“The sun is not shining,” Constantine said, “and it certainly is not hot. And the duchess is not in heavy mourning. Or walking alone with her companion while no one takes any notice. And I am not looking for a leg shackle, thank you kindly, Monty.”

“But then, Con,” Stephen said, waggling his eyebrows, “neither was I.”

They all chuckled-and then noticed Timothy Hood driving a spanking-new high-perch phaeton drawn by a pair of perfectly matched grays. Their attention was effectively diverted from the widow in white who had looked at him, Constantine realized now that he had had a minute or two to think about it, not so much disdainfully as provocatively.

He really was not interested. He chose his mistresses-and he took one almost every year when he was in town-with an eye to his maximum comfort for the duration of the Season.

There would be no comfort at all in a woman whose daily pastime seemed to be gathering as many adoring men about her as she could-and her ability in that regard was considerable.

He did not dance to any woman’s tune.

Or at the end of any puppet strings.

Certainly not the notorious Duchess of Dunbarton’s.

3

OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS Barbara was confirmed in her conviction that Hannah had moved into a puzzlingly and disturbingly different world from the one they had known together in their Lincolnshire village. A less moral world. During those days Hannah told two whoppers of lies, which she would not even admit were lies.

Not real lies.

The first happened when the two of them were stepping out of a milliner’s shop on Bond Street late one morning, a footman behind them more than half hidden beneath four large hatboxes. Their intention was to see the boxes safely deposited in their waiting carriage and then proceed to a bakery a little way along the street for refreshments. But as fate would have it, Mr. Huxtable was approaching alone along the pavement. He was still some distance away and might easily have been avoided, especially as he appeared not to have noticed them among the crowd of shoppers. But Hannah waited for him to draw closer and see them.