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Miss Paley again,
and I must confess to having fond memories of my dance with Lady Morgan.”
    Lord Exencour
laughed. “Do not give up your heart to her, Phillip. She is quite set against
remarrying; indeed, she has developed an abhorrence of the fashionable world,
and I can hardly find it in me to blame her. It has not served her well.”
    Lord Eynsford gave
his friend a haughty glance. “Do you think me so easily won over, Francis? I
merely appreciate beauty when I see it.”
    Exencour laughed. “Is
that so, Phillip? Then tomorrow evening you can also appreciate my wife.”
    “I already admire
Lady Exencour, Francis,” said the marquess. “You shall soon be notorious for
having the two most beautiful women in London living in your home!”
    “What a fate!” said
Lord Francis. “But it shall not be so for long. Lady Exencour and Lady Morgan
are seeking a house for Lady Morgan to rent. I think it is no secret that Lord
Morgan sadly neglected his estate, and now Lady Morgan is attempting to save it
for her son. It will thus be rented for some years, and she means to make her home
quietly in London.”
    “She will be quite
an addition to Society when she comes out of mourning,” observed Lord Eynsford.
“Whatever her sufferings may have been, and even if her fortune is dissipated,
she is still a great beauty, and of course bears an honorable name.”
    “I very much doubt
that Lady Morgan will choose to lead a tonnish life,” observed Lord
Exencour. “She has expressed little interest in joining the social whirl and
even less in marrying again. Her experiences with her late husband and her cousin,
Lord Bainstall, have not led her to think of noblemen as desirable parti s.”
    “What, does she
think so poorly of you as well?”
    Lord Exencour
laughed. “I am the only exception, I believe. Lady Morgan thus far does not
seem to doubt my sincerity. It is a great shame she does not wish to marry
again, for I doubt she would lack suitors. When Horace Worth saw her last week
he became positively foolish; rather like you, Phillip.”
    The marquess
laughed. “I never become foolish over women, Francis. Aggravated, amazed, and
frustrated, perhaps, but never foolish.”
    “I may see you at a
disadvantage yet, Phillip,” said Lord Exencour.
    “You may, but I
believe it unlikely,” said Lord Eynsford. “Well, Francis, I must be on my way. I
look forward to tomorrow evening.”
    The two gentlemen
shook hands, and Lord Exencour entered his house in search of his wife.

Chapter 9
    Lord Eynsford
hesitated a moment after the door closed behind Francis, and then turned his
footsteps towards the park. It was too early to see the truly fashionable crowd
riding and driving, but there were numerous strollers enjoying the fine
weather, and many small children playing among the trees, their nurses in
attendance. He found himself looking searchingly at the groups of children,
until finally he spotted that for which he, almost unknown to himself, had been
searching. Lady Morgan and her children were engaged in tossing a ball back and
forth, presenting a picture of serene domestic happiness. The boy was a slender
lad, unfortunately, to Lord Eynsford’s eyes, resembling his father, who had
been very dark and handsome in the mold of Lord Byron. He seemed to be
untouched by Lord Morgan’s unattractive character, however, for he was gentle
with his little sister, a child of about three who laughed merrily as she
attempted to catch the ball tossed carefully to her. Lady Morgan’s affection
for her children was apparent in her happy smile and glowing eyes as she joined
merrily in their game.
    Lord Eynsford did
not approach them, but watched for some moments, his face clear of its
customary haughty expression. Seven years earlier, Phillip Masham, aspiring
diplomat, had entered Lady Wiggin’s ballroom, seen the newly out Letitia
Devereux and lost his heart. Her pure ethereal beauty had bewitched him and,
begging an introduction from his