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earnest or not?' she went on, with apparent lack of conceit.
    'Even if you could attract his attention away from Lydia, which is not certain,' Isabella began repressively, but stopped when Georgiana chuckled.
    'Oh, I could, I always can get men to pay me attention if I encourage them,' Georgiana declared quickly. 'Even in London, the men I met at Belinda's were only too anxious to please me. Look at Mr Reece! It took me no time at all to persuade him to take me to that masked ball!'
    'He was a foolish boy! Not all men are so susceptible!' Isabella informed her tartly, wondering as she did so whether she was right. 'But as I was saying, if you steal Lydia's beau away from her, whatever it proves of his intentions, it will lose you Lydia's friendship.'
    'Do you think so?' Georgiana asked, worried. 'I would have been pleased to have been shown a man's true disposition! But I don't want to offend Lydia, for there are not many girls in the district I can be friendly with. I shall just have to hint to her that he might not be serious.'
    'Take care how you do it,' Isabella warned, and wondered as she had frequently done before how Georgiana could be so insensitive to the feelings of her friends. She did not mean to be hurtful, Isabella was convinced, but she was totally lacking in imagination and consideration for others. When she was in a good mood she was a charming companion, but when she was determined on getting her own way no consideration apart from her own desires had any effect on her.
    * * * *
    Georgiana's boast that she could induce any man to pay her attention, a boast made more from innocent frankness than conceit, Isabella judged, seemed borne out that very day when Lord Fordington again arrived at Woodings, this time alone. His ostensible excuse was that he needed to have more consultations with Sir Roderick, but Isabella wondered why, if it were his sole reason for the visit, he had not sought for Sir Roderick at the Home Farm, since he incautiously revealed after some moments of general conversation that he had known Sir Roderick would be there. She concluded he had indeed an ulterior motive and Sir Roderick's hopes were not as vain as she had first thought them.
    Watching him, Isabella had to admit the consummate skill with which he made himself acceptable to the ladies, subtly flattering Lady Sharman while discreetly flirting with Georgiana, never forgetting Isabella, whose opinion he appeared to value above everything else.
    Georgiana basked in his admiration and behaved admirably. He seemed to have the knack of dealing with her, Isabella thought, unaccountably rather annoyed at the thought. It could prove to be an ideal match, she admitted, if Lord Fordington maintained the somewhat indulgent attitude towards Georgiana that he was displaying now.
    'I met a friend of yours yesterday evening in Brighthelmstone,' he said, turning to Isabella and looking at her in a rather quizzical manner. 'Sir Frederick Hill. He intimated that he would be calling on you soon. '
    'Sir Frederick!' Georgiana exclaimed in delight. 'Is he staying long, did he say?' she demanded of Lord Fordington, casting a triumphant glance at Isabella.
    'He has taken a house there and informed me he considered his children would benefit from the sea air. They are joining him in a week, I understand.'
    'He told me he thought Brighthelmstone was a rackety place,' Isabella commented, frowning at Georgiana. 'I am surprised he appears to have changed his mind.'
    'Are you? He must have found a strong inducement to overcome his prejudice,' Lord Fordington said smoothly, but with a gleam in his eye Isabella found disconcerting. Fortunately Lady Sharman spoke before she had to reply.
    'Is that the rather prosy man who was here in the spring dealing with poor Mr Yorke's affairs?' she asked. 'I was not aware he was a friend, Isabella. You have not mentioned him.'
    'He is not!' Isabella replied, too vehemently as she afterwards realised. 'It is simply that we met