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out, and said awkwardly, “I fear you may be stranded here for some time to come, Miss Brooke. The fog is as thick as ever,”
    Surprised by her overture, and a trifle wary, Jane went to join her. “So it appears,” she agreed, looking out at the formless whiteness. “I do not recall ever seeing so dense a fog. The poor coachman cannot be blamed for driving the Mail into a ditch.”
    “And I cannot be sorry for it, since no one was hurt. What should we have done if you had not arrived so opportunely to help Daphne? I do not know how to thank you, Miss Brooke.”
    “Pray think nothing of it, Miss Chatterton. Fortune having brought us to where we were needed, what else could we do? Besides, your thanks are due more to Miss Gracechurch than to me, for she is the one with the knowledge and I did no more than to follow her orders.”
    “I shall thank her too,” Lavinia promised, then went on shamefacedly, “I...I was not very welcoming yesterday. I hope you will forgive me, and that we can be friends?”
    “Of course,” said Jane, who considered every acquaintance a potential friend until proven otherwise. “I understand perfectly.”
    “I don’t in general put on such airs. You see, my situation is difficult. My mama and Lady Wintringham say I must try to attract Lord Wintringham’s interest. I am prodigious lucky that he is Fitz’s friend, for he is a splendid parti , rich and titled, and his conduct in every way irreproachable. And he is even handsome, and not too old, so I have nothing to complain of.”
    “No, indeed.”
    “But oh, Miss Brooke, I cannot like him. His manner is so...so contemptuous that he frightens me and I can never think of anything to say to him. Did you know that they call him My Lord Winter? I am not the only one who finds him intimidating. I cannot bear the thought of being married to him.”
    “Then you must not,” said Jane decisively. “Stop trying to attach him and follow your own inclination. I am sure there are other equally eligible gentlemen who will be acceptable to both you and your parents.”
    “Oh yes, I expect I shall meet dozens, for we are soon to go up to Town for the Season.”
    Dismayed by this news, Jane didn’t ask herself why she had not revealed to Lavinia her discovery that beneath My Lord Winter’s shell of ice dwelt a most attractive gentleman.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Miss Gracechurch paused in the doorway of the library and looked around the room with envy. It was as impressive as Jane had told her.
    One of the greatest disadvantages of her past life at Hornby Castle had been the difficulty of procuring books, which offset the advantage of having a great deal of leisure for reading. What the future held she could not guess. Deciding to make the best of the present, she set off on a tour of exploration.
    “Perhaps I might be of assistance, ma’am?” said Mr. Selwyn’s quiet voice behind her.
    She swung round, smiling. “Sir, I beg your pardon. I did not see you.”
    “These chairs are admirably designed to hide their occupants. Were you looking for something in particular? I fancy I have fathomed his lordship’s system of classification.”
    “To tell the truth, I am overwhelmed by this embarras de richesse. I can imagine wandering around forever, unable to make a choice.”
    “Then might I suggest that you tell me what you like to read and I will select a few books for you, to reduce the perplexity to manageable proportions.”
    “To choose between subjects is almost as difficult. I shall rely entirely upon your judgement.” She sat down in the chair opposite the one from which he had risen. “But pray do not bring me some technical treatise on agriculture!”
    He laughed. “I promise.”
    His long face was well suited for laughter, she thought, not at all the dry, fussy look one expected of a lawyer. He was as much the gentleman as Lord Wintringham, and with a gentlemanly ease of manner that the earl could not match. Whatever the future