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" I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you before."

Victoria smiled at the red-haired gentleman who had been seated next to her at tonight's dinner party. "I'm sure you know me by reputation," she said. "I'm the Dowager Duchess of Stormwell."

"Ah!" The gentleman's eyes widened, and so did his smile. "Well, I must say, you don't look anything like I imagined you would."

"I didn't realize I was at the forefront of so many imaginations," Victoria said. The idea didn't bother her nearly as much as it once might have.

"Oh, of course you are. You're one of the most interesting characters in all of London. Everyone has ideas about you."

"We haven't even been introduced properly, and already you're telling me your ideas about me."

The gentleman laughed. "True, we haven't," he said. "I'm Henry McLaren, Viscount of Harbury. It's a pleasure to officially make your acquaintance, Your Grace."

"It's lovely to meet you too," Victoria said.

"I heard a rumor that you might be looking for a new husband."

Victoria laughed. "You don't waste any time, do you?"

"I'm not fond of wasting time, no. Is the rumor true?"

"Well, are you sure you want to know?"

"Why wouldn't I want to know?"

"If you're familiar with my reputation, then you already know what people say happened to my last husband. It surprises me that anyone would take an interest in becoming my next husband."

Lord Harbury laughed. "I didn't say that I had an interest in becoming your husband."

Victoria thought that perhaps she should have been embarrassed, but she wasn't. She simply laughed. "True enough. You didn't say that. And yet I have to wonder why you are asking this question at all if you have no such interest."

"Perhaps I am a gossip."

"If you were a gossip, you would be talking behind my back, not speaking to me directly. I am more than familiar with the way gossips operate."

"I suppose you would have an unusual amount of familiarity with gossip," Lord Harbury agreed. "Well, let it be enough for now that I simply wish to get to know you better. This is the first chance you and I have had to speak to one another at all. We have a rare opportunity."

"Do we? What opportunity is that?"

"We may form entirely fresh opinions of one another," Lord Harbury said. "We each have the chance to present ourselves the way we would like to be seen, with no outside interference. So tell me what you would like me to know about you."

He was right. And what was more, Victoria believed him. He wasn't just seeking gossip, nor was he trying to validate or disprove something he already thought about her. It seemed to her as if he genuinely wanted to get to know her.

"Very well," she said. "What you've heard is correct.

I am looking for a new husband this season, in large part because of the return to London of the new duke.

He will be taking over the estate and stepping into his title, which means I must make new arrangements for myself.

The duke has been very helpful to me so far.

He is allowing me to go on living in the estate until I settle my future. "

"Most kind," Lord Harbury agreed. "And have you any prospects?"

"None as of yet. A good gentleman is hard to find. And my reputation doesn't make things any easier."

"Though I can't imagine your reputation would present much of an obstacle after a gentleman actually met you," Lord Harbury said with a smile. "It would be impossible to think badly of you having carried on a single conversation with you."

"That's so generous of you to say," Victoria said. "I think you might be one of very few people who feels that way, though. I am not popular in society."

"From what I can gather, you aren't very well known in society," Lord Harbury said.

Victoria laughed. "You've done a lot of thinking about me!"

"And I'm very pleased to have the chance to meet you and have my thoughts verified," he said. "If nothing else, I think you and I can become friends."

"Friends?" Victoria repeated. It had been so long since she had made a new friend—well, unless you included James, that was, and she wasn't at all sure she ought to do that. What was he to her? Was friend the right description? She couldn't be sure.

"That would be good, wouldn't it?" Lord Harbury asked.

"I'd like to see whether we can be friends," Victoria agreed. "I'm very glad to have met you tonight, Lord Harbury."

"And I you," he agreed with a smile. "Now, perhaps I can pour you some of this wine?" He picked up the bottle and held it out in her direction.

Victoria smiled. "Some wine would be lovely," she agreed.

But as he was pouring, a shadow fell over the table. "What's happening here?" a familiar voice demanded.

Victoria looked up. It was James, and he had a scowl on his face.

Confusion gripped her. What could she possibly be doing wrong this time?

"Your Grace," she said, hoping to smooth the moment over. "Do you know Lord Harbury? We were just getting acquainted."

"No, I don't," James said, his eyes going to Lord Harbury. "Lord Harbury, is it? Are you new in London?"

"I'm not, Your Grace," Lord Harbury said. "But I know that you yourself have been away for some years, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that our paths have never crossed."

"Indeed," James said slowly. "And tell me, what are you speaking to the duchess about?"

"We were just getting to know one another," Victoria said. "We were seated next to one another, after all, so we took the opportunity to exchange a few words." He couldn't possibly be upset with her about this, could he? "Lord Harbury is very kind."

"I can see that by the way he's already pouring wine," James said, a scowl on his face. "You don't waste any time, do you, Lord Harbury?"

Though Victoria had said the very same thing to Lord Harbury when their conversation had begun, she found it rather irritating to hear James say it now. "He's only pouring wine," she said. "What's so wrong with that?"

"I wonder how many glasses Lord Harbury has filled already this evening."

"If you have something to say to me, then say it, Your Grace."

"I believe I have said it. My concern is that you may be taking liberties with the duchess."

"You don't think I can fend for myself?" Victoria asked James.

"I don't know what his intentions may be," James said. "Perhaps he wishes to lower your inhibitions and take you out into the garden alone. Perhaps he wants to take advantage."

Lord Harbury rose to his feet. "That is a serious accusation, Your Grace," he said.

"And I don't believe I have done anything to warrant it.

The duchess had an empty glass, and I offered to fill it out of courtesy.

Had she declined, I would have respected that.

What I cannot respect is the way you are speaking to me now. "

"I have no need of your respect," James said. "My only wish is that you stay away from the duchess. If you can manage that, then you and I have no quarrel."

Victoria felt deeply embarrassed. "What are you doing, James?" she demanded. "I was having a perfectly civil conversation with Lord Harbury. Why did you feel the need to involve yourself in that?"

"It is my duty to look after you," James said stiffly. "You ought to know by now that I take that very seriously."

"Well, if part of your responsibilities involve finding her a husband, you may as well know that you are unlikely to meet with success if you continue to treat anyone who speaks to her as if they are a criminal," Lord Harbury said, his voice tight and bitter.

He turned to Victoria. "Forgive me, Your Grace.

I have been enjoying our conversation, but I have no wish to be spoken to as if I was some sort of rake. "

Victoria quite understood, but she had no idea what to say to him. She could do nothing but watch Lord Harbury walked away.

When he had gone, she whirled around to face James. "What were you thinking?" she demanded. "Why would you speak to him that way when you know perfectly well that he did nothing wrong?"

"I told you, I cannot be sure of what his intentions may have been."

"If you had questions about his intentions, you could have asked him.

Or you could have stayed with the two of us to chaperone.

You don't need to run off every person who speaks to me.

How do you expect me to marry under those conditions?

You say that I can choose a husband for myself, but if you're never going to let me have a complete conversation with anyone, that isn't going to be possible. "

"Were you going to marry him? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"Of course I'm not saying that. This was the very first time he and I had ever spoken.

How could I possibly have made such a decision?

But I'll never come to a place of wanting to marry someone if I'm never allowed to finish a conversation with them.

That was the problem between me and your late cousin.

We hardly knew one another, so I didn't know what kind of man he was until it was too late to back out of our engagement. "

James let out a sigh and raked a hand through his hair. "Don't you understand that's what I'm trying to prevent?" he demanded. "I don't want to see you end up with someone who is unworthy of you again."

"But I will never know if someone is worthy or not if I'm hardly allowed to speak with him," Victoria exclaimed, her frustration taking her over.

People were starting to notice their conversation. Heads were turning in their direction.

"We ought to take this outside," James said quietly. "We don't need people listening in on this."

Victoria pressed her lips together. "Are you actually going to listen to me?" she asked. "Is it going to be a real conversation if I go outside with you?"

"Don't I always listen to you?"

Victoria scoffed. "Hardly."

She saw James grit his teeth. "Whatever you have to say to me, this is no place for it," he said. "If you want to talk, I will require that we step outside. People are starting to look at us."

"Very well. Follow me, then."

Victoria strode past him, knowing that he wouldn't like that she had taken the lead.

He would have wanted to remain in charge of the situation — he'd have liked her to follow him outside.

It was a small thing, but it was a way for her to regain control of the situation, and she needed that right now.

She didn't even look over her shoulder to see whether he was following her.

She was confident that he was. And if he chose not to…

well then, that would answer any questions she had remaining about him.

That would let her know that he had never intended this to be a serious conversation that took her point of view into account.

If he couldn't bring himself to follow her outside, that would mean that the only thing he had ever cared about was reprimanding her. Victoria had no interest in that.

Her heart raced as she walked through the empty ballroom to the doors that would lead them out into the garden.

Though she and James were often alone together by virtue of sharing the same house, there was something different about seeking a quiet space in the middle of the dinner party.

There was something intentional about it that couldn't be ignored.

And Victoria couldn't help wondering what it might mean.