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refreshing in some ways, like her
    aunt.Victoria does have her share of admirers. But they all seem to be relegated to the status of friends."
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    "In other words, they have all learned their places and they stay in them."

    "If they overstep themselves, she drops them immediately. Miss Huntington is known for being kind for
    the most part, always has a smile and a charming word. Quite willing to dance with the less attractive men
    in the room. But she is very firm with all of the gallants who hang around her," Jessica added.

    That did not surprise him. Miss Huntington would not have remained her own mistress this long unless
    she had learned the trick of manipulating the males in her orbit. He was going to find himself walking a
    very narrow line during this courtship.

    "She is well educated, I take it?" Lucas asked.

    " Some would say extraordinarily so. I've heard that Lady Nettleship assumed most of the responsibility
    for educating her niece and one can certainly see the results. Miss Huntington would undoubtedly have
    come to grief in Society long ago were it not for the fact that her aunt's position is unassailable."

    "What happened to Miss Huntington's parents?"

    Lady Atherton hesitated, then spoke evenly. "Dead. All of them. Quite sad, really. But the Lord giveth
    and the Lord taketh away."

    " He certainly does."

    Lady Atherton cast him an uncertain glance and then cleared her throat. "Yes, well, the father died when
    Miss Huntington was a small child and her mother soon remarried. But Caroline Huntington was killed in
    a riding accident a little over eighteen months ago. Then Miss Huntington's stepfather, Samuel Whitlock,
    died less than two months after his wife.
    A terrible accident on a flight of stairs, I am given to understand. Broke his neck."

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    "A strange list of tragedies, but it does have the net effect of leaving Miss Huntington free of parents who
    might feel obliged to inquire deeply into my finances. The useful rumor of my uncle's hoarded wealth
    would not hold up under close scrutiny."

    Jessica pursed her lips in disapproval. I fear there's no getting around the fact that Miss Huntington
    spent the minimal amount of time in mourning after her stepfather's death. She made it quite clear she
    mourned only her mother, and even that ended as soon as it was seemly to do so."

    "You reassure me, Jessica. The last thing I want is a woman who enjoys such entertainments as
    extended mournings. Life can be very short and it's a shame to waste it in a lot of useless grieving for
    what one cannot have, don't you think?"

    "But one must learn to endure the tragedies thrust upon us. Such things build character. And one must
    also be conscious of the proprieties," Jessica admonished, looking faintly hurt. "In any event, Lady
    Nettleship, the aunt, is an excellent female with fine connections, but there is no denying she is a trifle odd
    in some ways. I fear she has allowed her niece to run a bit wild. Do you think you can tolerate Miss
    Huntington's rather unusual manners?"

    "I think I can manage Miss Huntington very well, Jessica." Lucas took another swallow of champagne,
    his attention on Victoria, who was still dancing with her middle-aged baron.
    She was not what he had expected, Lucas reflected with a curious sense of relief He had been prepared
    to do his duty to his name, his title, and the many people for whom he was now responsible, but he had
    not expected to be able to enjoy himself in the process.

    Definitely not what he had expected. For one thing, he had not anticipated this near-violent rush of
    physical attraction. Jessica had informed him that Victoria Huntington was presentable enough, but that
    was as far as the description had gone.

    She was taller than he had been led to believe, much taller than the majority of the women around