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as possible about that person. I think you and Lord Blackwood share so many of the same intellectual tastes that getting to know him would be much easier than you think. And as I said, it would make me so happy.” Her tone was pointed.
    “I will try. However, I feel shy when I am in his company. He seems so…above me.”
    Lorna burst out laughing. “Oh, not at all. He has the greatest admiration and respect for you. Even more so, now that he has learned of your wonderful artistic talents.”
    Patience blushed. “No, my dear, you do exaggerate.” She longed to ask Lorna about this supposed respect and admiration but dared not do so. She needn’t have worried. Enthusiasm bubbled from Lorna like a woodland brook as she expounded further on the subject.
    “Why, just the other day, he quite wore me out with asking all about you.”
    Patience caught her breath and then dismissed the notion before it even blossomed in her mind. Naturally, any prospective groom would wish to become acquainted with his intended bride’s social circle to feel more relaxed when meeting her friends and associates. Details supplied in advance could be very helpful in assisting when a tête-à-tête dried up. If one already knew that Lady So-and-So was an amateur lepidopterist then conversation should never flag.
    “I can’t imagine why,” she said as drily as she could. “I am sure his lordship is far more accustomed to beautiful and glamorous women such as Lady Gwendolyn Iverson and Miss Annabel Cartwright. They move in the same exalted circles as Lord Blackwood, far above lesser mortals such as me.”
    “I know why,” said Lorna, wide-eyed with innocence. “Because when you care about someone you want to know everything about them and the people around them.”
    “Exactly,” said Patience, “so I hope his lordship considers himself very well versed on the subject after your discussions with him.”
    Lorna looked puzzled. “Why are you being so harsh? Lord Blackwood is such a nice man. Everyone likes him. You can hardly accuse him of being high in the instep just because he knows a few arrogant persons.”
    She folded her arms and pouted. “I have seen him speak kindly to the lowest of people. Why, just the other day in the park, the carriage stopped next to an old soldier. Well, I am sure he was once a soldier. He was sitting on a bench, and he had on the most dreadful shabby uniform that I think was originally scarlet. His beard was long and his hair looked as if it hadn’t been washed and combed for years. He had lost one leg and there was just a stump sticking out with a pair of crutches lying next to him.”
    She stared at Patience who felt obliged to prompt her to continue. “And?”
    “Well, his lordship asked his groom to get down and take the man some money. The man wanted to refuse it at first, but then his lordship got down, went over to him, and spoke to him for a few minutes. Then the man took the money. He started crying, as well, when Lord Blackwood shook his hand. The man must have been so dirty, but his lordship did not flinch one bit. He got back into the carriage and said, ‘We owe our lives to brave men such as him.’”
    Patience looked away. Lord Blackwood’s gesture had been truly magnanimous. She should not utter sarcastic words just because her own dreams were unfulfilled.
    “I am sorry, Lorna dear. You are right. He is a wonderful man. ‘ The demi-Atlas of this earth, the arm and burgonet of men. ’”
    Lorna frowned. “Is that from a book? It sounds like something one would read in a very clever book.”
    Patience smiled. “It’s from a play. Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra . The greatest love story ever told.”
    “I have also read Shakespeare,” said Lorna, with a touch of loftiness, “even though I do not possess such a well-informed mind as yours. I should say, not as knowledgeable as Mama and Papa would like, but when Miss Babcock instructed my sisters and me in literature, we read