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disgust, even though he knew Richard couldn't possibly see it in dark. "So just what is your strategy?"
    "Indifference, that's the key. Amazing, how well it works. When I see a woman I want, I ignore her, though not entirely, of course. I give her a sample of that old Dashwood charm, just enough to rouse her interest. Soon she's dying for my attention. It's not long before she's dying for more." Even in the darkness, Sidney sensed Richard's triumphant little smile. "Works every time."
    "Richard, you are absolute scum."
    His friend met the insult with a hearty laugh. "Scum, perhaps, but I assure you my strategy works. Did you notice Lady Flora tonight? She could not keep her eyes off me. At the end of the evening when I danced with her, or, to put it another way, when I finally threw her a crumb, she was not only exceedingly grateful, she was ecstatic with relief that at last I had deigned to notice her."
    So that's why she ignored me . Sidney gritted his teeth, surprised at his own irritation. After his unsatisfactory dance with Lady Flora, he vowed not to dance again, telling himself he'd be an idiot if ever he attended another ball. "Why do you do this? What's to be gained?"
    "Am I not free to pursue my pleasures?"
    "That's not the point."
    "Since when are you such a prude?" Richard asked with mild exasperation. "Am I not doing what most men do?"
    "I can't argue." Sidney would say no more. Far be it from him to preach and moralize. Besides, in a society like the ton , prudish on the surface, but rife with corruption underneath, how could he possibly explain how, in recent years, he increasingly found the loose morals abhorrent? "So go pursue your pleasures," he said with a sigh.
    Richard thought a moment. "So far, it's been a game—the chase, the conquest. But lately...you know how Lord Dinsmore has been after me to marry. I have resisted, of course. Why should I give up this delightful life I lead?"
    "Why should you indeed?" Sidney cynically observed. "Women, drinking, gambling, more women...the word 'decadent' comes to mind."
    "Exactly." If Richard was the least insulted, he gave no indication. "But on the other hand, I am sick to death of my cousin plaguing me, so lately I've been thinking, why not marry? Then I shall do what most men do—take a wife, get her with child, then go about my 'decadent' life just as before."
    "Not every woman would have you on those terms."
    "My dear boy, what woman would not have me? Aren't I titled and soon to be rich? My dear cousin grows more feeble by the day. Not that I want him to go, mind you, but facts are facts."
    "The fact is, you can hardly wait for your cousin's demise." Sidney did not bother to hide his annoyance.
    "Well, it's true, isn't it? I could marry any woman I chose, but where's the fun in that? I enjoy the challenge–the chase. So I shall choose a woman with spirit like Lady Flora, who's not only beautiful and charming but has a munificent father who will doubtless provide an obscenely generous dowry. I'll have my fun with her, marry her, get her with child, which will thrill my dear cousin no end and stop him plaguing me. Then I shall be free to resume my carefree life while my obedient wife stays home and produces a pack of little Dashwoods to carry on the family name." Laughing aloud, Richard slapped his friend on the back. "A fine scheme, don't you think?"
    "You are despicable."
    "Now there's a true friend," Richard answered warmly. "One of the things I like best about you, Sidney, is you always say what you think."
    True enough, thought Sidney . But that's not all I'm thinking . Despite the comradery of the Four-in-Hand club in which they both took an active part, despite the history of their friendship which extended back to before he could remember, there were times he could barely tolerate his wayward friend. Richard had been a sweet child, obedient, pleasant, never whining, but when he reached his teens, he began to change into the arrogant, uncaring man he