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“Pride,” observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity of her reflections, “is a very common failing, I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed.”

—Pride and Prejudice

AUGUSTUS HEARD HER words. Certainly a failure.

Failure implied there could have been success.

And the afternoon hadn’t given Kitty a feeling of success.

The small twinge of sadness surprised him.

He felt as much success as he’d hoped for: he’d been seen in close quarters with a young woman.

Several of the mamas of the city had watched them as they drove past. A few nodded, but mostly they spoke behind gloved hands, strengthening their impressions with their gossip.

Whatever it was Kitty wanted from their connection, she hadn’t found it on their drive.

Not that she’d seemed intent on applying herself to building anything.

She’d barely said a word, and when she did, she addressed her vapid statements to the ground at her feet.

She wasn’t behaving very much like the young woman who watched for foxes and smiled showing all her teeth.

Maybe it was the activity. A drive was, by its nature, too sedate for some people. Maybe Kitty needed more excitement to feel entertained.

He asked himself why it mattered. Surely his scheme would work whether or not the young woman at his side enjoyed herself.

After a short moment of reflection, he decided her apparent boredom was simply a bad reflection on his charms. If he was as delightful as he thought, she’d have been more amused.

He’d need to work a bit harder.

Because he wanted her to be delighted.

As soon as the thought arrived, he brushed it aside.

The goal of this exercise was not to please this small-town girl.

The city itself would take care of that.

All Augustus required was to be seen by enough of the right people to keep the marriageable young women and their mothers looking in another direction—any other direction.

A quiet voice in his mind asked, If that’s true, why are you still thinking about her smile?

He was quite good at ignoring that voice. He continued to ignore it the rest of the afternoon and into the evening as he prepared himself to accompany his mother to the Langleys’ dinner.

Only when he was seated at the long table and looking from face to face of the gathered guests did he realize that he’d expected Kitty to be there. Mrs. Gordon and her companion were not at the table, and they didn’t arrive with the later set who came to play card games.

What a bother. He found himself both inconvenienced and irritated at the need to fend off several mothers in the company, women who were determined to ask about his prospects.

Luckily, the young woman seated beside him at the table was horrified by his pretended advance and didn’t even turn to look in his direction thereafter.

If only it was always as easy as asking, then dropping a few scandalous comments into the conversation.

Augustus knew he must use such statements sparingly.

More than once, he’d been taken at his word and had to extract himself from exactly the kind of situations his rakish act was supposed to prevent.

There were some frightening women in this city.

The following day found him at Mrs. Gordon’s door again. He was led into the sitting room where he found Kitty alone, copying something into a small notebook. He watched her for a moment, enjoying the picturesque curve of her neck as she leaned over the table.

When she looked up, he noticed a flush cross her face, once again emphasizing the smattering of freckles on her cheeks. She looked from Augustus to the book and pencil to the window and back to him. She closed the book in front of her and sat up straighter.

He loved knowing he rattled her, even if only because she was startled by his appearance while she sat alone in the room.

Covering the distance between the door and her small table in a few long strides, he smiled as he spoke. “Will your employer be horrified if I sit beside you?”

Kitty’s responding smile was exactly what he’d hoped to see the day before during their ride out.

But there had been no hint of it the whole time they’d been in the carriage together.

Now it lifted her lips and crinkled the skin around her shining eyes.

Augustus almost laughed aloud in surprise as the thought came to him.

He was not used to considering himself a man who noticed upturned lips and shining eyes.

“I thought I might see you at the Langleys’ party last night.” He picked up the pencil that lay beside her notebook and spun it between his fingers the way he’d done as a schoolboy.

“Mrs. Gordon had a headache.”

Kitty looked at him as she spoke, in contrast to the strange way she’d carefully looked away from him on their drive. Gone was the downcast eye and the quiet, breathy responses. He preferred this kind of conversation. At least when she looked at him, he knew she was speaking to him.

“I hope she’s feeling better today. And you? Are you well?”

Kitty opened her book and scanned a few lines.

When she looked up at him again, that charming smile was gone, but she opened her mouth and words poured out.

“I believe health and wellness to be almost entirely a matter of a strong will. And strong will is a moral imperative. One need not feel ill more often than once in a season. Those who succumb to illness simply lack anything better to do than complain. Headaches stem from reading in poor light or being surrounded by unpleasant company, and I have not had the ill fortune of either.”

“Is that so?” He didn’t know why he asked. He knew perfectly well her words were foolishness. But he liked watching her speak, even if she did talk strangely.

“Indeed.” She glanced at her book again as if searching for something.

“And which was the source of Mrs. Gordon’s headache last evening?”

Kitty looked up from her book, startled. “Which what?”

“Which cause? Reading in near darkness? Bad company? I do hope it wasn’t the latter. Such a thing doesn’t reflect well on your skill as a companion.”

He grinned at her, but she did not give him an answering smile. Instead, she sat up straighter and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

“I assure you, I am an excellent companion for a lonely middle-aged woman.”

No hint of teasing was discoverable in her tone. Augustus thought he could bring it back.

“And what manner of companion are you for a young man?”

“A perfectly proper one, ready to advise and counsel as needs arise.” Her tone was something between flat and pedantic, as if she was mimicking a teacher who had tried to convince her this was the duty of a young woman.

Augustus leaned across the table between them, bringing his mouth close to her ear. “What kind of counsel and advice do you have for a man like me?”

He watched her throat as she swallowed, showing the barest tremble. With a visible effort, she took a shallow breath and shook her head.

“I suppose that would depend on what problems you might be facing.”

Again, the blush colored her cheeks. Again, she bent her head over the notebook.

He continued to bend his head close to her. “Oh, a dreadful problem, to be sure. I can’t decide which entertainment to invite a certain young woman to. The delights of the city are varied and plentiful.”

He saw the corner of her mouth twitch, and he hoped it meant she was finished playing the role of the vicar and she’d engage in a bit of banter with him. However, by the time she looked up and met his eye, there was no smile at all.

“Surely you’ve considered the kind of activities that are appropriate for a young woman of decent character and upbringing.”

This time he didn’t suppress his laugh. “What makes you think that sort of woman is of any interest to me?”

“Mr. Haverford, I feel it necessary to remind you of what you surely already know. Morality in all its facets requires each of us to seek only the best of company. A person’s companions will always affect him for good or for ill, and therefore it is critically important to surround yourself with only those of the highest caliber.

Any suggestion of disagreeableness or lowness of mind or habit must be avoided and shunned. ”

Someone must have been talking to Kitty. Had she heard rumors about him? Was the city gossip traveling so quickly that word would have reached even Mrs. Gordon’s house?

And why did any such rumors, if they had indeed reached her, bother Kitty now? Hadn’t she understood the arrangement she and Augustus made?

Kitty wasn’t finished. “The highest standards in mind and spirit must be maintained within each of us if we are to reach our fullest potential.”

She seemed to be taking in a breath to continue, and he was not in the least interested in hearing any more of this nonsense.

“Miss Bennet, would you like to accompany me to the opera this evening?” He regretted the clipped tone, but was relieved he kept from shouting over her.

She consulted the notebook again. After turning two or three pages, she nodded. “I believe there would be no ethical harm in watching a performance with you, and I do enjoy singing and orchestra performances.”

This was just too much. He pointed to her notebook.

“I don’t know what kind of compass of principles you’re reading from there, but I will have to ask you to refrain from any further moralizing.

This kind of talk is causing me to question my decisions, and it may not surprise you to hear I have no intention of reexamining myself in such a manner.

Come with me and be seen at the opera, and if you absolutely must take note of my degeneration, I ask you to write it down.

I can read it later if you feel it necessary to make it known.

Just promise me you won’t continue this kind of lecture in public, because I don’t think I could hear it without breaking down in either tears or laughter. ”

The silence that followed dragged on for far too long for his comfort, but Augustus said nothing more.

If Kitty was going to continue to preach at him, he would simply have to cancel their arrangement and find another young woman willing to appear beside him for the Season.

This heavy-handed moral discourse was unbearable.

He watched for a sign of offense, for a tear or a sniffle, but Kitty did not cry. Nor did she appear outraged.

She laughed.

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”

Had he heard her correctly? He watched her relax, a smile growing on her face.

She finally looked up at him and shook her shoulders as if ridding herself of a too-warm cloak. “That personality was never going to last another five minutes, much less an entire opera.”

He didn’t know what she meant, but he was very glad to see her close the little notebook and slip it off the table and onto her lap.