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elderly butler appeared on the front steps and made his way to the carriage with a stiff, halting stride.
    The housekeeper spoke from the doorway of the library. “I expect that will be Miss Langley. I told you she would be home in time for tea, sir. She’ll be so pleased when she discovers that you are here.”
    Trent was not at all certain that Calista was going to greet the news of his presence with any enthusiasm. He watched through the window as the butler handed her down from the cab.
    There was something shadowed and grim about her. She held a package wrapped in black fabric and black ribbon in her hands. When the butler attempted to relieve her of her burden she shook her head.
    The butler escorted her up the steps and into the front hall. The cab clattered off down the drive.
    Out in the hall there was some low-voiced conversation.
    A moment later Calista appeared in the doorway, still clutching the black box. She looked at him with a mix of wariness and thinly veiled anxiety. It was, he thought, the expression of a woman who has just received some bad news and is anticipating more of the same.
    â€œMr. Hastings,” she said. “I was not expecting you today.”
    â€œWhich would be an excellent reason for declining to see me,” he said. “I apologize. I took the chance of finding you at home because I wished to tell you that I have decided not to stand in my sister’s way.”
    â€œI see. You will allow her to remain a client of my agency?”
    â€œAs she has taken pains to remind me, she is an adult. She has the right to make her own choices. I can tell that she enjoys your salons. It is just that I fear—”
    â€œYou fear she will be hurt if some heartless gentleman takes advantage of her. I quite understand. In your place I would have similar qualms. And I will be the first to admit that I cannot guarantee that Eudora will not suffer such a fate. It is a risk every woman confronts.”
    Spoken like a lady who had, indeed, confronted just such a fate, he thought.
    â€œI am keenly aware of that, Miss Langley.” He paused for emphasis. “Might I add that men are not immune from the same sort of misfortune.”
    â€œNo, of course not, but generally speaking they have more options when they find themselves in a bad marriage. All I can tell you is that I give you my word that I will do my best to provide Miss Hastings with only the most suitable introductions. In fact, I think I can promise you that she will be safer at any of my salons than she would be in most ballrooms in Society.”
    He smiled a little. “Forgive me, Miss Langley, but you are not setting the bar very high.”
    She winced. “I suppose that is all too true. But I assure you that Igo to great lengths to make certain that I do not inadvertently accept cads and fortune hunters as clients.”
    â€œYou refer to those investigations that your brother conducts.”
    â€œAndrew has a knack for uncovering the truth about my clients’ finances and marital status.”
    For a short time he could not think of anything else to say. She watched him as if she had no idea what to do with him now that he had delivered his message. He ought to take his leave, he thought. But instead of heading for the door he found himself searching for an excuse to linger in her company.
    He glanced at the black box in her hands. “Perhaps I should offer my condolences? I apologize again for the interruption. I was not aware of a death in the family.”
    She shuddered and took a sharp breath.
    â€œNo,” she whispered. She straightened her shoulders. In the next breath her voice sharpened. “No one has died.” She moved to the nearest table and slammed the box down with considerable force. “But I vow I would not be at all averse to seeing a certain individual dead.”
    It was as if he’d shattered some spell that had bound her. A moment earlier the atmosphere