside her, so powerful that it shook her. It also showed in her small,exquisite face. The Duke’s arms tightened around her again.“You are a very odd little siren,” he said huskily. “First sniffing, andthen—tasting!’“It is my first real kiss, you see,” she explained carefully. At his elevatedeyebrows, she added, “Of course I do not count my father or Killy or Jase!”“And who are Killy and Jase?” demanded the Duke.“My brothers,” explained Tina. “And you must not think they are all foreverkissing me, for they are not! It is only upon birthdays, or Christmas, or whenthey have returned from a trip—or had an especially good day with the Hunt.”“Legitimate occasions for celebration, surely,” admitted His Grace, feelingsuddenly very much in charity with his world.He had a virgin! Better, he hada girl who could amuse and even surprise him, jaded worldling that he was!He settled the fragrant little armful more comfortably into his embrace, andthen, with the practiced gallantry for which he was well known in somecircles,he bent his dark head once more to Tina’s lips and kissed her, this timewith seductive sweetness.When he lifted his head, Tina shivered involuntarily. Her golden eyeswere wide with startled awareness. After a moment, she moved out of hisarms and sat back in her corner of his carriage.The Duke also sat back. “You do not subscribe to the conventional modesof behavior, Miss Long?” he asked finally.“If you are asking me why I am not babbling, weeping, or—or bridling,My Lord Duke, I can only say that I am not your conventional débutante.”The Duke uttered a harsh bark of laughter. “An undeniable truth.” He toohad had an enlightening experience, but he was by nature and by trainingbetter equipped to conceal his emotions. He reached out and took her hand,not gently, not even flirtatiously, but with a hard demonstration of his powerto control. “Exactly why did you come to London?”“I came to find a husband,” said Tina baldly, her eyes on his.The Duke crushed her hand in his large fist until an involuntary gasp ofpain passed her lips. Then he flung the hand from him as though it wererepugnant to his touch.There was another heavy silence, which lasted until the coach drew up infront of Lady Delia’s Town House. The Duke regarded Tina coldly. “I shallrequire you to remain in London for the next few weeks. You will hold yourselfready to accompany me to whatever social gatherings I decide to attend.My secretary will send you a list. I shall expect you to be ready when I callfor you, to present a good appearance, and to behave with propriety andwhatever charm you can summon up—”“Is this elaborate charade necessary?” asked Tina in a low voice.“It will be expected of the—ah—newly-engaged couple,” the Duke saidon a sneer.“And if I do not agree to it?”The Duke’s groom had come to stand outside the still-closed door of thecoach. The Duke himself bent forward to scan Tina’s expression. “Are youtelling me you will not do as I suggest?”Rather than giving a direct answer, the girl repeated, “‘Suggest’? Say rathercommand! You know you do not expect disobedience. What of my own life?”The Duke drew an exasperated breath. “Do I need to remind you, MissLong, that it was your—inspiration which originally established our engagement?It cannot harm a husband-seeker to appear to have snared the finestprospect in the matrimonial stakes.”“Are you saying that a man of integrity will be willing to accept a womanyou have publicly rejected?”“You are now trying to convince me you have scruples?” The Dukeshook his head, and tapped lightly on the window. His groom at onceopened the door, let down the steps, and offered his arm. The Duke gotout, assisted Tina down and walked beside her to her grandmother’s door.“My secretary will be in touch with you. Stay in town,” he said softly, andreturned to his carriage.As he drove away, John Stone found himself feeling, for the first time inhis adult life, rather at a loss. It angered him to realize that the occasion forhis uncertainty was a green girl, totally without Town bronze or sophistication,but with a mind, he dared guess, as sharp as a man’s. A girl who savoredhis person and tasted his lips with the innocent freedom of a child, yet whoheld grimly to it that her sole purpose in coming to London was to snare ahusband. His lip curled with contempt—and then he remembered the innocentsweetness of her lips, and the wide, clear gaze of her magnificent eyes.A paradox! How could any one female be at once conniving, and honest, sensualand innocent, maddening, infuriating, and…desirable?Deliberately he relaxed his powerful shoulders against the squabs. Therewere important matters to be dealt with, not the least of which was the attackof Sophia Rate. Had the woman finally lost her wits? Her threat required avisit to his man-at-law. And then, he thought with relief, there was the matterof the new pamphlet he had been advised of. What good fortune if thevery material he needed was ready to his hand! The schools he had beenpainstakingly establishing, one on eachof his country estates, had desperateneed of teaching materials. Four good instructors he did have in hand, newlydown from Oxford or Cambridge, not yet fully decided upon a life’s work. Ithad been the devil of a chore seeking out the four young men, far more troublethan convincing his tenants and the village people that their childrenwould benefit beyond their wildest reckoning if suitably instructed. The professionalmen and the great landowners sent their offspring to good schools,many of which required that the child be registered at birth in order to securea place. They had no need for his country schools. But the background level ofeducation was very low for the rest of the populace: bright children had literallyno place to go to learn to better themselves.It was not that the Duke wished to make his tenants discontented withtheir lot. Rather, he wished to give them means to improve it, and get greatersatisfaction from it. So he had conceived the idea that brainpower was as preciousa resource as good fertile fields and healthy animals, and had, in hisusual arrogant fashion, set about to establish training centers. The tenantswere conditioned by hundreds of years to accept their overlord’s ideas as notonly valid but irrevocable. The young scholars he had found with some helpfrom Charles Vernell, allowed into the secret. But the books, the trainingmanuals, were another matter. He did not want goody-books, the part fairytale, part nursery-rhyme handbooks. Nor could he use, with these quiteunletteredchildren, the volumes and texts used by college students.During one of his desperate searches among the publishing houses ofLondon, he was delighted to discover that a very clear yet simple basic handbookwas under preparation. The Duke was not put off by the informationthat the book was primarily intended as a training manual by which youngservants could improve the skills that would enable them to better their ownpositions. The proofs, when he saw them, were, to his astonishment, interesting,bright, and so attractively presented that even the dullest mind mightfind them persuasive. He studied the proofs more carefully. They revealed aremarkable familiarity with literature, both ancient and modern, with severallanguages—including the classic Greek and Latin—and with mathematicsand even rudimentary science.A treasure!The Duke’s interest was further aroused when, upon demanding to knowthe name of the author of this excellent brochure, he was told that the authorwished to remain anonymous.“Some noted scholar pressed for a little spare cash?” he suggested lightlyto Mr. Thomas Sinclair, the junior partner in the publishing firm of Guthrieand Sinclair.Mr. Sinclair looked unhappy. Although the Duke’s curiosity was now rampant,he decided to drop the question in favor of the more urgent business ofsecuring a great many copies of the useful work.“How many shall you wish, Your Grace?” asked the hopeful Thomas.“Begin with one hundred, but keep the plates or whatever it is you printthem from. I may need more very soon.”The gratified publisher, mentally rubbing his hands, thought to interjecta word for future reference. “The—er—author of the book might be persuadedto do others, more advanced, more challenging to the juvenile intellect,”he offered craftily.The Duke nodded. “Well, we shall see. When the first of these is ready,send a copy around to my house by hand, at once, if you please. Then I shallbe able to judge of its usefulness. A sturdy cover, of course—resistant to inkand chalk!—and within, paper of good quality, with bright illustrations. Thewhole must appear attractive. Of course, no mention of my involvement is to be made.”“Yes, Your Grace!” Sinclair was bowing. “As per our contract.”There was a silence and he looked up to meet the quizzical gaze of apair of very knowing grey eyes. “When am I to be informed of the nameof our author?”“I gave my word, sir,” stammered Sinclair. “As did my partner, Mr. Guthrie.It is a matter of—”“Honor?” the Duke had suggested, faintly smiling.Sinclair barked a laugh. “A matter of contract,” he had admitted. “Theauthor would not sign unless we promised to conceal—the identity.” Withthis, the Duke had had to be content.It seemed to His Grace a most striking coincidence that when he cameintothe hallway of his Town House after depositing Athena at her grandmother’shome, he should be presented with a heavily wrapped parcel fromGuthrie and Sinclair. He had been thinking of them, and the treasure theyhad found him, all the way home. Well, not quite all the way. He admittedthat he had turned to thoughts of his secret project to rid his mind of veryuncomfortable visions of a slender girl with silky black hair and amazinggolden eyes. Opening the parcel eagerly in his library, he sighed shortly ashe admitted further that it was not the girl whose memory disconcerted him,but the harshness of the contempt with which he had taken his leave of MissAthena Long.And then all thoughts of her or any other problem were driven temporarilyout of his mind, as he scanned the students’ handbook, called TheRoads to Wonder. And on the bright orange cover, etched with magiclines, was a great city, pure and clean and towering in its majesty, a focusand an enchantment.The Duke stared at the cover of his new teaching manual for a long time.

Chapter 10

The first person besides the butler whom Tina encountered in thespacious entrance hall was her grandmother’s dresser. Hugget hadapparently been waiting anxiously for her arrival, and conductedher at once to Lady Delia’s sitting room.The older woman greeted Tina eagerly. “What did that hag Sophia Ratewant of you?”By the time Tina had finished her report of events at the Rate TownHouse, Lady Delia was very angry indeed. “I cannot believe that even SophiaRate would so perilously endanger her own family’s reputation,” she fumed.“Did the Duke tell you what he plans to do?”Tina presented a censored version of His Grace’s orders. “We are to holdourselves ready to attend any functions to which Renfrew decides to acceptan invitation.” She hesitated. “Or perhaps his command was only for me. I amnot sure.”Lady Delia frowned. “But our own invitations? Are we to refuse them,unless they coincide with Stone’s?”“The Duke’s secretary will bring me His Grace’s choices every morning,”Tina explained woodenly. Then her eyes darkened with emotion, and shesaid, huskily, “Is this how matters are managed in ducal households, Grandmama?I see I have much to learn.”Lady Delia rose almost without thinking, and enveloped the forlorn girlin comforting arms. She was aware that there was something very wrongabout the situation, but her first thought was to restore the lovely laughter toher beloved grandchild’s face. She said wistfully, “When you recounted thisbizarretale to me last night, I felt sure that behind the rather melodramatictrappings of the engagement there was a sturdy core of genuine liking onboth sides.” As the girl began to object, Lady Delia spoke again. “No, do nottry to argue with me! I know enough of His Grace’s force of character tobelieve he would never permit himself to be cozened into a declaration hefound utterly distasteful!”“He could have made no defense against the situation in which, thanks toMiss Pennet’s manoeuvrings, he found himself,” stated Tina. “What excusecould he have given the affronted parents of Colinette when they discoveredher in his arms, with her garments disheveled?”“But you told me that you had announced that you had been there fromthe beginning! You are not one of the Patronesses of Almack’s, exactly, butyou did guarantee chaperonage of a sort,” snapped Lady Delia.After a charged silence, Tina faced her grandmother bravely. “I beginto believe you are in the right of it. His Grace might have braved itthrough, given the protection of my presence, had I not thought it necessaryfor him to have the further shield of a prior engagement. To me.”She sighed. “So you see he has good foundations for his suspicion of me.I spoke too impulsively, but he might well believe that I spoke—withwell-planned strategy!”“You babbled romantic nonsense, like the bookworm you are!” correctedLady Delia crossly. “It is not to be wondered at that the Duke is out ofpatience with you! Have you any real objections to marrying the man?”Tina flung up her head. “The insuperable one: That he does not wish forthe connection! He is convinced I am a scheming, unprincipled creature—and he fully intends to…to dispose of me at the end of the Season!”Her grandmother raised thin eyebrows. “He told you this? Or have youconcocted another—story? By what means does the Duke of Renfrew intendto dispose of his fiancée at the end of the Season? In an oubliette?”To Tina’s horror, a sob escaped her. She swallowed and then firmed herlips. “We are to announce that the engagement is ended—by mutual agreement,”she managed. A tear rolled down her pale cheek.Her grandmother considered this news. After a moment she said, in aquiet voice, “There is only one thing to do, Athena. You must follow HisGrace’s lead, do just as he asks you, and present a pleasant and dignified frontto the Ton. Your own credit, and your family’s, depends as much as Renfrew’sdoes upon your good sense and stability.”“Yes, Grandmama,” said Tina, who had never felt less sensible or less stablein her life.The first order of business, decreed Lady Delia, was for Tina to go withall haste to Guthrie and Sinclair and request the return of her manuscript·Fortified by a cup of tea and a change into her prettiest redingote, the girlproceeded to the publishers that very afternoon. She went on foot from thecorner, having ordered the coachman to pick her up at that exact spot inexactly half an hour—these being the only terms upon which he would agreeto drop her off. As she approached the pleasant but quite undistinguishedbuilding which housed the activities of Guthrie and Sinclair, she was horrifiedto observe a tall, handsome figure striding in her direction.“Miss Long?” said the Duke, on a rising note. “Whatever are you doing inthis very commercial area of the city?”Tina’s wits, though shaken, did not fail her. She cast a lightning glancearound her, and observed two hanging boards which proclaimed the natureof the business being carried on within the buildings. One said: CANES,CRUTCHES, INVALID’S CHAIRS. The other proclaimed, under the ratherdaunting representation of a glaring eyeball, SPECTACLES, QUIZZINGGLASSES,LENSES. Tina smiled.“I am getting myself fitted for a pair of spectacles,” she offered.For the barest instant, surprise and regret showed on the Duke’s face, andthen his eyes narrowed and his expression became unreadable.“Indeed? I commiserate with you. A pity to have to cover so unusuallybeautiful a pair of eyes.”Tina found herself blushing under the obvious admiration of the hugeman. Forcing herself to smile up into his dark face, she went on, “I am notreally too concerned, Your Grace. I shall need them only for reading.”“I should say, reluctantly, that you may be more in need of them than youbelieve,” the disturbing man objected. “Since you are on the wrong side ofthe street and going in the wrong direction to achieve your goal.” The creaturehad the bad taste to laugh!Tina’s delicate pink blush became the rose of anger. She cast a hurriedglance across the street and verified his charge. Then she opened her mouthto verbalize another falsehood, but her noble opponent beat her to the post.“Now do not tell me that Lady Delia is in need of a Bath chair, Or acrutch! I shall not believe you, and I shall at oncereport your canard to thelady herself!” He grinned down at the angry girl, obviously enjoying her frustration.“Now tell me, without deceit or roundaboutation, what brings you tothis neighborhood?”Tina’s small chin was lifted. “But I told you, Your Grace! I am going toorder a pair of spectacles! Perhaps you will be good enough to give me yourarm to the shop? Lest I fall over some obstacle,” she added for good measure.The Duke offered a strong arm cased in elegant superfine. “On one condition,”he said softly. “That you stop calling me Your Grace. We are plighted,are we not? Therefore it is quite convenable for you to call me by my name.”“Stone?” teased the girl, her beautiful eyes sparkling. It was such a joy totalk to this man when he was in this smiling, playful mood. She did not wantit to change, ever. If only—!But he had placed his hand over hers on his arm, and was pressing it firmly.“Not my family name, witch! My own!”His fingers were long and slender considering their strength. Tina dimpledup at him. “Alexander?” she asked. “Surely nothing less than the name ofthe conqueror of the world will do!”The Duke stopped her as they were about to cross the street. His handheld hers very tightly against his other arm.“Athena! You invite the lightning!”The lovely face was a delight in its demure sweetness.“Kaliespera, Zeus!”The Duke’s eyebrows shot up. “One might believe you were as Grecian asyour name! Bidding me good-afternoon in the classic tongue. You name megreatest of the Gods? I wonder what you have in mind?”Tina shrugged, a little disconcerted. “Harmless play, with one who has thebackground to share it with me,” she said, her eyes not meeting his.The man cursed himself for the suspicion that had shattered the joyousexchange. He moved ahead to the goal he had had in mind. “You are to callme John,” he instructed her.Tina nodded.“Now,” he persisted, feeling awkward, and decades older than the quietgirl at his side.“Yes, John.” The words were little more than a whisper.The Duke squared his shoulders. His cynical attitude, forever seeingconnivance and intrigue in the simplest action, had destroyed a moment ofpure joy. John Stone, who hadn’t indulged in Tina’s sort of “harmless play”within his own memory, did not know how to recoup that which he sensedhe had lost. And so, moved to anger by his loss, he acted the part of the manhe had become.“Where is your carriage?” he said sharply. “What is Lady Camden thinkingof, to permit you to wander unescorted through the streets?”“Tom Coachman is returning for me within a few minutes. We did notthink I could come to harm on this quiet street!” she protested.“Lady Delia knew you were coming here?”“Of course! I am not so rag-mannered as to—” then, meeting his quizzicalglance, she blushed again. “The clandestine trip to the theater was theonly time I have ever gone out without her full knowledge and consent!”The big man stood staring grimly down at the girl. “Tell me the truth,Athena! Did you come to be fitted for spectacles?”The wide golden eyes met his honestly.“I did not. But I beg you will not ask me why I came, for I cannot—mustnot—tell you! I can only assure you that there is nothing—wicked, or hurtfulto any person, or shameful in my visit.”The piercing grey eyes met hers with an intentness which seemed to seekthe very secrets of her mind and heart. After a long moment, the Dukereleased her hand and turned to survey the street.“We shall wait here for your carriage,” he said.Tina did not want to stand beside this man who showed so clearly that hedid not trust her. She could feel unhappiness rising like a tide within her. Sheglanced up to study the harsh handsome profile of her companion. As shedid, a sort of courage began to stiffen her drooping shoulders. Why shouldshe feel guilt, whose only crime was to prepare a manual to help servants tobetter their condition? Her chin rose in what her brothers would have recognizedas a fighting stance.“I think I will tell you my reason for coming to this street,” she announced.“Since it seems so important to you—”The Duke’s head turned sharply toward her. His eyes were hostile. Thenhis gaze went beyond her shoulder to a carriage which was almost racingdown the quiet street.“That is my carriage!” he exclaimed, and lifted his hand to arrest thecoachman’s progress.When the vehicle had drawn to a swaying halt in front of them, the Dukedemanded, “What the devil is going on, Wilson?”It’s Miss Flora, sir,” gasped the coachman. “Cullon’s just had a visit fromSir Charles Vernell. It seems Miss Flora has disappeared, and Lady Sophia isshouting that you’re hiding her somewhere. Cullon sent me to find you.”The Duke wasted no time. Hoisting a reluctant Tina into the coach aheadof him, he detailed the groom on the box to stay behind and explain to LadyDelia’s driver where Miss Long had gone.Tina leaned across him to call out the window, “At the corner! Todd wasto meet me at that corner!” While she was still gesticulating, the carriagelurched into motion, and she was thrown backward into the Duke’s arms. Hereceived her upon his chest with no signs of discomfort, but she said crossly,“This is poorly managed! It were better for me to wait for Todd on the corner. This way, my grandmother will be beside herself with anxiety! The mostbungled situation! She glared up at the man who was still holding her closely.He was smiling!Tina’s brows drew down into a horrendous frown. “How did your coachmanknow where to find you?”John chuckled unforgivably. “Took you long enough to get to that one,didn’t it? I had informed Cullon, of course, before I left the house, that I wasgoing to walk down to Fort Street to get—” he paused and closed his mouthslowly. He was not smiling.Tina was on his hesitation like a flash. “‘To get’—what? And don’t tell meyou need either spectacles or a crutch!”“I cannot tell you,” said the Duke blankly, and then his lips twisted into awry smile. “Do you suppose we might try confiding in one another, Athena?”he said, more gently than she had yet heard him speak. It seemed that theneed to trust disturbed and confused him.The girl drew a slow, deep breath. There was nothing she could do tochange what John Stone’s life had been up until now, nor to influence thecharacter which that life had molded. But perhaps, if they shared new experiences,she might be able to convince her cynical, disillusioned Duke totrust her—possibly even some day to like her, It was a hope worth nourishing,Tina decided. At this moment the carriage drew up before LadySophia’s mansion.Charles Vernell was awaiting its arrival in the street, and ran over to openthe carriage door at once. He helped Tina out, and even spared her a smile,but immediately afterward his anxious gaze was fixed on John Stone’s face.“She isn’t with you, then? I had hoped—” he stammered.“Inside, Charles,” said the Duke firmly, and swept them both along withhim into the drawing room.There Lady Sophia sat, her face a twisted mask of anger and fear. “Whathave you done with them? What trick is this, Stone? What do you hope togain by interfering in my affairs?” She was speaking shrilly, her eyes glaringat her brother. “Is this a ploy to discredit me with the Ton?” She noticed Tina,standing at Renfrew’s shoulder, and her voice rose to a shout. “This scheminglittle upstart! What is she doing in my house? Has she something to do withmy children’s disappearance? I’ll wager she’s at the root of it!”“Calm yourself!” snapped the Duke. “You rant like a Bedlamite!” He continuedin an icy tone, “Is it true that Flora is missing? Control your hysteriaat once, if you please! I wish to hear facts, not unbridled screeching!”But Sophia, glaring from John to Tina, refused to speak. It was CharlesVernell, mastering his alarm and concern, who informed his friend that Florahad left the house three hours earlier, and had not returned. She had also, itappeared, taken a small satchel with her, containing some clothes. She hadnot left any message.Lady Sophia got to her feet and advanced upon the group in the middleof the room. Her eyes were bulging with rage.“You will tell me at once what this means! What plot you are hatching todiscredit me!”A quiet voice, youthful but hard, spoke from the doorway. “You yourselfhave driven her away from us, Mama,” said Nigel, entering the room and closingthe great doors behind him. “Your endless berating and complaints, yourutter lack of real interest or tenderness—!” His voice broke over the last word.“What do you know about this?” John asked. “Tell me at once!”“When I returned from riding this morning, the first person I encounteredin the hall was Groat, who informed me that Flora had asked him to summona hackney for her. He tried to discover where she intended to go, but sherefused to tell him. Then she borrowed two shillings from him for the fare.”The Duke’s rigid mouth softened a fraction. “Not a distant goal, then.”Nigel was looking accusingly at his mother.“Groat reports that Flora was crying. He held the door open for her whenthe hackney arrived, and heard her give your address, Uncle John. I remountedat once and rode to your Town House. Cullon was more forthcoming thanGroat had been. It seems that Flora, being threatened with banishment toBodiam and then to a girls’ boarding school, had decided to seek sanctuarywith Uncle John. Feeling,” added Nigel with dark challenge, “that since hehad promised to give us the treats of London, he would at least protest Flora’sbeing removed before she had tasted even one!”The Duke acknowledged the shrewdness of Nigel’s blow. “Mea culpa,” hesaid quietly. “I had promised Flora treats, and fully intend to give them toher, with a charming companion.” He glanced at Tina. “But there has notbeen time—”“Time to be banished to outer darkness,” persisted Nigel.“Is she there, then, in my house?” The Duke kept to the issue at hand.“Cullon gives her refreshment?”“No,” reported Nigel grimly, “Flora appears to have been in a panic at notfinding you at home, Uncle John. She set out again in her hackney, havingfirst borrowed a further ten shillings from Cullen.”Again, almost against his will, the Duke smiled. “We are to suppose Floracontemplated a longer journey this time,” he murmured.“How can you jest about this, Stone?” demanded Lady Sophia.“Better to laugh than weep,” said John Stone, to Tina’s surprise. He lookedat her, catching her curious glance. “Let me guess where Flora was bound. Shedirected the driver to Lady Camden’s house?”“But that’s exactly right!” breathed Nigel respectfully. “Cullon managed tooverhear her directions.”“But of course, failing to find me, she would go to one who had been herloyal champion upon a previous occasion—”“She is there—in my grandmother’s home?” asked Tina eagerly, a smile ofrelief upon her face.“No,” replied Nigel gloomily. “When she found you also away from home,she refused the offer of tea which your grandmother made her, and insistedthat she had an important meeting—elsewhere.”“But what is this?” demanded the Duke. “Where is the little ninnyhammeroff to?”Lady Sophia seemed to have lost interest. “When she becomes tired of herchildish naughtiness, she will come back—and go down to Bodiam, as I toldher she must. Her trunks are packed.”Looking at that adamant countenance, Tina knew it would be useless tourge or protest. Lady Sophia was enjoying the idea of punishing her daughterfor wilful disobedience, and demonstrating to Flora’s well-wishers thatthey were powerless to aid the girl.The Duke did not seem to understand that he was defeated.“And if she does not return?” he suggested mildly.Lady Sophia glared at him. “What do you mean?”“I merely state the obvious. Your daughter has been gone for severalhours. We know she had inadequate funds. Where is she?” Then, when no oneanswered, the Duke continued, “Is she wandering on foot through the streets?For we know no self-respecting cabman would carry her about on tick! Or hasshe decided to join the company of actors and actresses in whom she wasinterested enough less than a week ago to run off to—without notice to anyof us?”Lady Sophia’s face became congested. It was plain from her harassedexpression that she could not immediately find an answer, nor, more importantly,anyone to blame for this latest disaster.Tina said slowly, “I do not think Flora would go again to the theater. Herfirst experience there frightened her.”“If you know so much about my daughter, Miss, can you tell us where shehas gone?” sneered Lady Sophia.“Perhaps to one of her other friends?” suggested Tina.“She has none. She is invited nowhere. Nor would I countenance it. Shemust not go about socially until she has her come-out!”The Duke regarded her with loathing. “You have had your young daughterin London for several months and made no push to bring her into thecompany of other girls? But this is folly! How do you hope to fire her off ifshe knows no one? To say nothing of the loneliness and boredom to whichyou have condemned her. I cannot believe it even of you, Sophia!”Tina had been wracking her brain to discover a clue to Flora’s whereabouts.Suddenly a picture surfaced in her mind: the supper extra-dances atthe Duke’s ball…Flora’s glowing little face under the bright red curls as shewhirled about the floor with her youthful gallant. And dancing nearbywas…Jennifer Nairn!Tina turned to the Duke. “Flora may be at the Nairns’,” she said quietly.“They seemed very easy together at your ball. And if the poor child knows sofew other girls—”The Duke took her arm. “We’ll go at once,” he told Charles and LadySophia. And then, grimly, “I believe I must insist that you permit Flora toremain in London for the Season, Sophia. I shall stand the nonsense for herclothing and activities.”Although she would have died on the rack rather than admitted it, SophiaRate was thankful to have so easy a solution to her problem. Renfrew wouldfind Flora and bring her back. But better, he would assume financial responsibilityfor the chit, and even take her about under his aegis. And perhaps hewould relent in his harsh judgment against poor George, who had beenscreaming athis doting Mama ever since he learned what her attack upon hisuncle had brought upon him. Sophia began to smile. She had helped herolder son, and without having to apologize to John or to that little provincialhe was sponsoring! A good day’s work! She looked about her to see whoremained in her drawing room. It was empty. Charles had left with John andthe girl, apparently. Sophia pulled the bell to summon a servant. It was timeto write a triumphant message to poor George.

Chapter 11

Charles insisted, rather cavalierly, upon being included in the searchparty. After a moment’s consideration, Tina interrupted the Duke’sefforts to dismiss his friend.“We do not wish to seem like gaolers hauling off a prisoner. Ithink Flora would find it more comfortable to be picked up by a group ofgood friends, dropping by for a social call.”Charles and Nigel were impressed by her suggestion. The Duke agreed,but asked wryly, “Will that work if Flora’s told the Nairns her whole story?”Tina said confidently, “We shall rely upon your nous, John, to carry off thesituation, in that case.”Charles and Nigel grinned openly. The Duke was understood to remarkupon the fate likely to befall scapegraces and would-be jokesters who pushedtheir Elders and Betters too far.“Elders, certainly,” pronounced Charles, greatly daring.As a result of similar badinage, the Duke’s party arrived in high gig atNairn Town House. The Dowager Duchess was delighted to welcome JohnStone, for whom she had a soft spot, while both Flora and Jennifer seizedupon Tina with cries of pleasure. Tina noticed, also, that Flora turned a pret-ty shade of pink under Charles Vernell’s obvious relief and happiness in seeingher safe. So it was an unexpectedly jolly little party that sat down for teain the handsome drawing room—so different in every way from Sophia Rate’scold and cheerless salon.“We have been planning some interesting excursions,” said Tina, strikingwhile the iron was hot. She glanced quickly under her lashes at theDuke, who appeared willing enough. “Oh, all very educational, of course,”she hastened to assure the Dowager. “Art galleries, and museums, and perhapsa concert! We were hoping you might permit Jennifer to make one ofour little group.”Smiling fondly at her granddaughter’s imploring face, the Dowagergave cheerful permission. “If you, my dear Renfrew, are to be their guideand mentor…?”With a rueful grin, silently acknowledging her strategy as well as Tina’s,the Duke said he supposed he would have to do so, lest Flora be sent rusticateto her aunt’s country home at Bodiam. Then, observing Flora’s blushesand the Dowager’s conscious expression, the Duke was confirmed in his suspicionthat his scamp of a niece had opened her budget.This was confirmed when Jessica Nairn asked, “Why does Sophia Ratethreaten to send Flora to Bodiam Castle? Isn’t that Lady Stone’s home?”“Lucy sensibly refuses to live there,” replied the Duke. “The place isfalling down, and so steeped in history that it has a crowded feeling. It isalso cold and damp. Lucy rarely goes there since Theo died. And ofcourse Sophia believes she has a right, as Theo’s sister, to send her childrenthere if she wishes. There is always staff in residence. The fourthDuke acquired the castle when he married the Earl of Bodiam’s onlychild—a red-haired daughter.” He ruffled Flora’s hair lightly, smiling atthe girl. “As copper-tops, you and Nigel have the best right of any of theRenfrews to be there.”“I would far rather stay in London and see the sights with you and MissLong!” said Flora. “You did promise—?”“Yes! I promised,” agreed the Duke. “Now we must make our plans for tomorrow.Shall we visit the art collection of Sir Hans Sloane in the British Museum?”“How about topping that off with a visit to Astley’s Amphitheater?” suggestedNigel, hopefully.“And then going back to John’s Town House for a snack and some practicein dancing?” coaxed Charles, his enthusiasm making him appear asyouthful as Nigel. “The ballroom is being wasted!”The Dowager and the Duke exchanged glances.“I commiserate with Your Grace,” said Lady Jessica. “I foresee acrowded calendar.”The next few weeks were the happiest in Flora’s life. Aside from the factthat her imposing uncle arranged exciting expeditions almost every otherday—”to give us all time to recover from our excesses in between!”—Florahad the felicity of Charles Vernell’s laughing escort. Tina was aware of thegirl’s feelings, and was finally sufficiently troubled to request a private interviewwith the Duke.He received her in his library, a most impressive and fascinatingapartment to such a bookworm as Athena Long. Her fingers itched toruffle among the pages; she was hard put to maintain her image of thelight-minded débutante.It seemed His Grace was amused by her dilemma. “Whenwe are alone,Athena, you may surely set aside that frivolous manner and indulge in yoursecret vice? If I promise never to breathe to a soul that the charming and popularMiss Long is, in fact, a Bluestocking?”She was unable to prevent herself from smiling into his dark, teasing face.He was such a disturbing man—one minute warm and playful, the next—andfor no reason, it sometimes seemed—harsh and cold and arrogant. Still, hewas playful at this moment, and Tina wished to bask in the warmth of hisgood humor.“You tempt me almost beyond bearing,” she dimpled up at him. “Withsuch treasure as you boast here, I really cannot understand how you find timeto lead the Social World as you do.”“I lead until I am bored,” he admitted without false modesty. “Then I disappearfor a week or so—and the tongues wag!” His laugh was cynical andquite uncaring.Chilled by his change of mood, Tina looked soberly up into the handsomecountenance. “It is about Flora that I wish to speak to you,” she saidslowly. “She is a darling, but still very young, very unsophisticated. I amafraid she may be developing a tendre for Lord Charles.”The Duke frowned. “What evidence have you?”“Oh, there is nothing out of the way in the behavior of either Flora or LordCharles, at least that I have observed. It is only that Flora is still a child, andCharles is very attractive to a lonely girl.”“If my dear sister had made the least push to secure young companions forher children, we should not be facing such awkward situations,” said theDuke grimly. “Nigel is to go back to school soon, and is perfectly happy withthe necessity, but his departure will leave Flora the more bereft.”“Jennifer Nairn is a good friend to her,” offered Tina. “And I care verymuch for the child. She will not be completely alone.”The Duke eyed her gloomily. “She will have her come-out next year. Itwas to put her in the way of Society that I invited her to my ball. I have seenwhat happens when a green girl is thrust into the Ton without preparation!”He shrugged. “I suppose I might arrange for her to go to a girls’ school. Atleast she would not lack for suitable companionship there.”“Since she has not thus far attended such an establishment, and will havefew of the skills expected of a girl her age, she will be put with girls muchyounger. Might this not seem to her a punishment?” asked Tina anxiously.The Duke frowned. “Sophia’s failure to take responsibility creates painfulsituations. But she is heartless!” He shrugged. “I thank you for your warning,Athena. I’ll look into the possibilities of girls’ schools. Meanwhile, let us continuewith our policy of—ah—educational expeditions. I’ll keep my eye onCharles and see what he’s up to.” His faintly amused, abstracted air implied,to Tina, dismissal.She slipped away quietly. It’s as well he didn’t try to stop me, she told herself asshe returned to Lady Delia’s house. I must get down to Guthrie and Sinclairand find out what has developed with my training manual.There seemed to be a conspiracy against Tina in this latter decision. FirstLady Delia insisted upon knowing where she had been. The respect Tina hadfor her grandmother’s kindness and social skills urged the girl to confide theproblem of Flora and Charles. Lady Delia did not seem overly concerned.“Charles Vernell is a fine young man who will prove a steadying influenceon Flora as she matures. There isn’t an ounce of vice in him, Tina! I knew hisparents well, and from what I have seen of him—and it’s been a good deal thislast two weeks!—I am not at all worried as to his motives or his behavior.”Tina sighed. “With that recommendation, Grandmere, I can put aside myalarms and get back to serious business!”Her grandmother peered at her suspiciously. “I do not think I like thesound of that remark, Athena,” she said repressively. “Exactly what is this‘serious business’ you wish to get back to?”“Why, discovering the fate of my manual, of course!” replied Tina with alightness she did not actually feel.Her grandmother’s frown justified her apprehension.“I understood you had withdrawn that—that incriminating documentweeks ago, Athena. Do you tell me you permitted it to be published?”“I fear so, Grandmama,” admitted Tina.“Under your own name?” demanded Lady Delia.Tina shook her head slowly. “No. Although I must admit that I regret mycowardice. After all, it is fairly scholarly, quite sound pedagogically, and—Ithink—even interesting.” She faced her grandmother’s horrified frown bravely.“‘Pedagog…’! Great Heavens, Tina! What is in the book?”“You know,” answered Tina stubbornly. “I explained it most carefully toyou the last time you asked.”“I cannot have been listening,” mourned her agitated relative. “You aresure your name appears nowhere in the text? And that the publishers havesworn not to reveal it?”Tina’s color was rising. “Grandmama, it is not a lewd or vicious pamphlet!I cannot agree I should be ashamed of it!”Her grandmother was not appeased. “It is pedantic, bookish—andabsolutely fatal to your success in the Beau Monde! I told you—!”“But I am already engaged,” retorted Tina angrily, “or had you forgotten?My career in the Beau Monde has been crowned by my successful entrapmentof its greatest Prize, the Duke of Renfrew!” She ended on a short,anguished sob and turned away.At once Lady Delia moved to take the girl in her arms.“There, there, child! Do not weep, I beg of you! It is quite ruinous to thecomplexion.” She patted Tina’s shoulder gently until the ragged sobs ceased.Tina raised her head and turned the full battery of amber-goldeyes uponher worried grandmother, who thought, as she had so often done recently,that the Duke must be a singularly cool and stolid male to be impervious tothe bright, sensitive beauty of this charming young woman. Or was he? Shehad accompanied the little group to a performance of The School for Scandal, inthe role of chaperone, and had had plenty of opportunity of observing theDuke’s attitude toward his pseudo-fiancée. It had seemed to Lady Delia’sexpert eye that the nobleman was not as detached and uncaring as he pretendedto be. However! This was not the time for Tina to be playing off hertricks. If indeed the Duke was beginning to feel an interest, or even an attraction,toward Tina, the fragile structure must not be jeopardized by such boringand ridiculous starts as publishing a training manual for servants! LadyDelia shuddered with real apprehension.It was with her reluctant consent, therefore, that Tina set out in the smaller(and less noticeable) carriage, with only Tom Coachman as escort, to finishup her business with Guthrie and Sinclair of Fort Street.As the footman was assisting her into the carriage, Tina caught TomCoachman’s eye. She was sure there was an urgency present in that small darkorb, a sort of unspoken request for dialogue. It was, however, quite ineligibleto hang in the door-aperture of the carriage and shout at him, so Tina gotinside and permitted the footman to close the door after her. During the rideto Fort Street, there was of course no opportunity for speech, and when thecarriage drew up at the corner, a safe distance from the unimposing entranceto the premises, Tina had to get herself out of the vehicle and close the doorafter her. She looked up at the coachman.He seemed anxious to communicate some sort of warning or advice, andTina thought she understood his concern. He was either alarmed at thepossibility of her being recognized in his unfashionable district without achaperone, or he was anxious that she return to the corner within theassigned time limit. Giving him her lovely smile, Tina said quietly, “Don’tbe worried, Tom! I shall meet you here in exactly twenty minutes, as LadyCamden ordered.”Old Tom Todd did not appear satisfied. He leaned toward her as shestood on the narrow stone footpath. “I’ll be a watchin’ for ye, Miss. Stay withinthe doorway, if ye please! I sh’ll drive right up to ye, and ye must nip in! Thisain’t a good neighborhood!”Nodding her thanks for his special care, Tina trod happily along the footpathto the premises of Guthrie and Sinclair, Printers and Booksellers.

Chapter 12

Tina was almost running as she approached within a few feet ofthe entrance to Guthrie and Sinclair. The reason for thisunseemly haste was not eagerness to collect whatever moniesthe publishers mighthave for her. It was, instead, because anatty curricle bearing two obvious Bloods was approaching her at a dangerousclip along Fort Street, both occupants of which had caught sightof her and were making their interest very plain. They were either undertheinfluence of liquor or were the rudest creatures she had yet encounteredin London. Feeling like a rabbit running to earth, Tina scuttled intothe shop with her head bent, unwilling to risk a second look at therowdy pair, lest she had met them at one of the social functions she hadrecently attended.As she closed the door safely behind her, Tina beheld Mr. Sinclairapproaching, his face one wide smile. It struck her that she had neverencountered a Mr. Guthrie. Was he perchance a recluse, or merely a figmentof Mr. Sinclair’s imagination?Chiding herself for such levity, she accepted Mr. Sinclair’s greeting andattended to what he was saying.“…happy about your book! The purchaser has given us an initial order forone hundred copies, with a possibility of a further sale!”He waited for her delighted praise of his salesmanship, but Tina was moreinterested in the unknown purchaser. “Do you think that someone here inLondon is actually planning to open a school for servants! What a generousand far-seeing person! A rare philanthropist!”Mr. Sinclair was privately of the opinion that the Duke of Renfrew was farfrom fitting the flattering image the girl was creating. Having had to copewith His Grace’s keen wits while making the financial arrangements for theprinting and sale of the books, Mr. Sinclair thought that philanthropist was thevery last title he would bestow upon the wily and knowledgeable peer. Up toevery rig in Town, was the Duke of Renfrew!“I am constrained not to divulge the Purchaser’s plans for your book, MissLong, but I may say it is not to be used in London.”“Not?” echoed Tina, surprised.“More importantly,” continued Mr. Sinclair, “the Purchaser wishes to beinformed if the Author is capable of preparing a further manual or manuals ofincreasing difficulty and—ah—challenge for the student?”“But of course!” breathed Tina, thrilled at the prospect of stretching hermind in such an interesting project. “When would I need to have it ready?”Mr. Sinclair awarded such naiveté a pitying smile. “As soon as possible,Miss Long.” He ventured a small pleasantry. “Yesterday?”The young lady gratified him with a charming gurgle of laughter. Ratherreluctantly, he got to business and had her sign the contract for one newmanual every six months until both Purchaser and Author were content toend the agreement. The money did not seem as important to the Author asdid the details of the difficulty of challenge and scholarly development. This,divulged Mr. Sinclair, might present awkwardness, as the Purchaser wasadamant about maintaining his anonymity.Tina frowned. “He seems an odd person,” she said discontentedly.“How can I shape and grade the work if I have no idea of his requirements?”She assessed the publisher’s expression. “Can you explain to himthat a clearer picture of his special needs would materially expedite theactual work of preparation?”Mr. Sinclair bowed. “I can try, Miss Long.” He sighed at the prospect oftrying to pin down the arrogant peer. “There is, as you know, one plan whichwould resolve all difficulties.”At her doubtful glance, he elaborated, but without much hope. “Ifyou and the Purchaser were to confer together, all problems could speedilybe resolved, and plans satisfactory to both Author and Purchasercould be formulated.”“Impossible!” said Tina firmly. “Please ask the Purchaser to sketch hisneeds briefly. Then you can mail me the material.”With this lengthy and not too satisfactory method of dealing with theproblem Mr. Sinclair was compelled to be content. He handed over a surprisingnumber of golden guineas to the gratified Author, and ushered herpolitely out to her waiting carriage. Tina rode home to Lady Camden’s TownHouse in a glow, planning further manuals in which she might entice the servantsinto an exploration of some of the more easily understood sciences andhumane studies.A rude reception was awaiting her.A worried Dolby ushered her at once into Lady Delia’s private sittingroom, where a tall, arrogant figure stood stiffly in front of a window while hishostess surveyed him with poorly concealed alarm.“Flora!” guessed the Author, her gaze fixed upon the Duke’s forbiddingcountenance. “Something has happened to her…?”For once in her life, Lady Delia felt herself inadequate to control the situation.“No, not Flora, dear child—you! His Grace has been given somenews which—that is, I am sure it is the merest tattle-mongering—idle bibble-babble—” She faltered into silence under a fierce glare from His Grace’soutraged eyes.Tina endeavored to pull herself together in the face of this unexpecteddisaster. Of course someone had told him about the manual! But was that anyexcuse for such histrionics? Surely being affianced to a Bluestocking was notenough to put even so high a stickler as the Duke into a passion? Perhaps itwas the fact that she had not informed him of her literary efforts, thus arminghim against surprise?Then, lashed by that ice-cold glare, she felt a defensive anger begin to risewithin herself. What business was it of his? They both knew their engagementwas a fraud, maintained in order to protect His Grace from the attentions ofover-eager females! Still, no one but themselves and possibly Lady Deliaknew it for a hoax. Trying to be fair, Tina accepted that to expose so haughtya peer to the malicious amusement of his associates was disastrous.These thoughts ran through the girl’s head in a lightning instant. Now shewalked slowly toward the rigid figure and said, softly, “It is not so bad, surely?If my being a Bluestocking embarrasses you so deeply, perhaps it mightgive you the opportunity you wish for breaking off the engagement?”Two things happened immediately after Tina’s speech.Lady Delia groaned incoherently.The Duke stepped forward and seized Tina’s shoulders in fingers of iron,shook her till her head jerked about dizzyingly, and gritted between setteeth, “Bluestocking? Is that what you call your activities at the Venus Club?”Tina put her hands on the Duke’s arms and tried, unsuccessfully, to stophis shaking her. “Milord!” she gasped, “If you kill me, you will land yourselfin a worse imbroglio than whatever you are in at the—the Venus Club!”“I,” said the Duke in an arctic voice, “have never entered the portals of theVenus Club! I leave that to such rakehelly rounders and libertines as Cazyionand Pitchell. Who informed me, not half an hour since at White’s, that theyhad observed my wife-to-be entering those same portals. On Fort Street,” headded in tones of deepest censure. “Where I myself encountered you recently,and was given some tarradiddle about spectacles and bath chairs!”Tina’s delightful laughter rang out, to the shocked surprise of both hercompanions. “You do not tell me,” she asked primly, “that you were on patrolthat day anywhere near the profane establishment? For such I must take it tobe, considering its name and the contempt in your voice?”Lady Delia moaned again at such daring provocation. The Duke’s gazehad hardened, and the icy hauteur of his expression was flaming into anger.Tina took advantage of the momentary shock to continue her recklessteasing. “Since you seem willing to accept as truth the unsupported lies of‘rakehelly libertines,’ perhaps I had better correct your misapprehensions. Iwas in Fort Street that other day and today in order to finish the sale of atraining manual which I have been writing this past six months. My destinationon both occasions was—the premises of Guthrie and Sinclair, Publishers.”She smiled coaxingly at the flabbergasted Lady Delia. “Do not beunhappy for me, Grandmother! It was bound to come out! And you know aswell as I do that my engagement to His Grace was not ever a real one! Nodoubt he will be relieved to terminate such a contaminating alliance at once,the risks inherent in his great desirability in the Marriage Mart being so muchless than those of associating with a lady of licentious habits—such as writingmanuals for the self-improvement of servants!”The Duke’s expression had now become imperturbable. There was still avery angry glint to his eyes, and a tight-held line to his lips, but of the furiousdisgust he had shown, no trace was left.“So you claim to have sold a book, do you?” he asked. “Who was the—ah—purchaser?” His hooded glance studied her face intently.“That I am not at liberty to reveal,”Tina said bravely. “I can, however,show you a copy of the work, which I have brought with me from today’smeeting.” Then with a flash of spirit, she concluded, “Such a connoisseur ofthe Rites of Venus as The Most Noble the Duke of Renfrew will have no difficultyin discerning the difference between a celebration of those rites and amanual for improving the speech of servants!”Lady Delia’s response to this pert provocation was a mournful squawk.His Grace was of sterner stuff. Even the glint of anger inhis eyes faded, andhis expression, as he stared steadily at the girl, was impenetrable. Tina had asudden frightening awareness of her fate in the Beau Monde when the lyingstory circulated: a frozen rejection which would deny her very existence. Herface whitened.“Just so,” said the Duke smoothly. His eyes had never left her face, correctlyinterpreting her change of expression. “It seems the Author must confessher crime or risk being sent to Coventry on far more disastrous charges.”“But surely—can you not silence their lies?” pleaded Tina.“The thought of challenging both the contemptible creatures had enteredmy mind, only to be dismissed.”“Dismissed?” echoed Tina forlornly.“Such a challenge to a duel would serve only to spread the tale, andconvince everyone that there was truth in the canard,” explained theDuke condescendingly.“Then I shall leave for Malong Hall today, leaving Your Grace free torepudiate me however you wish,” said Tina, not daring to glance at her grandmother’sdevastated countenance.Even this sacrifice did not appear to propitiate her inquisitor. Shaking hishead slowly, he said, “You disappoint me, Athena. I had not thought so determineda campaigner for marital bliss would be discouraged by a simple setback!Running off home like a whipped—ah—bitch!” He turned to the wideeyedLady Camden. “You must forgive my seeming coarseness of phrase,Lady Delia! I merely sought to use a cant phrase correctly in the presence ofa Bluestocking!”Tina closed her mouth on a small gasp. The devil was enjoying this! Determiningto leave the consideration of why his mood had changed so remarkablyin the last few minutes to a later time, she took up the challenge of hislast remark with kindling blood.“In offering to return to my home, I sought only to reduce the embarrassmentwhich my grandmother would naturally feel at this quite unwarranted,vicious attack upon my reputation by two of Your Grace’s cronies—”The maddening man held up a restraining hand. “Not my cronies, I begof you!” he uttered in a quelling tone. “I could not permit persons of such badton to claim even a nodding acquaintance with me!”Tina stared, and even Lady Delia was regarding the nobleman with asuspicious frown.“What are we to make of this new start?” she challenged.His Grace elevated his fine eyebrows. “Why, that I intend to make thebest of this predicament, Lady Delia.” His expression and tone hardened.“We shall proceed as though no vile charges had been made. Next Friday, weare pledged to attend Lady Jersey’s Ridotto, are we not?”“Your secretary brought us your orders this morning,” said Tina resentfully.“Together with the box containing my costume.”The Duke nodded. “Since I am doing myself the honor of escorting youboth,” he said with what Tina considered to be intolerable smugness, “I naturallywished to be sure that our costumes would not clash.”“After the charges those men made at White’s Club,” Tina found her ownanger rising as the Duke’s seemed to cool, “it might be wiser for me to attendas a nun, or an abbess.”“Quite ineligible!” countered his Grace. “In these circumstances, never anabbess! You are, Athena, too much the ingenue to know it, but that is a verynaughty term borrowed to designate a—lady engaged in venery.” His hardeyes glinted mockingly.Reassured by His Grace’s good humor, Lady Delia tittered and cast anarchly reproving glance at him. Tina shook with anger at his lack of sensitivity.“And what is this costume you have chosen as suitable for me?”she snapped.“You tell me you didn’t look at it?” mocked the Duke.“I haven’t had time!”“A very pretty costume in the Grecian mode,” contributed Lady Delia,who had looked. “After the Elgin Marbles, I should say. White and gold, mydear, with a charming golden cup with two handles for you to carry. Awkwardto dance with, however. But no matter!”Tina drew a deep, steadying breath. Grecian? That meant a clinging drapery,one shoulder bared…it did not appeal to the disgruntled girl as a costumein which she would wish to present herself to the Duke’s friends. “A goldencup?” she repeated nastily. “Are we to go as the Nobleman and the Barmaid?”The Duke, who had spent some time in research, was justifiably annoyedat this display of malice. “In deference to your claims of scholarship, I hadplanned for us to represent Hebe and Heracles.”“Hebe,” said Tina, pleased in spite of her ill-humor. “The cupbearer of theImmortals! But Heracles? You would say it is a Labor to escort me?”“Her husband,” supplied the Duke coldly. “Who said she had the powerof making him young again.”“But how charming!” cooed Lady Delia, who was of the opinion that fewif any of the other guests would have either knowledge of or interest inmythological characters, in spite of the fuss being made over those brokenstatues from the Parthenon which Lord Elgin had secured for the British public!Still, it was a pretty thought, and Lady Delia hoped her difficult grandchildwould accept it as the gracious compliment it probably was.Tina was indeed wrestling with her emotions. On the one hand, such athoughtful and unusual idea surely indicated a concern to please a youngwoman whose tastes were known to be classical. On the other hand, such apair of costumes might make their wearers a laughingstock in the Haut Ton.Consider Lady Sophia’s reactions, or Lady Lucy Stone’s—neither one knownfor the depth or breadth of her formal education! She raised her eyes toencounter a sharp scrutiny from the Duke.“Well, Athena?”Tina chuckled. “I am wondering, Your Grace, what your costume lookslike?Is it draped to expose a manly torso? We must remember that the climatein Greece is considerably warmer than that of England in winter!”“Draped or undraped,” retorted the Duke coolly, “Heracles will escort youto the Ridotto on Friday night!”As he took his leave and went out into the hallway, Lady Delia’s lipsquirked into a forgiving smile. “He is arrogant and autocratic and domineering—but he is such an attractive man!”“It is to be hoped,” said Tina glumly, “that he will not look absurd in hiscostume in front of all his friends!” She sighed. “Or that I will! I had better goup and see what he has chosen for me to wear.”

Chapter 13
The next day began very badly.
Tina was still in the breakfast parlor when Dolby ushered in a weepingFlora. The older girl rose, offered tea, cocoa, coffee; Florarefused all comfort.Taking the girl’s hand in hers, Tina led her to a chair and satdown beside her. “Now you must tell me what is upsetting you, dear Flora,for I cannot help you until you do so.”Flora sobbed once more, then pulled out a wet little handkerchief andscrubbed childishly at her face.“It is Mama!” she announced, and began to cry again.“What has she done?” Tina persisted. “Flora, tell me!” Though she hadrather take the unhappy victim in her arms, Tina gave her a gentle shake.This firm treatment had the desired result. Flora took a ragged breath andwas understood to say that her mother, jealous of the time and attention whichRenfrew was lavishing upon Tina, Flora, and Nigel, had informed Flora thatunless Gogo was included as one of the party, Flora and her brother must refuseall future invitations.Tina had heard, from various sources, a good deal about Gogo, none ofwhich would lead her to suspect that that amateur rakehell would be caughtdead in most of the places the small party visited. Being Tina, she said so at once.“Your brother would dislike our little excursions intensely.”“I know that!” Flora wailed. “You know it! Uncle John does! Even Gogoknows it, butMama does not! Or perhaps she wants to make trouble forUncle John. She hates him, you know, because he is the Duke, although sheis older! She will ruin everything! I hate her!”Tina, startled by the intensity of the feeling in the girl’s voice, could findno way to deny her charges.Flora was going on, this time in a tone of anguish. “She says it will bewiser, since I am not yet out, to remove me from temptation.”“Not Bodiam again!” protested Tina. “She must know the Duke will notpermit her.”“No, this time she plans to send me home to my father’s estate in thenorth. She knows Uncle John has no control there. It is because of therumors. She thinks she has the better of him at last!”“What—rumors?” demanded Tina, her heart sinking.“Gogo came in after dinner last night in high gig. It seems he was toldsome story about Uncle John which amused him very much, and was not tomy uncle’s credit, which pleased both of them. Mama sent me from the roomat once, but I—ah—lingered in the hallway.” Flora gave Tina a defiant look.“I know it was wrong to eavesdrop, but how else is one ever to find out anything?Well, I hid behind that silly suit of armor Mama insists upon keepingby the doorway—the maids hate dusting it; they always knock off some partof it!—and Iheard Gogo tell Mama about this house where idle ladies go inthe afternoons to meet gentlemen.” She frowned. “I’m not sure why thatshould be so naughty, for surely most males and females of our order—asMama is forever saying!—are idle, and visit one another when not engagedwith modistes or hairdressers. Males of course having all the fun, for theyhave their clubs, and mills, cockfights, and I do not know how many otherinteresting events!”“Collect yourself, Flora, and give me a plain tale!” demanded Tina, alreadydeeply apprehensive.“Well, this house was called the Venus Club, and Gogo told Mama that itwas all over town that Uncle John’s fiancée—” Flora halted in her tale, hereyes growing rounder as she noticed the horror on Tina’s expressive countenance.“—Uncle John’s fiancée! But that’s you, Tina! Gogo’s story was aboutyou!” She stared into Tina’s white face for a long moment. “It is a lie!” shewhispered. “No one will believe it!”“No one will need to believe it,” said Tina quietly. “The harm will be donejust by spreading it!”“What shall we do?” breathed Flora, terrified by the bleak look on thelovely face before her. “We must tell Uncle John at once! Perhaps he can stopGogo from spreading the story?” Then, as Tina, deep in thought, did notanswer, Flora stood up. “I am afraid there is nothing I can do to help you,dearest Tina! Is there?” she added anxiously.Tina, recalled from her own troubles by the desolation in the face beforeher, shook her head and forced a smile. “You have proven yourself my friendby coming to me at once with this—this false rumor. Perhaps it is I whoshould be helping you to endure your situation, but I fear I shall not be ableto remain in London if this lie is spread. It will be better also for your uncleif he is not compelled to defend me.”“You will leave London?” faltered the younger girl.“It may be best to do so.” Tina summoned a smile.“I hate Mama,” Flora gritted between small, set teeth. She turned to leave,then came back to give Tina a hard, quick hug. “Thank you for all your kindnessto me, Tina. It has been good to be your friend.”Flora left the room hurriedly, crying.Tina, helpless to assist her, was forced to watch her go.A quarter of an hour later, while Tina was still trying to decide what wasbest to do in the situation, and whether Flora’s news would change the Duke’sstrategy, Dolby entered again with a worried look.“There is a note from your Mama, Miss Athena,” he said, offering it upona small silver tray. “The groom who brought it said it was most urgent—amatter of life and death.”Dolby himself was of the opinion that the groom, youthful and full ofhis important mission, was milking it for every drop of drama he couldsqueeze out—but of course it was not Dolby’s place to so advise hisemployer’s granddaughter.Tina took the envelope with dread. The letter was in her mother’s hand,so badly scrawled that Tina had difficulty in making out the words. The sumof the disjointed screed seemed to be that Papa had suffered an accident andwas lingering at Death’s doorway, and could Tina tear herself away from thedelights of the London Season and attend her father’s bed-side? And be sureto pick up her father’s new riding breeches, from their own tailor in Town,since Umphrey would never patronize anyone else, and bring two jars ofRestorative Pork Jelly. The two latter requests were heavily underlined.Tina shook her head in despair. The accident had evidently driven poorDulcinia out of what little wits she normally employed. If Jase and Killy wereaway from home, furthering their careers on land and sea, poor little Dulciniawould have no steady support. Gathering her own wits about her, Tina turnedto the hovering Dolby.“It was good of you to wait,” she smiled briefly. “This letter was from mymother at Malong Hall. It seems my father has had—an accident, which naturallyworries my Mama. She has asked me to return at once to help her. Ishall go up and pack a bag, if you, Dolby, will have the small traveling coachmade ready?”“At once, Miss Athena. And your Grandmother?”Tina hesitated. Then, setting her jaw, she went up to her grandmother’sbedroom. Lady Delia, wearing a charming bed-jacket, was lingering over asubstantial breakfast.“Umphrey has had an accident,” Tina said baldly. “Mama requiresmy presence.”“Not on the eve of Lady Jersey’s Ridotto!” pleaded her grandmother. “Noteven Umphrey could be that maladroit!”Wordlessly Tina extended her Mama’s letter. Lady Delia perused it,frowning horrendously. “What does she mean, axehandle? Oh! That’s accident.Her spelling is worse than her handwriting! ‘Death’s hall’—stuff and nonsense!Yet it looks like it: ‘Umphrey entering Death’s hall’…and then somethingI can’t make out; then ‘caught and mangled by Death’s teeth!’ Really,Tina, your Motheris an idiot, although she is my daughter! ‘Death’s teeth’!Perhaps you get your literary proclivities from Dulcinia.” She frowned,sighed, and tapped her finger against the letter before returning it to Tina.“Ring for my maid, please. We shall have to inform the Duke. He will be furious,of course. Your sudden disappearance at this moment will serve to convinceall the quizzes that the rumors are true.”“Do we need to tell him?” Tina asked cravenly, and then answered her ownquestion. “We do, and at once. We must give him time to plan his defense.”“And what of your defense?” challenged Lady Delia.“It will not so much matter, dear Grandmama, except for its ugly repercussionsupon you. You had best disown me publicly, tonight!”“What do you mean, it won’t matter about you?” demanded her grandmother.“I shall not be returning to London. No,” she interrupted her grandmother’sprotest. “If Father is dying, I shall remain to comfort Mama. You knowhow she depends upon him…” Tina could not go on for a moment. Then shelifted her chin in a shadow of her normal gallantry. “You did your best tomake me a success in the Beau Monde, dear Grandmama, but you see it is ahopeless task.”Lady Delia’s shoulders drooped. “It was a close-run thing,” she sighed. “Inearly brought it off—you and the Duke!”“He will be relieved, after this storm in a tea-cup has died down,” Tina saidwith a confidence she did not feel. She continued bravely, “He is well rid ofa flighty Bluestocking who embroils him in questionable situations and makeshim the butt of scandalous on dits. He will be glad to be rid of me!”Lady Delia sighed. “You may be right, child. Even so, you must tell himat once.” She glanced at the letter in Tina’s hand. “Do you suppose that nodcockwishes to be buried in riding breeches?” Catching Tina’s anguished glance,she said bruskly, “I do not for one second imagine that your father is at‘Death’s door,’ Athena. That sounds like Dulcinia—up-in-the-boughs! Youwill probably discover your parent recovering from a colic!But you must go,dear child. Get dressed. I’ll see to all.”Heavy-hearted, Tina agreed. She hugged the old lady gently, and hurriedto her own room where her abigail was already packing a small suitcase. Tinachanged quickly into a becoming traveling costume in soft amber superfine.Then, taking a lingering look around the pretty room, and resolutely refusingto glance at the Grecian costume the Duke had provided for her—”Heracles—who said Hebe had the power of making him young again.”…Oh,John, did you mean it? I have never seen you as too old!—she turned away.She took her case from the abigail and went quietly down to the waitingcarriage. At least she would see him this once more, and perhaps—Tom Coachman, wearing a lugubrious expression, received her instructionsto stop at Renfrew House on his way out of London with open relief.Did everyone know? But of course, Tina reminded herself. The trip did notseem half long enough. Tina had not yet decided how to present her newswhen one of the Duke’s footmen was handing her out of the carriage andthrough the front door. There Cullon met her with a Friday face.“His Grace has been called away on a matter of great urgency, Miss Long,”the butler said. “I have already despatched a messenger to Lady Camden’s homewith the news. Miss Flora has disappeared again,” he concluded, sharply awareof her shocked and desolate expression. “His Grace was most concerned thatyou should lack his support at the Ridotto this Friday. He hoped to be back inLondon before that important event. But you will find his sentiments and his—ah—suggestions in the note he has sent to Lady Camden’s home, Miss Long.”“I wish to leave this for His Grace,” said Tina dully, holding out the messagefrom her mother. “Please inform His Grace that my father is gravely illand I am summoned to Malong Hall. I am leaving at once.”Cullon was obviously unhappy at this turn of events, and apprehensivethat his master would be angry with him for not persuading Miss Long toremain in London, but he had no choice. He attended the young lady backto her carriage as though she were royalty. He was dismayed to note that shewas crying as the coach drew off.

Chapter 14

As Lady Delia’s carriage rolled smoothly over the roads toward MalongHall, a miserable Tina had plenty of time to consider her situation.At least John would not think she had been running awayfrom the scandal in a craven way—her mother’s letter would provethat point. But what had occurred to take him from London so precipitately?Could he have changed his mind, and decided to challenge either or both ofthe vicious rumor-mongers to a duel? If Flora’s incoherent account was true,the wicked lies were being spread all over London. Even if he succeeded insilencing the sources of the canard, the ugly story would spread in all directions,like waves from a rock thrown in a pond.Flora! In her own misery, Tina had forgotten poor little Flora. Perhapssomeday, if she became a noted writer, she might try to find the child againand offer friendship. At that thought, Tina’s mouth twisted in self-condemnation.She had not been of much assistance to the young girl, runningaway when her friendship was the only thing Flora had to cling to. Wherewas Flora?By the time Tom Coachman decided to stop to rest his team and get MissLong refreshment, Tina’s mind was exhausted with fruitless schemes and herheart was sore with regret. For she had finally faced the truth—that she wasdeeply, recklessly, hopelessly in love with a man who saw her only as a greedyopportunist; “so determined a campaigner for marital bliss,” he had accused her.She remembered every word he had spoken to her. Unfortunately, the sting ofcontempt behind most of them still hurt as much as it had originally done.What was worse, she had invited his scorn by answering his question ofwhy she had come to London with bald honesty, admitting she came to finda husband. Of course he had been disgusted! Perhaps if she had also confessedher plan to have her teaching manual published, he might havegivenher the benefit of some delicacy of feeling? But no! Her avowed purpose wasone completely without delicacy, and must be such as would disgust any manof sensibility and taste! Tina groaned and wished she had it to do over. Londonwas a forcing-bedfor maturity. Was it too late for her?Rallying enough to put on a brighter face for Tom Coachman, she dismountedat his command and allowed him to accompany her into the genteelinn at which, he informed her, Lady Delia always stopped for refreshment.It appeared he was known, and favorably known, here. Tina found herselfcosseted and treated with every courtesy. She forced herself to eat somethingfrom several of the dishes she was offered; the result was a lighteningof her black mood. She returned to the carriage much strengthened, andbegan to consider the situation at Malong Hall.Was Papa really seriously ill? Mama’s frenzied letter would seem to indicatethat he was, but a long association with that scatter-brained female hadtaught Tina to look for the small grain of truth within the dramatic presentation.For example: there was the underlined request for Umphrey’s new ridingbreeches. Why should Dulcinia be so urgent about such a minor andactually useless detail, if her husband were on his death-bed? And then therewas the Restorative Jelly. Sighing, the girl realized she would have to waituntil she reached Malong Hall before she could find the answers she sought.It was well after dusk when Tom Coachman brought the carriage to a haltin a well-lighted yard behind a rather imposing inn. He helped her down andshe was glad of his arm. Several hours in a coach, no matter how well-sprung,tended to stiffen muscles unaccustomed to such rigors.“This is where Lady Camden usually spends the night when on the roadto your parents’ home,” he advised her, and led her into the pleasant hallway.Here Mine Host and his wife made her welcome with discreet warmth, andthe buxom lady led her up to a pleasant bedroom where a small fire burnedon the hearth and the bed was already turned down.“You will wish to have a supper before you retire,” suggested the hostessfirmly. “There is a private parlour which Lady Camden always uses. Your mealwill be ready for you in half an hour.”“Thank you,” said Tina, too tired to argue the matter.She washed her face and combed her shining hair into some sort oforder, then wondered if she would even bother to go down to the parlour.It was in her mind that she should be driving on through the night, toreach Malong Hall as rapidlyas possible, but the memory of the coachman’stired elderly face restrained her. Had she enough money to hire arelief-coachman? Surely old Tom could not object to that! Tina counted,the coins and notes in her reticule, and decided that there might beenough. Of course there was the expense of the inns, and the meals forboth of them. She would ask that Tom be brought to her after dinner, anddiscuss the matter honestly with him. A little more comfortable for thisdecision, Tina left her cozy bedroom andwent along the hallway towardthe head of the stairs.Suddenly she halted. From behind one of the closed doors came a wisp ofsound—a woman’s sobbing. Tina took two more steps toward the stairs, thenpaused. The sound came again: the heartbroken cry of a woman in deep grief.Tina went back and tapped softly on the panel.The sobbing ceased abruptly. There was a pause so long that Tina wasafraid the other woman was going to ignore the knocking. Then a very youngvoice called out unsteadily, “Who is it?”With a thrill of fear and hope, Tina identified the childish voice. Sheopened the door and slipped quietly inside, closing it after her.Flora raised a puffy red face from the pillow. Her eyes widened with surpriseand then the whole small, tragic face came to life.“Tina! Is it really you? Oh, Tina!”The older girl came quickly to the bed and took the sobbing child in herarms. “You are safe now, my dear,” she crooned softly. “You can come homewith me until we decide what to do about your problem.”Flora’s head came up warily. “Home?”“I am on my way to Malong Hall. You will be most welcome there for aslong as your Mama will permit you to stay.”“I shall not tell her where I am!” cried Flora. “She really does not care. Sheonly uses me to hurt Uncle John.”“While we are thinking about that, why do we not share a very good dinnerwhich I am assured is waiting for us in the private parlour?” coaxed Tina.“I know I am hungry. Are not you?”Flora gave a watery smile. “Ravenous,” she admitted. “I did not havemoney for both a room and food, so I told the innkeeper I was not hungry. Icame by stage-coach—”“But where were you going?” asked Tina. Time enough to scold her for thealarm, the fears her unannounced departure had given rise to. For now, shemust be comforted. Tina smiled lovingly into the pale little face with its frameof bright red hair still bouncing defiantly. “What was your plan?”“I was going to Renfrew Keep,” she admitted. “I knew—no one—could getme away from there without Uncle John’s permission.He is Head of thehouse, you know,” she added naively. “It is his Castle.”Tina hugged her. “You were right to place your dependence upon youruncle,” she said softly, “and you did let him know where you were going—”The sudden appalled expression on the child’s countenance halted Tina inmid-sentence. “Flora! You left him a message, surely?”The bright red head shook guiltily. “No. I forgot.”Tina hugged her once more, but a look of decision had taken the place ofsympathy. “We must let him know at once. I’ll ask Tom Coachman to send agroom post-haste. They will all be beside themselves with anxiety.”“Mama will not,” objected Flora stubbornly. “I do not wish her to be toldwhere I am.”“She will use your defection as a whip for the Duke’s shoulders,” Tinaadvised, grimly.“You care for Uncle John, do you not?” ventured Flora, her pale littlecountenance alight with affection and curiosity. “I do love you, Tina! I am sopleased you are going to be my Aunt!”Tina, feeling the treacherous warmth in her own breast, made haste to getthe child to her feet and over to the commode to wash the tear stains fromher cheeks. It would not do, she thought, holding a towel for the now happilysplashing Flora, to discuss her feelings about the impassive Duke, nor hisforher. Her immediate concern was to get this child to safety somewhere.She found herself unexpectedly angry at a family whose older members wereso irresponsible in their behavior toward the children. Her own family,though not over-endowed with brains, were warm and loving, and cared foreach other’s happiness.She led the now contented Flora down to dinner in the small private parlour.The meal was a good one, and both girls did it justice. Then, not wishing tolinger near the public rooms of the inn, Tina took Flora back to her room. Sheexplained the situation when both girls were comfortable beside the tiny fire.“My Mama has written me a letter saying that my Papa is at Death’s door,”she began. “But there are mitigating circumstances.”Flora, at once entranced at the drama thus unfolded to her, clasped herhands and waited, open-mouthed.Tina took a breath and continued. “You should understand that my familyare the dearest, most loving people in the world, but they tend to—to lackjudgment. My mother especially is moved to extremes of emotion upon verylittle provocation—”“You mean she goes up into the boughs at the slightest excuse,” noddedFlora. “Or even without one.”Tina chuckled. “You sound as though you knew her!”Flora said simply, “My Cousin Harriet is such an one. She goes into a flusterationover matters which anyone else would see no need to bother about.She seems to enjoy being in a frenzy.”Although the future was not totally acceptable, Tina let it go, since itsaved further explanations. “Mama says in her letter—or seems to say,” shecorrected herself, “since her handwriting is atrocious and she crosses herlines not once but several times, and has afterthoughts which she writes inalong the margins!—at all events, she seems to be saying that Papa is desperatelyill, dying, in fact, and then she commands me—underlined!—tobring with me to Malong Hall his new riding breeches and two jars ofRestorative Pork Jelly!”“Perhaps her doctor has told them to expect a miracle?” suggested Flora.Then she frowned. “But why the breeches? Unless your Papa had expresseda wish to be—that is,” Flora’s face turned scarlet. “Do forgive me, Tina! Youare such a comfortable listener that I do not realize the implications of what I amsaying!” She hung her head.Tina rose, went to the child, and hugged her warmly. “That is the finestthing you could have told me,” she said softly. “Yes, it is possible that my dearPapa might have expressed a wish to be buried in his new breeches, but therewas something aboutMama’s letter which puzzles me. I must tell you thatMama is not in the least bookish or romantic, yet in the letter she said somethingto the effect that my father had been ‘caught and mangled by Death’steeth’! Such fustian is not in her way at all!”“It sounds,” said Flora judiciously, “as though he’d been attacked by ahorse. Have you one by that name—Death?—in your stables?”Tina stared at the child with open mouth. Out of the mouths of babes—! EnteringDeath’s hall now translated to Death’s stall. And if Umphrey’s riding breecheshad been “caught and mangled by Death’s teeth,” of course he would beanxious for their replacement. Suddenly a gurgle of laughter rose in herthroat and would not be denied. She began to laugh so heartily that Flora, atfirst startled, soon joined in the fun. They shook with laughter, gasping as thefit left them. Tina beamed fondly at Flora.“That was more Restorative than Pork Jelly,” she announced, sending theyounger girl into another fit of giggles.Tina smiled fondly at her. “Now, I have a proposal to make—two, in fact.I shall send off a note to the Duke at once, informing him of your presencewith me. That should allay the worst of his alarm,” she added hopefully.“Then, tomorrow, you will accompany me in my grandmother’s coach—much more comfortable than the stage, and certainly less expensive!—toMalong Hall, where we will discover if indeed my Papa has lost an argumentwith a new horse named Death.”Since Flora regarded Tina’s plans as inspired, both girls went off to bedin good spirits. They got an early start the following morning. TomCoachman was plainly worried at the presence of a new passenger—andthat one a daughter of the notorious shrew Lady Rate, but was somewhatreassured since Miss Long had sent off a message to the Duke. If he pushedthe horses, he could get his two charges to Malong Hall within two days,which meant only one more night on the road, tempting fate that no onewould recognize either of the girls and spread scandal. Tom sighed. It wasnot easy being the guardian of Young Females. He really had not had thetraining for it.The following evening, after a long, exhausting day in the carriage, thegirls ate quietly at the inn Tom Coachman selected, and Flora went thankfullyupstairs to the room the girls shared. Tina, equally tired, felt she had towrite to her grandmother, which duty she had unaccountably forgotten inher concern with her letter to the Duke. She was just nicely launched into alengthy and detailed account of the last two days when she was disturbed byloud voices in the hallway, one imperious, the other obsequious, followed bythe beat of furious footsteps along the uncarpeted hallway to the private parlour.The door was thrust open and the Duke of Renfrew, magnificent in ridingdress,strode into the room, immediately making it seem tiny and crowdedby his presence.The nobleman was obviously in a fury. Gone was the normal cool impassivityof his expression, the faintly arrogant imperturbability which had,upon occasion, annoyed Tina to the point of exasperation. Instead she wasconfronted by a dark corsair, whose eyes blazed with anger. Directed at herself!Tina opened her mouth, gasped, and closed it cravenly.The Duke nodded. “Wise of you!” His voice rose as he went on, “Youidiot! You little coward! How dared you leave London without telling me?”Tina’s scattered wits were collecting themselves at the injustice of theDuke’s attack. “How could I tell you? You were gone!”“I was trying to find that idiot niece of mine! Sophia drove her away andshe’s disappeared! But I counted—foolishly, as it appears!—upon you to holdthe fort for me in London, not to slink away like a dismissed servant at thefirst sign of danger!”Tina’s rage at these unjust charges was almost as great as His Grace’s bythis time. “I went to your home to tell you that my father was said to bedying—! You must know that! I left Mother’s letter for you to read—”“As soon as I returned to London from Bodiam, where I was sure I’d findFlora, I was given your Mother’s letter.” That seemed to enrage him further.“She is more idiotic than you are! I rode post-haste to Malong Hall, where Ithought I would find you. You seem to set a very slow pace for one supposedlyrushing to a death-bed!”“My father!” demanded Tina quickly. “Is he really ill?”A reluctant smile tugged briefly at the Duke’s stern lips. “He has a brokenleg and a badly lacerated posterior. His new stallion bears the provocativename of Death.” He watched Tina’s expressive little face intently, grinning insympathy at her dawning understanding. “He had opened the door of Death’sstall, startling the mettlesome beast into attack, which included biting himafter knocking him down.”Tina nodded. “So that’s why Mama was so insistent upon my bringing thenew riding breeches—which I forgot to pick up in my haste to get to hisdeath-bed!” She began to chuckle.He joined her laughter, but after a minute a darkling shadow crossed hisface. “Do you chance to know where Flora went? Now I’ve got you safe undermy hand, I suppose we shall have to search for the brat. Of all the idiots!” Itseemed to be a word much in his mind.“She’s upstairs in my bedroom,” Tina informed him casually. She was stillthinking about his phrase got you safe under my hand.Instead of the relief and gratitude she was entitled to expect, the Dukeglared at her with renewed anger.“Upstairs—! You mean you helped her to run away from her home?Encouraged her in her childish rebellion? Failed to notify anyone as toher whereabouts? You irresponsible little lunatic, I’ve set the Bow StreetRunners after her!”Tina gasped. The Duke must indeed have been concerned for theyoung girl, alone and miserable and frightened, prey to any scoundrel shemight encounter. With understanding came gentleness, and Tina rose andwent quickly to the angry giant. Placing her hand on his arm, she said softly,“She’s well, and quite over the unhappiness which drove her from hermother’s house—”The Duke interrupted with an icy glare of distaste, “Spare me your comfortingplatitudes,if you please! Take me to Flora at once!” Tina snatched awayher hand from the iron bar of his arm and glared back at him with equal distaste.“Why should I? So that you can shout and sneer at the girl, and bullockher as you have been doing with me? I think not, Your Grace! She is tired andshe’s gone to bed. Where I am going to join her!”The Duke caught her arm and drew her back to the sofa by the fireplace.“Simmer down, little fire-eater.” He made her sit down and, after pulling thebell-rope, he sat beside her. Tina glared at him, but the fire had indeed goneout of her as she observed, at this closer vantage point, the lines of exhaustionwhich marked his dark face. He had been on the stretch with apprehensionfor Flora’s safety, and hadmade a forced ride down to Malong Hall inTina’s behalf—surely out of character for the arrogant, unfeeling nobleman!And now he had found her, after stopping no doubt at every respectable innon the road back to London, to reassure her as to Umphrey Long’s wellbeing!No wonder the poor man was weary. He could even be excused forfeeling scornful at the stupidities of those who surrounded him, who dependedupon his strength and decision to keep them out of the worst sort of muddlesinto which they seemed always to be falling!Very much in charity with her arrogant nobleman, Tina longed to smoothaway the lines from the strong face and offer whatever sort of comfort andsolace he wished.The Duke glanced up from the fire and caught the softened glow in Tina’swide golden eyes. At once his own eyes narrowed with interest, and hisexpression acquired a distinctly predatory look. For some reason this did notalarm Tina. She smiled into his hard countenance, and said softly, “Howmuch we all owe Your Grace! It is unfeeling of us to dump all our problemsinto your lap! But you are unfailingly good! A wise elder counselor!”The dark piratical eyebrows rose sharply. Then his lips widened into awolfish grin. “What are you up to, witch? This sudden excess of mawkishamiability must have some dark purpose behind it. Soothing syrup and sentimentality!Are you practicing for the composition of a romantic novel?”Tina’s hackles rose at his taunting mockery. Devil that he was, he did notpermit the expression of even common courtesy without voicing his suspicionsof the speaker’s bona fides! She hated him!The creature was looking at her with his eyes glinting with amusement.Tina suppressed her fury and disappointment sternly. Whatever she mighthave been moved to say was forever lost as the Host entered and askedtheir pleasure.“I shall have a meal, whatever your good wife can prepare for me. Thebest wine in your cellar. A glass of something suitable for this lady, who hasalready eaten, I am given to understand. While I am dining, a bedchamber tobe prepared for me. I think that is all for the present.”Bowing and smiling, the inn-keeper got himself out of the room. Tinaregarded the Duke with a jaundiced eye.“You are very sure of yourself, are you not?” she said.The Duke only shrugged.“Does everyone always do exactly as you wish?” she persisted.The big man raised one eyebrow. “Yes.”Tina felt the rising of fury within her once more. She had to get out ofthis room before she found herself yelling at her tormentor likea fishwife.Well, she could leave now; he was in the way of being fed and rested withoutneed of any comfort she could give. She opened her mouth to bid him achilly good night.The devil forestalled her. “I wish,” he said in a voice notable for itsabsence of arrogance, “that you would remain for just a few minutes, share aglass of wine with me, and tell me what has been happening. We have muchto discuss,” he finished, in a wheedling voice. “Athena?”Tina felt like a child’s ball, bouncing back and forth on its string at thewhim of the owner. First the Duke treated her with contempt, driving herfrom him; then coaxed her back with appeals to her compassion and courtesy.She frowned at him.“I do not see what we have to talk about,” she stated repressively.The Duke’s boyish grin disarmed her. “You are just saying that because Iwas cross with you. Being worried, tired, and hungry at the time.” He tried toadopt a pathetic mien.Tina felt a rush of automatic compassion, as quickly doused when shenoted his sideways glance to see how she was taking his wheedle. “You are athimble-rigger, a Captain Sharp, sir! What do you want of me?”“Merely to talk, to plan our campaign, Athena,” the Duke coaxed. Theentrance of the host and two serving girls with His Grace’s meal and thewines forced the end to private conversation, but when, at length, they werealone again, Tina found it hard to maintain her querulous attitude. He lookedso very tired, and he ate his dinner like a starving man.“When did you last eat?” she demanded.The Duke shrugged. “Late last night. Your charming Mama insisted that Ibreak my fast, although the hour was so advanced.”“You mean she did not give you breakfast this morning?”“I stayed at the inn near your home. It would not,” the Duke advised herprimly, “have been convenable for me to stay in a house of mourning.” Heglanced at her sideways. A most reprehensible look, Tina fumed. What washe playing at? One would almost think the wretched creature was enjoyingher company, and attempting some sort of light-hearted dalliance!The girl sighed. He was irresistible in this role, and he knew it.“Talk!” she commanded.The Duke chuckled, wiped his mouth neatly, and began.“I explained to your Mama about Lady Jersey’s Ridotto tomorrownight, and how necessary it is for you to attend. I did not need to mentionthe importance of scotching the scurrilous lies of the two men who sawyou in Fort Street. It was enough to hint at the possibility of securing avoucher for Almack’s. Your Mama—although she hardly looks it—is morethan seven!“She informed me with charming niveté that she and your family haddespaired of your making a success in the Beau Monde—since you had shownabsolutely no interest in obtaining a husband, in spite of their combined efforts. LadyC. was their last resort.”He laughed aloud at the repulsive look which crossed Tina’s face at thisdisclosure. “Ah, my love, if ever I need to know the truth of your statements,I shall consult Lady Dulcinia!”Tina was so struck by the casual sweetness of his my love that she forgot tobe angry at his shameless pumping of her Mama.“What else did she tell you?”“Very little that I had not already deduced,” smiled the Duke. “I, in turn,assured her that you were a tremendous success and would undoubtedlyreceive at least one distinguished offer after Lady Jersey’s ball—if you were ableto be there! At which she urged me to find you, somewhere on the road betweenMalong Hall and London, and bear you back post-haste to Lady Camden.”“You are a ruthless man,” said Tina. “Did you identify the gentleman whowas to make me the distinguished offer?”“No,” replied the Duke with a prim mouth, “I did not become specific.”“Just as well,” snapped Tina. “I am not returning to London.”“Why not?” demanded the Dukecoldly. “Are you afraid of a little gossip?Or are you avenging yourself upon me because I accused you of tricking meinto marriage? I have announced our betrothal publicly. You know enoughabout Society to realize that it will be impossible for me to withdraw now,and humiliating to be forced to explain your absence. Is it your desire that Ibe so embarrassed?”Tina clenched her hands into small fists. “You have not thought of theeffects of my presence upon your own dignity, Your Grace! I have no desire toembarrass you. My presence in London will encourage your sister to spread herlies. But when I fail to return, surely the sympathy of the Ton will be with you,deluded victim of a scheming female, and the story will soon be forgotten?”“If you think I wish to be known as the tottyheaded victim of a schemingminx, you are far off! And you have apparently forgotten that your Grandmotherwill be deeply hurt, perhaps even ostracised by your defection.” Hefrowned at her anxious little face. “Can you not trust me and your Grandmamato pull all the chestnuts out of the fire? Come; show a little courage,Athena! Trust me, and you shall achieve your heart’s desire!”Tina felt the stirrings of hope. “What would you have me do, Your Grace?”“Merely accept the fact that you have achieved every girl’s objective incoming to London: to catch a husband,” grinned the Duke.“But as my too-confiding Mama informed you, it was not by choice thatI entered upon this quest. In short, sir, I do not want a husband! I never did!”“Yet you lent yourself to the plan, and came to the Marriage Mart withLady Camden,” said the Duke sternly. “What was your reason?”Tina shrugged. “I disliked the notion of dwindling into an ape-leader. PerhapsI was even jealous of a red-haired flirt whohad all the youths in thecounty at her feet. Or perhaps I was bored with the dullness of conversationwhich concerned itself solely with horses and hunting and county gossip.”“But surely bucolic conversation has not suddenly risen to new heights ofsparkling interest?”“No, I am sure it has not. But the sale of my manual, of which I told you,has convinced me that I can find more real satisfaction in creative activitythan in the idle life of a society matron.” Catching his look of incredulity,Tina added quickly, “I am to do several more books for the same purchaser. Ishall be well-occupied and happy, I assure you.”“You will not miss the dances, and concerts, the theater?”“All these can be found outside London,” prevaricated Tina, annoyed athis persistence. “Malong Hall is not Outer Mongolia, you know!”“Near enough,” said the Duke, unforgivably. He lifted one haughty eyebrowat her. “I have listened with patience to your arguments, Athena. I havedecided, however, that I need you in London.”“You need me—?” Tina found herself echoing.“Yes. As I told your Mama, I shall take you and Flora back to London withme. I shall keep Flora in my Town House, employ a governess until she canbe enrolled in a good school which will challenge her growing mind. You willcontinue to be her friend, and accompany her on our educational trips aslong as she is in the city. And Friday night—why, that is tomorrow, is itnot?—we shall attend the Ridotto together.”As he made these arrogant announcements, Tina found herself tornbetween anger and incredulous joy. She was forced to admit that whateverhis reasons, she wanted to be with this overbearing, beautiful man wherever,whenever, he wished. Unable to voice further objections, she said, “I amtired,” in a cross little voice.The Duke opened the parlour door for her, bowed, and watched herprogress as she slowly mounted the stairs.

Chapter 15

Tina’s feelings were mixed as she prepared for Lady Jersey’s Ridotto.The costume the Duke had provided for her was at once daringand demure, a white-and-gold enchantment of softly drapedmaterial and subtly placed gold cord. For the first time in her life,her lack of inches was disguised—or made unimportant—by the artful fallof silken material. With her crown of dark, shining hair she was, in fact, atiny goddess.In spite of her own, Hugget’s, and Lady Delia’s delighted recognition ofher beautiful turnout, Tina was still very frightened. Lady Sophia had notcommunicated with her, or her grandmother; the Duke had sent masses offlowers and some charming trifles (a fillet of flexible gold to crown her coiffurein the Grecian style, and a flexible golden necklace set with glowingtopaz), but no message had accompanied the gifts. So it was impossible forTina to know what plans HisGrace had made to get them out of the socialruin which threatened. Grand-mama, appealed to in desperation, merelyshook her head and advised Tina to trust the Duke.Trust the Duke! Of course she did! But then how could even so skilled asocial campaigner as he was get them out of this tangled web of malice andhatred? Taking a last glance at the surprisingly lovely little figure in the mirror,Tina squared her shoulders and prepared to enter the arena.We who are about to die, salute you! she thought wryly, echoing the famoussalutation of Roman gladiators before the Games.When she joined Lady Delia, Tina was encouraged by the impressive pictureher Grandmama presented. In a superb representation of a GreekMatron, Lady Delia positively glowed with restrained magnificence. Herrobe was of so dark a purple as to look almost black in some lights, and herfamous rubies burned with autocratic splendor at throat, wrist, fingers andupon her snowy hair. Tina began to feel more confident.“We make a handsome pair,” she smiled.“It is more important that you and Renfrew make a handsome pair,” correctedLady Delia.“And that he does not catch cold,” Tina could not forbear adding. “The ancientGreeks really had no inhibitions about displaying their—ah—manly charms.”Lady Delia, who liked a salted reference if it were not crudely expressed,smothered a smile.At this moment, a footman announced the arrival of the Duke, and bothladies went down to the drawing room to join him. Tina caught her breath atsight of him.He always stood head and shoulders above most of the company, buttonight there was a blazing splendor about John Stone which dazzled theeye. His six-foot-four inches were draped in a short linen tunic with a metalbreastplate whose bosses caught the light.A short, very practical lookingbroadsword hung from a leather belt at his narrow waist. The pleated tunicfell just above his knees, revealing powerfully muscled legs. A cloak of royalpurple was caught over one massive shoulder with a jewelled clasp, andaboveit rose the strong wide column of His Grate’s throat and the noble, darklyhandsome head. Tina experienced a strange weakness in her knees which hadthe odd effect of rendering her breathless. It was left for Lady Delia to say,“Incomparable, John!If any other man in London could carry off such barbaricmagnificence, you would start a fashion tonight!”The Duke smiled. His eyes went to Tina, and lingered over her delicatebeauty. “Perhaps we all might set a new style—if the English climate moreclosely resembled the Mediterranean.” He could not seem to stop staring atTina. “Athena,” he said softly. “I think it should have been Aphrodite!”This remark enabled Tina to regain her voice. “But there is already anAphrodite Long, sir. My beautiful sister! A ‘Goddess, excellently bright,’ asBen Jonson wrote,” she concluded, with a naughty glance at Lady Delia.The Duke cut in smoothly before her grandmother had a chance toexpress displeasure, “But you are not prepared to flaunt your blue stockingsthis evening, I see.” His eyes went boldy over her figure, lingering on theshapely legs under the revealing close-drape of her costume. Lady Delia suppresseda huff of laughter, and Tina felt herself coloring under that predatoryglance. She held her head proudly.“Indeed not, Your Grace,” she retorted pertly. “I shall, in fact, attempt tocaptivate every male creature at the ball!”Her rebellion, if such it was, was quickly quelled. “I think not,” said HisGrace smoothly, moving forward and taking her arm in fingers of iron. “Ibelieve I must instruct you in the proper strategy. The primary purpose of thisevening’s exercise is to secure your voucher for Almack’s—the symbol of youracceptance by the Beau Monde. To this end, we must scotch the vile rumorsalready set about by my wretched sister, her son, and the two libertines whoobserved you on Fort Street. I have contrived a plan.”When he did not continue, Lady Delia prodded, “What is it? And whatroles do you wish us to play?”“Yourselves,” said the Duke firmly. “Only that. Allow me to direct the action.”Tina scanned the magnificently virile man beside her. The Grecian trappings,while enhancing his powerful male body, were not solely responsiblefor the impression he made. It came to her that John Stone, Dukeof Renfrew,would stand out in any costume, in any group of men. He had bred true tothose qualities which had first won the Dukedom. For all his arrogance, if anyman could resolve their dangerous problem, it was John Stone.Partly to cover her extreme admiration, partly to express it, Tina said inrallying tones, “For myself, I intend to behave as though you were my wholedependence and delight—as the phrase is.”“Do so,” invited the Duke with his wide wolfish smile. “It will be goodpractice for you,” and he offered an arm to each lady and led them out tohis carriage.Their arrival at Lady Jersey’s home was in the nature of a royal progress.Even the crowds of the hoi polloi, gathered in the street to gawk at the swellsin their colorful costumes, received the Duke’s party with cries of admiration,and when a footman handed down a small black boy in an elaborate costume,there was vociferous applause.“Whatever is that?” questioned Tina, but the Duke merely took herarm and her grandmother’s and escorted them into the wide hallway, litwith a thousand candles and crowded with members of the Ton. A hastyglance to the rear showed Tina that the child was following them, bearinga shining package.Sally Jersey, heading her own reception line at the top of the wide stairway,cried out with delight at their costumes, and bade them an extravagantwelcome. She herself was charmingly pert as Columbine. When the Duke’sladies had expressed their greetings, the Duke waved forward the littleblack page.“A trifling gift for you, my dear Sally,” he said gently.Lady Jersey’s eyes widened as they took in the richly dressed small figure.“In the nature of a bribe, perhaps?” she taunted sweetly. It was clear she hadheard the rumors.The Duke favored her with what Tina privately thought to be a devastatingsmile. “For you, my dear? Absolutely useless to try any such ployupon one of your acknowledged nous! No, Aladdin is merely the bearer ofa real gift for you. Miss Long and I know how well one of your brightnessof mind will appreciate it. It comes from Fort Street.” He enunciated the contentiousname clearly.There was a sudden silence, and then the hiss of drawn breaths, as allthose who had been pretending not to listen to the exchange between thetwo powerful social arbiters now gaped openly.Sally Jersey’s eyes assessed the gold-foil-wrapped package the blackpage was offering her. Then curiosity won, and she accepted it and toreaway the wrappings.To Tina’s complete astonishment, a small book in a bright orange coverwas revealed.Lady Sally stared at it. “Roads to Wonder? What is this, Renfrew?”The Duke took Tina’s hand and pulled her closer to himself and LadyJersey. “My fiancée—who has really dreaded being revealed as a Bluestocking!—has just had this most useful volume published by Guthrie and Sinclair,in Fort Street. It is already a success in the field for which she intendedit, but she is of such overweening modesty that she has refused to permitany advertisement of her work.” He grinned at Lady Jersey. “Feelingthat I might—er—cut up rough!” He joined the general laugh at his suddendescent into cant.Lady Jersey’s eyes were bright with admiration and amusement. “My clearRenfrew, you should have been a General! You have cut the ground out fromunder your enemies’ feet! So charmingly, too! I hope you are going to permitme to keep this pretty page? As I recall, my own Mama had one very like himto attend upon her!”The Duke bowed. “He is yours! And Athena and I hope you will bepleased to bestow your patronage upon her work. We shall pen a most flatteringand obsequious dedication to be included with the text, if you will permit?I assure you, the work is scholarly.”Sally Jersey handed back the volume to the waiting page. “Aladdinshall keep it until I have time to peruse it! I am not very—scholarly myself,but it would be flattering to become a patron of the arts!” She gave Tinatwo fingers to shake, bestowed a smile upon her, and turned to the nextguests in line.None of the three spoke until they were safely within the ballroom. ThenLady Delia smiled up at the Duke. “Thank you, John! That was masterly!”He smiled and pressed her hand where it lay on his forearm.“Renfrew protects its own,” he said. “It is our family motto.”Tina felt again that strange weakness at the knees and the accompanyingbreathlessness.At this moment the musicians struck up a lively tune. Since this was aRidotto, with all the guests in masquerade, there was none of the careful formalitythat usually marked a Grand Ball. It was hard to single out the mostimportant personages when everyone was hiding under an assumed identity.Many of the dancers were masked. A few even had elaborate constructionsover their entire heads to represent strange beings. Under such conditions,the rulesof precedence could hardly be enforced.Establishing Lady Delia with a gaggle of her cronies, the Duke swungTina out onto the floor to join the waltzing couples. The girl had beenhoping for just this moment.“Thank you, John! It was a splendid stratagem!” she beamed.The Duke held her a little closer and said softly, “I think Sally Jerseyaccepted it. And she is such a talker that the word will be in everyone’s earbefore the evening ends, and all over London tomorrow. Sophia and Georgeare thwarted, and the two spies discredited. Yes, it was a good evening’s work,but we had to pay for it by branding you a Bluestocking. Do you regret it?”Tina’s head rose proudly. “I glory in it! The day will come when everyonewill receive a good general education, and with it the power to make somethingworthwhile of himself! How could I regret my small part in that?”“But the Polite World is hardly ready for pedagogical revolution, my dearAthena,” interjected the Duke smoothly. “Nor will it welcome a militant Bluestocking,manning a barricade of text-books!”“Much I care,” muttered Tina. “I shall be happily writing my manuals andpossibly even setting up a school of my own at Malong Hall!”The Duke’s shout of laughter attracted attention. He softened his voice ashe said, “Can you not picture Dulcinia and Umphrey acting as sponsors forsuch a school? They will commit you to Bedlam first!”“I may not go back there,” Tina retorted. Now that John had smoothed herpath and confounded the gossips, she might just stay in London with LadyDelia and enjoy the cultural amenities of the metropolis. She said as much.“And our engagement?” challenged the Duke.Her eyes were wide and troubled as she stared up into his face. “You have doneso much for me, Your Grace! Of course your comfort must be my first concern!”“My comfort?” repeated the Duke, as though he did not particularly enjoythe taste of the words. “I recall that you once called me a wise elder counselor,and upon another occasion, thanked me for my middle-aged indulgence ofyou children. How great is the gap between us, Athena?”“I am nineteen,” she admitted, feeling very green and gauche in the presenceof his wordly self-possession.“And I am thirty-six, twice your age and one hundred times your experience.”His voice was somber, repressive. Tina felt suddenly cut off and lonely—rejected as unworthy by every criterion. She peered up at him as heswung her deftly among the other dancers.“We owe you so much, Lady Delia and I,” she began, in a small humble voice.The Duke caught her uncomfortably close and then held her away fromhim. His dark, saturnine face looked down at her, impassive and arrogant.“Yes, you do owe me rather a lot,” he said, surprisingly. “I will tell you how Iintend to collect the debt.”Tina waited, the beginnings of alarm stirring in her breast.After a long pause, the Duke said, in a voice whose silken menace sent achill of fear through the girl, “First: your behavior tonight must be that of ayoung woman joyously approaching a much-to-be-desired wedding.” His fineeyes mocked her troubled face. “Can you manage that, do you think, Athena?”“Yes,” the girl answered simply. If only he knew how eagerly she longedto be the arrogant Duke’s bride!“You will not betray, by word or deed, that our engagement is—a hoax.You will continue to partner me at whatever social events I choose. You are avery effective buffer against encroaching females.”Tina felt her anger rising at this cynical pronouncement. She bit back theretort which rose to her lips. The Duke,holding her effortlessly close to hisbody, watched the changing expressions which passed across the little face.He nodded. “I see you are learning to control your tongue and your temper,”he goaded. “By the end of the Season, I shall have schooled you well enoughto make you desirable to other men.”This was too much. No female, however grateful, could be expected toput up with weeks of such deflating remarks. More bitterly than she herselfwas aware, Tina struck back at her tormentor. “Who would want anotherman’s cast-off—even if the other man was a Duke?”His grip tightened painfully. “You are repudiating the bargain?” his voicewas hard.“Of course not! I asked a simple question,” Tina defied him.The Duke’s smile was an insult. “Almost any man in the Ton—if I am theDuke referred to in your simple question. I am known to be most particular,fastidious, and experienced.”“Your Grace should open a school for concubines!” flamed Tina, prey toemotions she had never felt before.“Be careful, Athena! You are casting down the gauntlet! I never refusea dare.”He was mocking her! The girl threw back her head to confront him faceto face.The Duke seized the opportunity. Placing his hard mouth over hers, hekissed her until she was breathless, dizzy, and stumbling. Forgotten was thecrowded ballroom around them. Forgotten Lady Delia and decorum, LadyJersey, Almack’s, and the sharp eyes and sharper tongues of the quizzes.When the Duke finally lifted his dark corsair’s head from hers, Tina gasped.She was conscious of one warm, hard hand firm against the nape of her slenderneck. She was aware of a fire running along her veins, and the tremblingof her knees—which seemed to be almost a permanent state when she waswith the Duke. Her great golden eyes blazed up into his.“No wonder mankind has committed every possible folly in the name oflove,” she said, voicing her inmost thoughts.The predatory smile widened on his Grace’s beautiful mouth. “Nowonder?” he prodded.Tina was too dazed by her experience to have her guard up against thisman. “It is magic…cataclysmic…the earth whirls! It is even more powerfulthan the other time—”The freest, most delighted laugh she had yet heard from the Duke’s lipsrang out. All he said, however, was, “You are an apt pupil, Athena.” He kepthis arms about her, steadying her, his great shoulders a shield against pryingeyes, until she had regained her breath and her balance.Tina found her cheek pressing against metal. She drew back slightly anddared to look up into his face again. He was smiling a gentler smile than shehad ever seen upon his lips. And then he said, “Do you think you couldbecome addicted to my love-making, Athena?”Tina blushed a fiery red under that amused scrutiny. She was beingbrought back too quickly from her romantic revelation. For a few preciousmoments it had seemed as though all problems were solved, all questionsanswered; as though she were on the verge of knowing some profound truthwhich would cast its light upon all her days. His words brought her back toreality—the crowded ballroom, the overheated air thick with perfumes, thenoise of the orchestra and the people talking above it.“I would like to go home,” said Tina.At once the spell was broken and the Duke’s face returned to its wontedimpassivity. “We shall remain until after supper. You have obviously forgottenour reason for being here.”The dancing continued. Tina was never left alone. Sometimes, betweendances, the Duke would not even return her to the chairs where Lady Deliaand her old friends sat, fanning themselves and sipping champagne. Once hedid bring her there, and seated her while he danced with her grandmother.The moment he left her side, a number of men converged upon her, clamoringfor the privilege of leading her onto the floor. Tina accepted one of themand found herself being whirled around the floor in a gavotte. At first she wasanxious and stiff, but the dedicated skill of her partner soon won her to anappreciation of the lively measure, and she began to enjoy the exercise.When the music ended, she joined in her young partner’s laughter as he ledher back to the rendezvous.The Duke was there, frowning coldly.After that he left her once, to dance with Sally Jersey, and he made sureshe was seated beside her grandmother, and drinking fruit punch, beforehe left.“John seems particularly devoted tonight,” murmured Lady Delia inher ear.“He is jealous of his consequence,” Tina murmured back.Lady Delia cast a sharp glance at her. “But of course! And he deserves yourgratitude for his face-saving stratagem this evening! Even if you were not hisfiancée, his action as we greeted Lady Jersey would have saved your credit inSociety. It was brilliant!”Tina nodded agreement.Although they danced together again, and the Duke squired the twowomen down to supper with every appearance of enjoyment, the pleasurehad gone out of the evening as far as Tina was concerned. She smiled herbright, attractive smile, she widened her great golden eyes upon the Duke’sface with every appearance of admiration and delight, she asked questionsand made comments in her pretty voice—but all the time she was thinkingback to that magical moment on the dance floor, and wondering desolatelyif she would ever again experience such bliss.At last the time came to take their leave of their indefatigable hostess.Lady Jersey was still prattling on, her face animated.“How does she do it?” muttered Lady Delia. “I could swear she hasn’tstopped talking all evening.”“She loves it,” advised the Duke, also sotto voce. “She talked all throughour dance. Eventually I found it rather restful. There is no need to think ofsomething to say.”He and Lady Delia were laughing when it was their turn to thank theirhostess and bid her goodnight. Sally Jersey scanned their faces with sharp,interested eyes, then glanced at Tina.The girl was ready. Instead of looking at Lady Jersey, she had fastened hereyes on the Duke’s smiling face in a glance of besotted adoration. Her hostessflashed back to the Duke with reluctant admiration. “How do you manageit?” she mocked. “Another victim—” she glanced at his costume—”toyour sword! Goodnight, child,” she addressed Tina. “My compliments uponyour literary efforts. Although I cannot see Renfrew permitting you to continuewith them after your marriage!”Affably formal, the Duke escorted his ladies out to his carriage, whichappeared as by magic on the arrival of the party at the head of the steps. LadyDelia kept a flow of innocuous comment about the costumes, the food, themusic, the remarks of her contemporaries, until the carriage pulled up in frontof her own well-lighted doorway. As he and a groom assisted her out of thevehicle, she chuckled at the Duke.“I have just given my celebrated imitation of Sally Jersey! I fear it maybe catching!”Once inside, the Duke bent over her bejewelled hand. “Good-night, LadyDelia. Thank you for being my guest this evening. May I have just two minutesto speak to my fiancée?”Lady Delia nodded. She looked very tired. “Thank you, John. Yes, youmay talk with Tina for a moment—not long, if you please. The evening hasbeen a demanding one for us all.”With that, she left them and walked slowly up the staircase, preceded byher footman with her lighted candle in his hand.The Duke led Tina to the formal drawing room and closed the doorbehind them. He escorted her to a chair and almost pushed her down into it.“Your Grandmother, at least, likes me,” he said grimly. “Maybe it takes anolder woman to appreciate me.”Staring up in surprise into his discontented face, Tina felt a small surge ofhope. Impulsively, meeting the obscure need she sensed in him, she said honestly,“I have never thought of you as old! You must know that you are—thatyou have—” Conscious of her self-betrayal, she hesitated.“If you mean half the things you say, or even one quarter of the thingsyour smile has been implying—maddeningly!—all evening, why do you alwaysdraw back? Does a man’s touch disgust you?”“Yours does not,” answered Tina, throwing her cap over the windmill.“You saw what happened to me tonight when you kissed me.”There was a lightening and softening of the harsh dark features above her.The Duke took her hand and pulled her up to stand close in his embrace.Tina winced at the sudden contact.The Duke released her at once, his voice grim. “There! You have done itagain! Every time—!”Tina laughed. “Your Grace, when you force a woman against a metalbreast-plate as hard as you have just done, it hurts! Your knowledge of thefemale anatomy must tell you what I mean!”Incredulous, then finally accepting, the Duke only muttered, “I forgot Ihad the damned thing on!” and joined her laughter.Very carefully he drew her to him. “This is not a very romantic setting,is it, my little Wisdom? Shall I call tomorrow, wearing a more accommodatinggarment, and drive you through the park? Yes, that would be convenable.We’ll take Flora with us. She will be dying of curiosity, and you canenlighten her as we go.”Tina nodded, dreamily content to be held in that light, possessiveembrace. Whatever it was he felt for her, she would accept it, and hope thatshe could someday win his love.And then his next words shocked her into full awareness.“We shall continue this absurd engagement until the end of the Season,as I planned,” he said casually. “Knowing that you love me will make it allmuch easier.”She veiled her eyes with suddenly heavy lids. Oh, God! Do not let him knowhow this has hurt me! she thought. She did not fear that she would cry. Thisagony cut too deep for tears. Absurd engagement? Knowing she loved him wouldmake what easier?In a moment, sensing her lassitude, the Duke released her from hisembrace. “Tired, little one?” he asked softly. “I shall let you go now. But beready for our drive out tomorrow! I intend to assert my domination over youwhile I still can!”Trying hard to smile, Tina bade him goodnight.

Chapter 16

Once in her room, Tina sank onto her bed and shook with theagony of her loss. In one evening she had learned more than sheever wished to know about love and betrayal. The Duke’s rejection,so casual, almost gentle, had thrown her into a state ofanguish which she did not think she could endure. Tina lifted her head andclasped her trembling hands tightly. She must take action! The Duke hadmanagedto scotch the venomous rumors spread by his sister and his nephew.Lady Jersey had accepted her as a guest. No harm could come to Grandmama,nor even to His Grace, from her innocent forays into Fort Street. Andshe still had the Purchaser of her manual, who wished further books ofincreasing difficulty!Tina clung to that, the one hopeful fact in this tempest of pain. Because itseemed obvious, even to her naive heart, that the Duke did not intend, andhad never intended, to marry her. It was, as he had always stated, a measureof self-protection, pure and simple. The more fool she, for hoping andexpecting anything else!On the other hand, Tina did not believe that she could endure severalmore weeks of play-acting, of being always at the Duke’s side, breathing thefragrance of his immaculately kept body, seeing the powerful beauty of hiswarm, possessive smile, feeling the hard caress of his hands—and knowing itall to be a sham. It was more, she told herself, than any woman could bear!But what could she do?Go home. Lady Delia and the Duke could spread the word that her fatherhad been injured. That much was true. And that she had been called back tohis bed-side. True, also—and easily to be verified by any scandalmonger. Andsoon enough he would forget the country bumpkin who had so brieflyengaged his attention. The very fact of their supposed engagement wouldprotect him for the rest of the Season. Oh, why didn’t he find some suitable nonentity,and marry her? cried Tina’s sore heart.Having made her decision, the girl washed her face and began to pack.Within a short time, she had everything ready for the morning, even layingout the travelling dress that she wished to wear. It was one the Duke hadcommended when he took Flora, Nigel and herself to Astley’s one day. Sheresolved to take that much comfort with her on her flight.In the event, her departure was less bothersome than she had feared itmight be. Lady Delia never came out of her bedroom before noon onmornings after a great ball. The servants, well trained, did not express anyof the curiosity they must have felt at seeing Lady Camden’s granddaughterembarking in a hackney coach with two large suitcases and ahandbag. Dolby, directing the placement of Tina’s bags at her feet, venturedone question.“Milady is aware of your journey, Miss Athena?”“She knows of my father’s accident, Dolby,” Tina answered composedly.“Yes, Miss,” agreed the butler, but his glance was full of doubt. Tina smiledat him suddenly. They were good, these devoted old servants of Grandmama’s!“Thank you for everything,” she said, pressing into his reluctant handthe envelopes in which she had placed the vails for the servants. This wassuch an assurance of her final departure that she had not wished to do it earlier,lest he consult Lady Delia.She sat back in the coach, the footman closed the door, and the driver sethis team into motion. It was goodbye. Tears misted her vision, but she hadno desire to look a last time upon Portman Square.The trip home was not comfortable,even in the mail-coach. She arrivedat Malong just before lunchtime the next day, exhausted by the incrediblerapidity of the non-stop journey. In the village, she was able to secure the servicesof a gig and driver from the host of the inn, who bent a pretty forbiddinglook at her weary, bedraggled state.“Now, Miss Tina, what’s up? Where’s yer Grandmama, then?” he demandedwith the licence of one who had known her from her childhood.“I have returned to be with my Papa,” said Tina shortly. Old retainers—JoshuaTendon had been head groom in her father’s stable until he married the formerinnkeeper’s widow—seemed to think themselves entitled to domineer and pryinto one’s private affairs! Still, he handed her into the gig with gentle support, andadmonished the stable boy fiercely to get her to Malong Hall safely or else!Her Mama was not too surprised at her arrival, and broke into a paeanof thanks for the breeches, which the Duke had apparently dispatchedpost-haste from London.“Papa will be up and about within the next few days,” she volunteered.“His leg is mending nicely, and the—ah—other wounds have healed over. Heshould be able to resume his normal activities much sooner than he thought.Oh, Tina, it was so good of you to come to us!” Her pretty face under itsfetching lace cap clouded. “But I am sure the Duke told us you were goingback to London with him! Did you miss him on the road?”In spite of her weariness, her sore heart, and her natural exasperation atthis beloved muddle-head, Tina had to laugh. “Mama, you are a never-failingrefreshment to one’s spirits! Now let me come in and wash the travel dustfrom my person, and then perhaps you will instruct Mrs. Morgan to set up ameal for me? I have not eaten in days!”“This folly of fasting to achieve a fashionable slenderness of figure doesnot at all please me!” she protested, leading the way up to Tina’s old bedroom.“Oh, Morgan!” She caught sight of the elderly housekeeper lurking in theshadows at the rear of the hall. “Here is Miss Tina down from London on thathorrid mail-coach, and apparently so eager to rejoin us that she has notstopped to break her fast on the way! Please be so good as to have a collationset up in the morning room. Unless, my love, you would prefer to go straightto your bed?” she added, to Tina.The girl laughed and hugged her. “No, Mama, I’ll wash and eat first. Itrestores me just to be here with you again!”Her mother, vaguely worried by the sudden arrival, stayed with Tina andescorted her down to the sunny, charming room in which a small table had beenset for her. Tucking into the tasty food with relish, Tina soon felt herself muchbetter able to cope with any queries her parent might care to make. But beforethe inquisition started, she said, “Papa looks quite recovered, does he not? I amglad you did not waken him to greet me when we peeped in just now.”“Dr. Sevenage has given me strict instructions,” nodded her mother.“Porter with his luncheon, then a good nap after it. He guarantees that willrestore Papa to his old spirits very shortly!”“I am glad,” smiled Tina. “Such a panic as you put me into, with that letter,Mama! ‘Death’s hall—Death’s teeth’! I had not heard of the new stallion, soyou may imagine what I feared!”Dulcinia had the grace to look ashamed, but it was a temporary guilt. Herpretty face broke into a mischievous smile. “If ever I want your company, Ishall know what to do,” she said unrepentently.“You are likely to have a surfeit of it,” Tina advised her. “I am hometo stay.”At once a frown clouded the pretty face. “But the Duke? Such a lovelyman, Tina! I quite lost my heart to him!”“Be careful, Mama, or I shall tell Papa!” teased the girl, but her heart wasnot in it. She did not think she could bear an inquisition, however loving, atthis moment, so she rose quickly, and dropping a kiss on her Mama’s softcheek, said, “Not another word—not even one syllable, my dear! I am so tiredI am ready to drop!” She went into the hallway, ignoring her Mama’s lovingprotests—and ran square into the big hard body of the Duke of Renfrew.Taken completely by surprise, Tina could not disguise her anxious,loving search of the beloved face. The Duke was weary; hard lines offatigue grooved his dusty countenance. His eyes also were burningbeneath heavy lids.“Oh, come in and sit down!” begged Tina. “Let me get you something toeat and drink!”“When I have settled our affairs, you little—” began the Duke in a gratingvoice totally without affection or tenderness.Tina flinched automatically.“Yes, you are wise to prepare yourself, woman!” the big man snarled at her.“You little coward! What—”“Your Grace!” piped up Dulcinia happily. “What a pleasure to welcome youagain to Malong Hall! This silly child was too tired to tell me you were coming.Morgan! Send someone to take his Grace up to a bedroom to wash andrefresh himself, if you please. Then prepare a meal. The best cognac, I think,”she dimpled up into the taut, angry face above her.Slowly the anger and resentment drained out of the dark face. A slowsmile took their place, softening the powerful features. “Thank you, LadyDulcinia! You Long women have a gift for comfort,” he glanced slowly overthe face and figure of Tina. So intimately searching was his scrutiny that Tinafelt herself blushing hotly. The Duke’s grin widened. He bowed slightlytoward Dulcinia, and then turned to follow the footman up the stairs, haltingat the landing to look down at the women who watched his progress fromthe hallway below. “A gift for comfort,” he repeated softly, “as wellas thepower to enrage a man to madness.”With a final glance at Tina’s face, he turned and went on up the stairs.“What a charming man!” sighed Dulcinia.“I thought for a moment he was going to beat me,” whispered Tina.“Umphrey often told me he wanted to beat me,” confided Dulcinia. “Ifound it very flattering.”Silenced by this startling communication from her parent, Tina wentcautiously up to her own room to bathe and change into fresh clothing. Inthe coming encounter, she would need all the reinforcement available. Forthere would be an encounter; His Grace’s final look had promised it. Tinagot out her prettiest dress, a very soft primrose which brought out the goldin her eyes. Dulcinia, who apparently had a very good idea of what herdaughter was up to, sent in her own maid to brush and dress Tina’s darkhair, and had even sent a tiny pot of rose-pink for her lips and cheeks. ThisTina refused, but she did so far arm herself as to dab her finest perfumegenerously on her person.“You look good enough to eat, Miss Tina,” said the abigail.Tina shivered involuntarily. “I hope not,” she muttered.And stepped bravely down to the morning room. She was surprised tofind the Duke alone, eating heartily.Catching her glance around the room, the Duke grinned at her. “YourMama has more nous than you, my dear girl. She knows when to makeherself scarce!”This was hardly a promising beginning, thought Tina, warily scanning thebeloved face. The predatory smile was much in evidence.“Why did you…come here?” she asked. It embarrassed her when hervoice came out in a weak whisper.The Duke lifted his brandy glass in an insolent salute. “To bring you yourvoucher to Almack’s and—a new contract.”“Contract?” Why did she have to echo his words like some silly ingénue?Tina thought fiercely.“Yes, It seems the person who purchased your manual wishes to tie youdown securely to the production of several more. The terms are adequate.”“You have read my contract?” flared Tina. “By what right—?”“The right of the Purchaser,” said His Grace calmly.“You—you are the Purchaser?” stammered Tina.The Duke’s grin was less threatening. “Yes.”“But why? Why should you want my manuals?”“I thought Sinclair might have told you.”“Nothing. He said secrecy was the essence of…the contract.”The Duke finished his brandy, began to wipe his lips and then desisted, witha devilish glance at the girl. “I am sure you will prefer the flavor of such an excellentbrandy to the taste of beer,” he said, as a kindly adult promising a treat.So he was going to kiss her! Tina’s knees were attacked by the familiarweakness. She backed away slowly, trembling.The Duke observed these signs with smug satisfaction. “I see you are suitablyimpressed by my presence,” he taunted. “That is well for you.”He moved forward with the grace of a tiger and took her arm. “Mrs. Morgantells me that we may use the library for our—conference, since no onebut Miss Tina ever goes near the place.” He smiled down into her small, worriedcountenance. “Lead the way, Author.”When they had entered the room, the Duke closed the door firmly afterhim. “Now, Miss Athena Long, Author, Seductress! Why have you chosen toplay least in sight with me? Why, little coward, did you decide to desert mein the middle of the night, after giving me to believe that we had a bargain?”He strode to her and seized her arms in iron fingers. “Why?”Staring up into those demanding grey eyes, Tina knew that nothingbut the truth would serve. “You said our engagement was absurd! Thatknowing I loved you would make it easier!” she sobbed with the pain ofremembered rejection.His fingers tightened. “But of course it was absurd! The melodramatics ofthe scene in my library with the Pennets! Your naive stratagem ‘to save mybacon’! Would you not call that Cheltenham rodomontade of the most ridiculous?And as a sensible female, why did you not confront me with your—yoursuspicions at once?”Tina drew a shuddering breath. “I suppose because I am not—a sensiblefemale,” she said. “Thinking as I did, I could not bear to be with you forweeks, close to you every day—”The Duke’s voice interrupted sharply, “You find me so distasteful?”“Oh, no!” She looked up and saw the pain in his face; her heart was wrung.“How could you think that, John, when you saw how your kiss affected me?I could not bear to pretend that we were to marry, when it was all a sham!Too painful—for one who loves you,” she ended bravely.The Duke’s hands closed more tightly upon her arms. She looked into hisface. “I did not wish you to feel obligated to me,” she confessed, “but the mosturgent thing was that I really couldn’t stand the pain of seeing you—andnot—having you!”The Duke drew a hard breath. “And I thought my advanced age and experiencerevolted you. I feared I could not make you happy.”Tina dared a tentative smile. “That is absurd, Your Grace!”“You called me John just now,” the Duke reminded her.“John! You know how you affect me! You teased me about it!”“Did I?” queried the Duke, with less assurance than he had ever displayedtoward her.Tina, looking at the Duke’s handsome face with the eyes of love, perceivedsomething she had not seen before. Under the arrogant facade of thedark corsair, beneath the imperturbable front which His Grace usually presentedto his world, there breathed a man of passion—and sensitivity. A manwho could be disappointed, hurt, betrayed. Tina’s warm heart swelled withcompassion and love. She knew he would not be able to accept the full measureof what she felt for him—not yet! But her keen woman’s mind began tosee the answer. With a long, loving, teasing look into that guarded yet vulnerablecountenance, she said, “Of course you did! A man of your knowledgeof the world! Your experience! Surely you would know when a woman is inlove with you!”“Perhaps I saw it as mere physical attraction, or…pity?” His voice was alittle stronger, more assured, and his grasp on her arms even tighter. Tinashook with inner joy, but her voice was still gaily teasing as she challenged,“Perhaps you are a wily devil, John Alexander Stone! What rig are youup to? You know I adore you, every virile, desirable inch of you—and thereare plenty of them!” She pulled back a little, to observe the effect of herremarks. He was staring intently into her small, enchanting face, seeking thereassurance he needed.“I believe I must always call you Alexander! The world may see you asDuke John, but to me you are the Conqueror. You bestride the narrow world ofPolite Society like a Colossus,” she primmed her lovely mouth, mimingpedantry, “as Shakespeare said of Caesar,” then broke the illusion with laughter.“In fact, sir,” she was quaking inwardly now with terrified delight at theexpression which blazed on the Duke’s face, “As Milton said, ‘Your—er—darklarge front and eye sublime declare Absolute rule.’”Slowly, purposefully, the big warm hands left her arms and found theirway around her slender body. Then hard fingers turned her chin up so hereyes were compelled to meet his own.“Little minx! I—I—” Still he could not express the feelings, so new to him,which were shaking and changing him. He took a deep breath and,put hislips, as hard and warm as his hands, over Tina’s, possessing them, ravishingthem, adoring them. After a timeless moment he drew away, and touched herface with gentle fingers. He attempted a casual smile. “I am glad,” said HisGrace the Duke of Renfrew, “that I chose a literary female to marry. It willmake it easier for you to tell me how wonderful I am.” He pulled her evencloser to his powerful body. With temerity and love, Tina clutched him withher arms and hugged him hard.“Oh, yes, darling Alexander, yes!”The Duke essayed a laugh. “I shall expect to hear it at least once a day forthe rest of our lives! Is it a bargain?”“It is a bargain,” agreed Tina joyously, “so long as you pay me every daywith one of those earth-shaking kisses of yours.”His shout of laughter, so free, so delighted, eased the tension betweenthem. “Only one? Paltry!” he teased happily. “One kiss will satisfy you?” Hehugged her until she thought her ribs would crack, but Tina voiced no objection.“I shall have something to say about that! I cannot have it rumored thatI am clutch listed with my wife! Close armed, yes!” he grinned wolfishly. “Oh,be assured, my Athena, there will be more than one kiss a day–much more!”He gave her a sample which left her limp and loving in his arms.She had never seen such open happiness in her dark corsair’s face.He smiled down at her, himself unaware of how revealing that smile was.“I have brought you a few wedding gifts, my little Bluestocking.” He swungher up into his arms and carried her over to a deep leather chair, where heheld her on his lap. “First, the reason I need your wonderful manuals. I amestablishing schools in the villages near to each of my estates. The schoolswill be free for the children of farmers, shop-keepers, servants—in short, foranyone who wishes to enroll. And you shall write all the manuals and trainthe teachers to pass on to the students your own joyous pleasure in learning.”He kissed her again, lingeringly, possessively, before she could express herthanks, leaving her breathless and dizzy with delight.He observed her reaction with satisfaction, taking in the soft rosyblush, the wide dazzled golden eyes, the soft breath coming quicklybetween swollen lips. “You really do enjoy being kissed by me, do you not,my Athena?”The girl met his gaze honestly. “Better than any gift you could give me,”she averred.“Better than a wedding ring? Or a diamond necklace? I’ll give you those,too. I am besotted with you, my darling girl. You are sure I am not too old for you?”he whispered ardently against her soft mouth.“Age is only a number,” she said softly. “You are everything I could everwant—more than I ever dreamed a man could be! As long as you love me,neither of us need ever fear the years.”Her lover held her close to his heart. Time became timeless in that quietroom where Tina’s dreams, wonderful as they had been, had never reachedthe warm delight of this reality.He watched her with hungry eyes, this once-arrogant, cold-hearted manwho had never trusted any woman. He took in the rosy blush, the wide, dazzledgolden eyes, the breath coming quickly between her parted lips. “Youreally do enjoy being kissed by me, do you not, my Athena?”The girl met his gaze honestly. “Better than any gift you could give me,”she averred.“Better than a diamond necklace?” he teased, to hide his incredulous joy.“I have one for you.”“An impressive bauble,” the girl admitted, her eyes adoring him.He laughed. “You little innocent, you couldn’t care less! But a weddingring? I have that for you, too.”Tina caught her breath. “Are you sure you really wish to be married tome?” she whispered.The Duke in turn whispered ardently against her soft mouth, “I am besottedwith you, my darling girl! Are you sure I am not too old for you?”She drew back in his embrace, looked into his eyes and said clearly, “Youare everything I could ever want—more than I ever dreamed a man could be!”He caught her close to him again. “I love you,” he said, like a promise, likea prayer. “For all our lives—and beyond!”And Tina, her heart on her lips, knew that her dreams had come true.