Henrietta nodded, the action an eloquent testimony to the strength of her resolution.

A pause ensued, which Philip, somewhat diffidently, broke. "Might I enquire as to whether you have any…" he gestured languidly "…further scheme in mind?"

A beatific smile lit Henrietta's lined face. "I intend finding her a husband, of course."

For an instant, Philip remained perfectly still, his expression utterly impassive. Then his lids fell, veiling his eyes. "Of course." Gracefully, he bowed; when he straightened, his expression was as bland as his tone. "Hugo Satterly's downstairs-I should return to him. If you'll excuse me?"

Only when the door had closed behind him and she had listened to his footsteps retreat along the corridor did Henrietta allow herself a gleeful cackle. “Not a bad start, if I do say so myself."

Trant came forward to plump the cushions at her back and straighten her myriad shawls. "Seems like they've already met."

"Indeed-nothing could be more fortunate!" Henrietta beamed. "So like dear Antonia to remember to summon you to make sure I didn't oversleep. I detect fate's blessing in Philip arriving at just that moment."

"Maybe so, but he didn't seem all that taken. You don't want to get your hopes too high." Trant had been with her mistress ever since her marriage to the late Lord Ruthven. She had seen young ladies aspiring to the role of her mistress's successor come and go with sufficient frequency to entertain serious reservations as to the present Lord Ruthven's susceptibility. "I don't want you getting moped if it don't come off."

"Nonsense, Trant!" Henrietta turned to view her hench-woman. "If there's one thing I've learned after sixteen years of observing Philip, it's that one should never place any reliance on how he reacts. His nerves, I'm persuaded, have become so deadened by fashionable disinterest that even should he suffer a…a coup de coeur, he would merely raise a brow and make some mildly polite comment. No impassioned speeches or wild declarations from Philip, of that you may be sure. Nevertheless, I'm determined, Trant."