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was today. Sidney suspected the death of Richard's parents in a carriage accident when he was twelve was much to blame.
    After that, Richard went to live with Lord Dinsmore. A military man, highly respected if not revered, the Earl tried to instill in his late cousin's son the importance of a high moral character. That is, when he was around. The trouble was, Dinsmore was away much of the time, fighting one war or another, leaving Richard to be raised by servants and a doting Lady Dinsmore who, having never had children of her own, caved in to his every whim.
    Now Lady Dinsmore was dead and his guardian, Lord Dinsmore, back at Pemberly Manor to stay. Dinsmore had returned a hero, battered and scarred from the ardors of battle, but too late for any favorable influence on his ward. Richard's unsavory character had already formed, set in a mold of self-indulgence, arrogance, and greed. Which I have ignored up to now , Sidney mused , but no longer can I countenance such behavior.
    Richard would always be a friend, but surely not his best friend, and it would be better, as time went by, that they drift apart. Not easy, though, considering that Vernon Hill, Sidney's own estate, lay adjacent to Pemberly Manor, which some day would belong to Richard. It was inevitable their paths would cross from time to time. If they did, fine. Considering Richard had once saved his life, he could never completely turn his back on the man, no matter how unprincipled he became.
    Richard inquired, "So what did you think of Lady Flora?"
    "Attractive...personable enough." That would suffice. He would not mention this morning on the beach when something intense flared deep within him that moment he had first seen Lady Flora Winton standing in the surf, a sea breeze stirring her wealth of auburn hair, the wet folds of her bathing costume clinging like a second skin to her alluring curves.
    My God, but it had been a while since he'd felt that overpowering urge for a woman. In fact, he could not recall ever receiving such a jolt. And so out of the blue . Since Hortense died, he had not exactly lived the life of a monk, but never anything serious. Up to now, he simply had not been interested.
    Having seen Lady Flora only once, and at a distance, he was surprised at the number of times throughout the day that thoughts of her kept popping into his head. Each time they did, he tried to convince himself that up close she would doubtless look quite ordinary.
    But not so. Up to now, he'd found the task of beginning a dance with a young lady about as exciting as pulling on his boots. Tonight, though, he'd had a rather interesting reaction when Lady Flora Winton floated into his arms, smelling of lilac, her face perfection with its delicately pointed chin, full, rosy mouth so temptingly curved, soft cheeks of rose and pearl, straight, up-tilted little nose, and dark violet eyes, fringed with long, dark lashes. There was intelligence in those eyes, as well as humor. They were bright with energy and life. He had begun the dance with a first-time-ever heightened awareness he held a desirable woman in his arms, and he'd felt her beguiling presence right down to his fingertips.
    From there, it got better—or worse, depending how he looked at it—when he discovered he might as well be guiding a piece of dandelion fluff, she was so light, truly a marvelous dancer. Most disturbing, though, was that in a room full of low-cut gowns exposing soft white flesh which he had long since learned to ignore, when they began the dance, he found the close-up view of her bosom disturbing in a way he'd never known before. He was keenly aware of her in every way.
    S he'd ignored him. Sidney could almost laugh at the irony. Richard wasn't the only bachelor considered a good catch. Since Hortense died, more than one aggressive mother had thrust her daughter at him, visions of a fine marriage to a wealthy and titled widower on her mind. He avoided them all like the plague.
    As for Lady