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glancing at the untasted collation on the occasional table, she walked out of me study.Her thoughts still dwelled pleasantly on the Earl of Walmesley.
    In the not-too-distant future she was to recall those same reflections with certain misgivings.
     

Chapter Five
     
    The following day Lady Caroline sustained a visit from Lord Hathaway, that same gentleman who was so highly recommended by Mrs. Burlington.
    Lord Hathaway was a stocky gentleman of unimposing height and rather ordinary features. His slightly protuberant blue orbs and his rather heavy mouth lent him a habitual expression of mild surprise. Everything about Lord Hathaway, from his dress to his mannerisms to his opinions, could be summed up in one word—conservative.
    Lord Hathaway himself would have been the first to agree that his person was not such as to inspire passion or dread or excitement in the female breast. Nor did he possess that flair of personality that seemed to characterize many of his peers. He was no Corinthian or reckless rake like a number of other gentlemen of his social standing. Not for Lord Hathaway the manly sports or skirt-chasing.
    Lord Hathaway did, however, possess one quality almost unique to himself. He flattered himself with the belief that very few other gentlemen could lay claim to such a spotless reputation as his own.
    Lord Hathaway had heard himself referred to as “The Worthy.” He had passed over, as being of little consequence, the fact that the speaker had spoken in a derisive tone, but instead had accepted the sobriquet with all the gratification inherent of a gentleman secure in his position and positively certain of his own worth.
    Some months previously, Lord Hathaway had concluded after careful reflection that it had become time to cast about for an acceptable helpmate with whom to share his table. His deliberations upon the worth of several possible candidates were as studied as for any other decision he was called upon to make in the discharging of his duties and responsibilities.
    One by one the candidates had fallen short of expectations as he discovered some previously unguessed-at fault or imperfection. At last his lordship made his choice, and it was to Lady Caroline Eddington that he had thrown his favor.
    Lady Caroline was acceptable in every way. Her birth and her upbringing qualified her to preside at the foot of any of the grandest tables in England. Her ladyship’s dowry was very respectable, especially when measured against Lord Hathaway’s close-held ambition to deepen his already well-filled coffers. In addition, he considered that Lady Caroline’s graciousness of manner and her beauty made her one of the true notables of the age.
    The crowning point in Lady Caroline Eddington’s favor had been her advanced age. Her ladyship was no longer a giddy young girl, but a woman seasoned and steady. Lord Hathaway of all things disliked unnecessary levity, and in Lady Caroline he thought that he had found a lady of settled nature who would be immune to the silly romantic notions so prevalent among young misses just presented into society.
    Lord Hathaway was satisfied that he could not do better than place his ring upon Lady Caroline’s slender finger. In the eighteen months that he had courted her, there had been nothing to sway him from that opinion.
    While it was true that Lady Caroline on occasion displayed a breeziness of spirit that was foreign to one of his more temperate nature, and that she had an unfortunate knack for utterances of opinion that at times ran completely counter to his own considered words of wisdom, Lord Hathaway was not deterred. These faults could, he believed, be laid straightaway at the door of an overindulgent father and a negligent brother. Lord Hathaway’s opinion was formed and strengthened by certain delicate conversations he had conducted with Mrs. Burlington, who had given him to understand that as a young girl Lady Caroline had been so shamelessly spoiled that it had