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Amelia looked about her with bright curiosity as she entered the hot, crowded ballroom in Lady Keswick’s wake, feeling rather like a rowing boat bobbing behind a frigate in full sail.

But it made a difference, she discovered, to have an object for once, to be doing something positive to better her situation – tonight, she was no longer dreading the unwelcome attentions she so often received, or, at any rate, not so much.

Tonight, she would see Lord Thornfalcon for the first time since Sophie had proposed him as an answer to her problems. She would try if she could to judge precisely what he felt about the situation in which he found himself, and in particular his widowed sister-in-law’s part in it.

She’d seen him before, of course, on many occasions, since his excessive height made him stand out from any crowd, but he’d never been presented to her and she had no sort of connection with him, nor any other member of his family.

They had not danced together, therefore, nor ever exchanged so much as a word or a glance.

He was presumably ignorant of her very existence, except perhaps as a subject of gossip; they had that much in common, at least. She had most certainly not been one of the debutantes who gushed and giggled if he so much as glanced in their direction.

And, it scarcely needed to be added, Lady Keswick with her passion for propriety and deep desire to see her niece respectably married had not contemplated for a second taking a hand in what she termed the disgraceful scramble for the Major’s attention.

Inevitably, she and her aunt had discussed the rumours that swirled about the Thornfalcon family at present – it was almost impossible to avoid the topic that was on everyone’s lips, and Amelia had deliberately turned the conversation in that direction in the carriage on the way to the ball.

She had experienced no difficulty in doing so, curious to know the older lady’s feelings on the subject now that she just might have some personal stake in the matter.

‘Judith Thornfalcon must detest her son being the centre of such a sensation,’ Her Ladyship had said loftily.

‘She is not at all strong, suffering cruelly from rheumatic joints, and I am sure she would not be here at all if she had not the child to bring out. Miss Thornfalcon’s come-out was supposed to be last year, for she is quite nineteen now, I believe, but they were in black gloves for her husband and her eldest son last Season, and so could not appear.

Naturally, her mother does not want to let another year pass and find her almost on the shelf at twenty without so much as making her curtsey to the Queen.

I have some acquaintance with Judith Thornfalcon, from my own youth: only a little.

And I must add that although I am sorry for what she is undergoing, naturally,’ she said, descending rapidly from Olympus and sounding like an ordinary human woman for a moment, ‘it would be idle to deny that it makes a pleasant change for people to be whispering about someone else than the Wyvernes for once. Long may it last!’

‘Do you think Lord Thornfalcon really will marry his brother’s widow, Aunt?’ Amelia had asked her, feeling a little guilty for indulging in idle tittle-tattle when she’d just been reminded just how unpleasant it was to suspect oneself thus discussed.

‘I hope he has more sense and decency than to do so!’ Lady Keswick opined majestically.

‘They have always had a good name as a family, before this dreadful start. Why, the current Viscount’s grandfather was a friend of my own father’s, I believe, and my parent was, it need not be said, a person of irreproachable morals.

They made the Grand Tour together. No! I do not choose to credit that this young man, who seems otherwise estimable and has served his country with distinction, even if he is quite unnecessarily good-looking – which always leads to trouble, in my experience – is even contemplating such a dangerous path.

No child of mine would ever be so foolish as to consider making such a scandalous choice of mate, I can be sure of that! ’

Amelia, thinking of her meek cousins Tom and Annabel, and their even more timid younger brother Peter, none of whom had ever dreamed of taking any action not approved by their formidable mama in advance, and likely never would, was obliged to bite the inside of her lip for a moment before she could say, ‘You don’t think it romantic, then, ma’am, as so many people seem to? ’

In grey and shades of purple, Lady Keswick rather resembled a fancy pigeon, and her chest swelled out like one as she intoned, ‘I do not! And if you tell me that you do, Amelia Wyverne, I will be forced to conclude that you have inherited your father’s sad unsteadiness of character, and I shall be very sorry to hear it. Very sorry indeed!’

‘Well, I don’t think I have,’ said Amelia cautiously.

‘I expect it should have shown itself by now if I had. And actually, thinking about it, I don’t think I do find it so terribly romantic, ma’am.

The law seems to me to be foolish and most odd – forbid a thing, or do not forbid it, surely.

What other action is there that only becomes a crime if someone says, “Look, there is a crime!”?

And everyone pretends to be terribly shocked and that they had not known all along, when of course they did. ’

‘I can call several similar things to mind,’ Lady Keswick said in oracular fashion. ‘But do go on, child. I do not say that you are wrong in principle.’

‘If it is true that Lord Thornfalcon and Miss Hall, as she then was, loved each other when young and were separated because of mere worldly considerations, I am sorry for it. But so much has happened since then. Of course I don’t have a sister, so I can’t be sure, but I do not think I would care to marry my sister’s husband, if she died.

Whether I loved my sister a great deal or whether I was not close to her at all – actually, I don’t know which would be worse.

It doesn’t seem… quite right. Comparisons would be drawn.

Surely. It’s not romantic at all, is it, Aunt?

It’s a little bit sickening. And Sophie thinks that the lady has set the story about for her own ends, which puts quite another complexion on things, if true. ’

‘Lady Wyverne is a woman of great good sense, as I have previously observed. The French are not in the least sentimental about such matters, I understand.’

Amelia agreed that Sophie wasn’t sentimental, and nor was her own grandmother, for that matter, and the carriage had drawn up at their destination at that moment, so that the conversation had perforce been terminated.

Now she succeeded in attracting her aunt’s attention, and said on a sudden inspiration, ‘Aunt, would you present me to Lady Thornfalcon and to her daughter? I was not previously aware that you had any acquaintance with them.’

Lady Keswick looked at her keenly. ‘I shall, Amelia, if you can look me in the eye and assure me that you have no intention whatsoever of making an exhibition of yourself over the Major in the quite disgraceful manner?—’

‘Aunt Millicent,’ said Amelia with great seriousness, ‘I assure you, I have absolutely no intention of joining other young ladies in their silly antics. I cannot afford to, even if I wished to, which I don’t.

’ This at least was true, she consoled herself.

‘I am very well aware that behaviour which might invite mild censure when perpetrated by others must have far more serious consequences for me.’ I should know it – you’ve told me often enough , she said silently.

‘But I feel sorry for the family,’ she added suddenly, surprising herself with the truth of it.

‘I of all people know how unpleasant their current situation must be for them.’

‘Very well. Your feelings do you credit, child. Let us find them.’

A few moments later – no mere crowd could stand in Millicent Keswick’s way, and this one parted before her as had the Red Sea before Moses – Amelia was dropping a curtsey to a sweet-faced lady of her aunt’s age, who leaned heavily upon an ebony cane, and her daughter.

They were both round-faced and rosy-cheeked, with delicate, pale skin and abundant chestnut hair.

Their natural strong resemblance to each other was enhanced by the identical expression of weary, guarded politeness they both bore on their faces; they looked as though they were both of an amiable disposition which was being severely tried just now.

They think I only want to know them so I can scrape acquaintance with Lord Thornfalcon , she realised.

They must have been positively besieged by ladies wanting to be fast friends with them.

‘Judith,’ Lady Keswick said, kissing the air adjacent to that lady’s cheek, ‘I am glad to see you looking tolerably well, and I hope you will be pleased to know my niece. Despite occasional appearances to the contrary, she is not a foolish young woman. This Season, this fact alone may serve to lend her a distinction in your eyes that she would otherwise scarcely merit. I am sure you will not fail to understand me.’