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under pressure from Eleanore. Unable to afford a newgown, she had been forced to wear last season’s fashions. The fact had been recognized at once by all, and the fact that it meant the family’s wealth was now failing had been understood. There was nothing the
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fled from faster than those whose wealth was dwindling. Prudence had found herself in the uncomfortable position of being avoided by most people as if she had the plague. And absolutely no one had asked her to dance—except for Stephen, once, at each of the events. No, he might not have recalled her upon their meeting, but she had had no problems remembering him.
    If she were honest with herself, Prudence would admit that after each affair she had wasted several minutes lying abed at night fantasizing that they had shared more than a dance. She imagined that she had seen a certain something in his eyes as they had moved about the dance floor, and that he would someday sweep into her life and save her from the embarrassing situation her father was dragging them all into. But that had been before she learned that he actually owned the establishment her father favored for his destructive behavior. Oh, she had known that he owned some sort of hall, but she hadn’t realized it was one where gambling took place—or that it was the exact one her father spent most of his time at. Prudence had stopped fantasizing about the man the moment she had learned that. Well, all right. So she hadn’t stopped fantasizing about him, but she had taken to berating herself most firmly afterward for doing so.
    “Well?”
    Pru turned her attention back to Eleanore at her friend’s impatient prompting and shrugged. “It was a kiss, Eleanore. Just a kiss.”
    “Uh-huh. Just a kiss that distracted you enough that you did not even notice you were losing your trousers.”
    Prudence felt her face flush with remembered embarrassment,then shifted impatiently and got up to pace again. “Can we not concentrate on my problem? What am I to do now? Plunkett will not let women in and would not be fooled by my being disguised as a man again. I must find another way to get inside.”
    “Can you not just confront your father at home, Pru? Surely that would be easier than—”
    “Nay. He leaves the moment he arises.”
    “Catch him on his way out then.”
    “I have attempted to do so, but he continually evades me. Yesterday I waited outside his door for two hours. I left to visit the privy—for just a minute, mind—and he slipped out while I was gone. I think he must have been watching out his keyhole and waited for me to leave.”
    “Hmm.” They both fell silent as Eleanore pondered this news; then she murmured, “Perhaps you should try a different approach.”
    “What do you mean?” Prudence stopped her pacing and turned to eye her friend with interest.
    “Well, you have said that he drinks first, then gambles?” When she nodded at that, Ellie suggested, “Well, if you could prevent his drinking, he might stop gambling.”
    Prudence considered that briefly. “Think you that would really work?”
    “Well, the one does seem to follow the other. Does it not?”
    “Aye.”
    The other girl shrugged. “So if you stop him from drinking, mayhap the gambling will seem less appealing.”
    A smile slowly blossomed on Pru’s face at her friend’s logic. It seemed sound to her. “Eleanore, you are brilliant!” she pronounced at last, making the other girl flush with pleasure. “But how?”
    “How?”
    “How am I to prevent his drinking? He does most of his imbibing out of the house.”
    “Oh.” Eleanore fretted over the problem briefly, then suddenly got to her feet and hurried from the salon. Prudence watched her go with confusion and even stood, uncertain whether to follow her friend or not. But before she could reach the door, Ellie was rushing back into the room, a book in hand.
    “What is that?” Prudence asked.
    “One of my mother’s books of general advice. It includes