A Lady of Consequence. Mary Nichols

be top-lofty, it was especially true when my sister and I were children, but the present Duchess has tamed him, you know. You will see, when you come to the house for the soirée, how very agreeable he can be.’

      ‘Will he be there?’ She had not thought much about facing the Duke before and she began to tremble at her own temerity. It was easy to boast to Marianne of what she meant to do, but putting it into practice was proving harder than she had imagined; the Marquis of Risley was turning out to be much too good-natured and caring for her peace of mind. If she were not vigilant, she might even find herself liking him too much. And that would never do. ‘I had thought it would only be ladies.’

      ‘No, there is usually a sprinkling of gentlemen my stepmother has coerced into donating funds to her charity.’

      ‘And does that include you?’

      ‘I would not miss it for the world,’ he said. ‘The delectable Miss Charron gracing the Stanmore drawing room, that is something to be seen. Mama was right, you will draw the haut monde like a magnet.’

      ‘Fustian!’

      ‘Oh, indeed yes. The evening will make a great deal of money for the orphanage.’

      ‘Orphanage,’ she echoed in a small voice, watching her feet, unable to look up at him in case he saw her agitation in her face.

      ‘Yes, did you not know? Mama has been involved in providing homes for soldiers’ orphans ever since the war. Why, when they opened the one in Maiden Lane, she rolled up her sleeves and helped to scrub it out.’