I joined the throng entering the house, bowing politely to a matron and daughter and allowing them to enter before me. Both the women glittered from head to foot with diamonds.

The hall was loud with people talking, laughing, calling to friends they had not seen since the hunting season in autumn. Over this din soared the voice of a popular Italian tenor.

The purpose of a soiree was not only to enjoy drink, food, music, and the company, it was also to press one's way upstairs to greet the host. Grenville stood on the landing above, surrounded by a swarm of people eager for a few minutes conversation with him. He bowed and talked and shook hands, the gracious host. Gentlemen lingered to look over his clothes; ladies young and old smiled and flirted.

Tonight, Grenville wore a fine suit of black in the very latest stare of fashion. His black pantaloons encased tightly muscled legs, and his dancing pumps shone. A diamond stickpin rested like a chip of ice in his carefully tied cravat, and his hair glistened mahogany dark under the chandeliers.

Grenville was not a handsome man, having a long nose, slightly pointed chin, and eyes that glittered like a ferret's; however, these defects did not bother the ladies of London, who viewed him with the same fervor as a gentleman might view an elusive fox.

But Grenville had never married nor showed an inclination to do so. Instead, he squired about well-known actresses, opera singers, and lady violinists with every evidence of enjoyment.

Quizzing glasses came out as I made my slow way up the stairs, gentlemen and dandies scanning me and my regimentals. The ton had grown used to me but still wondered about me, though my situation was not unusual for the time. My family name was old and respected, but my father had run through what was left of the fortune, leaving me nothing.

Many a long-standing family had lost money during the war or the years following it; gentlemen with fine education and family connections were forced to become tutors or secretaries in order to earn a living. They made little more than I did on my half-pay, although their employers no doubt gave them better accommodations than I could afford.