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school chums who had married last year. Amanda had caught a glimpse of another one who was also married. She had nothing in common with her old friends anymore so she hadn’t approached either one, at least that was the excuse she’d given herself. The truth was, they just made her feel even more disheartened over her predicament, being last in line to find happiness.
    But Phoebe was the worst gossiper of her old group of friends, loved to hear it, loved to pass it on, so Amanda wouldn’t be surprised if she had some juicy on-dits she was dying to share, and Amanda was right.
    “The Earl of Manford, I really thought he’d be here tonight,” Phoebe said.
    “Who’s that?”
    “A good question. Got his title as a child, losing both parents, poor boy. He’s just come of age, but no one I know has clapped eyes on him yet. I thought surely if anything could lure him to town, it would be one of Lady O’s parties.”
    Amanda’s interest perked up. A young man she hadn’t met yet? She grinned. “He needs to be lured?”
    “Apparently,” Phoebe huffed. “By all accounts, he’s not ready to marry so he won’t bother coming to London yet. Too busy chasing down fast horses.”
    Amanda instantly lost interest. If the young earl wasn’t interested in marriage, then she had no interest in meeting him. But she politely pretended otherwise to her friend. “Another horse breeder?”
    “No, he just acquires them for his collection. Avid horseman. Only time I’ve heard his name mentioned is when fast horses get mentioned.”
    Amanda shuddered. She didn’t like horses—well, unless she was watching them from afar at the racetrack and betting on which one might win. But she’d taken a bad fall as a child not long after her riding lessons had begun, and she’d been afraid to get back on a horse after that and never did again.
    Phoebe sighed now. “Obviously you’ve already heard about the horse breeder who’s here tonight?”
    Amanda managed not to snort. How could she not hear about the man whose name was on everyone’s tongue? She’d noticed him immediately when he arrived. Handsome in a rough, overly masculine sort of way, but that’s exactly why she’d dismissed him out of hand. Too brutish looking by far.
    “Such a silly nickname they’ve given him, Cupid!” Phoebe giggled. “Yet so apt! Imagine someone like him being a successful matchmaker.”
    Amanda did snort this time. “Exactly. I’m not convinced he belongs here for any reason when he looks like a thug.”
    Phoebe’s eyes lit up. “Then you haven’t heard it all! The Baldwins are gentry from Lancashire. There was even an earl in their family tree a while back. But they’ve always dabbled in horse breeding, which might account for this Baldwin’s being a bit more . . . more—what the deuce is the word I’m looking for?”
    “Brutish?”
    Phoebe frowned. “No, that wasn’t—oh, earthy ! That’s the word that eluded me.”
    Brutish was more apt, Amanda mumbled to herself. And she wasn’t going to politely lead this topic any further. In fact, she sent Lord Oliver a smile, urging him to return to her side, and he complied immediately.
    Phoebe wasn’t pleased to have her gossip cut short and said so, “Really, Oliver, I was only going to keep her for a few minutes.”
    “One minute away from Amanda is like an eternity, dear lady,” Oliver replied gallantly.
    Phoebe tsked, but then grinned. “Hard to argue with that, I suppose, and I do see my husband waving at me. I’ll talk to you later, Mandy.”
    Amanda almost laughed as she was surrounded by her beaus again. Now she was back to being bored! So she began the story about the wonderful painter Rafe had discovered on the Continent and had sponsored after he’d fished him out of a river. She soon had her audience laughing, but she was keeping her eye on her father across the room. As soon as he finished his conversation, she was going to suggest they leave.
    Devin was more than ready