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eating some­what better since we began our partnership."
    Whistlecroft chuckled. "That we are, m'lord. That we are. My wife's getting plump and the five little ones is all filling out nicely. We moved into a little house just last week. Real pleasant, it is."
    "Excellent. Then let me hear what you have for me this time." Whistlecroft hunched forward and lowered his voice. "A little mat­ter o‘ blackmail and a nice bit o' jewelry, m'lord. I think ye'll find it amusing enough."

Chapter Three
    What do I know of Angelstone?" Hester, Lady Pem­broke, paused with her teacup halfway to her mouth and looked at Prudence. "Only that he is not on speaking terms with his relatives and that he has an exceedingly dangerous reputation. All of which makes him extremely interesting, of course. Why do you ask?"
    Prudence smiled. Hester was an awesomely built woman of inde­terminate years, whose size was exceeded only by her generous heart and her lively interest in the affairs of the
ton.
As she had once ex­plained to Prudence, she had long been deprived of her natural place in the social world due to the mysterious disappearance of the famed Pembroke jewels a generation earlier. One could not move in the best circles of the
ton
without money, regardless of one's pedigree.
    Now that she had money, Hester was happily indulging herself in all the pleasures of society that had previously been denied to her. She had concluded that she had an innate sense of style and when the
Morning Post
reported that gowns of lavender and violet hues were the most fashionable this season, Hester had redone her wardrobe ac­cordingly. Today her stout frame was encased in a heavily flounced and ruffled lavender gown trimmed with pink lace.
    Hester was an old friend of Prudence's family. She and her late husband had lived in an ancient, tumbledown manor house that was located not far from the Merryweather farm. The Pembroke ghost, which was almost as famous as the missing Pembroke jewels, had provided Prudence with her first real experience in the investigation of spectral phenomena.
    "I'm asking about Angelstone because Trevor has taken this ridic­ulous notion into his head that I must be very careful around the earl," Prudence explained. "He seems to think the man is out to se­duce me. Utter nonsense, of course, but Trevor is very agitated about it."
    "As well he should be, I suppose. The earl is, as I said, most interesting, but there is no indication that he is casting about for a wife as yet. Therefore, we must assume that when he pays attention to a young lady, he has other things on his mind."
    "He might simply wish to converse with her about matters of mu­tual intellectual interest," Prudence suggested hopefully.
    "Not likely." Hester put down her teacup, her expression thought­ful. "One of the reasons Angelstone is so completely fascinating is precisely because he flouts Society's rules. Treats the Social World with contempt, for the most part, just as it once treated his parents."
    "But you said he's invited to all the best balls and soirees."
    "Certainly. There is nothing Society thrives on more than being treated with contempt by a titled gentleman who has money to burn and more than a hint of danger about him."
    "I see. How very odd."
    "Not at all. Only recall how Society has doted on Byron. Angel­stone is very shrewd. He knows how to stay just this side of the bound­ary of what is acceptable. And since he assumed the title, every host­ess in Town vies to lure him with an invitation to one of her affairs."
    "He is certainly an interesting man," Prudence said.
    "Yes, indeed." Hester turned thoughtful. "And one of the most interesting things about him is why he has not used the power he acquired along with the title to crush his relatives."
    Prudence frowned. "Crush them?"
    "It would be easy enough for him to do. He controls a fortune, after all. And he has great social power. Everyone assumes the reason he has not gotten his relatives