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Oh, here are the gentlemen.” She smiled brightly as they trooped in.
    Celia realized her attempt at sprightly conversation over dinner hadn’t won Lord Lockwood’s heart, for though he nodded at her across the room, he didn’t seek her out.
    For an instant, she was almost hurt. But how foolish it was, when she had found his company tedious, to feel wounded because he didn’t immediately pursue the acquaintance! Besides, she noted, he didn’t seek out the other young ladies either; he took a seat beside Lady Stone, opposite Lady Hester. Celia shot a sideways look at Prudence, who appeared not to have noticed either her sister’s gibe or Lockwood’s avoidance.
    Baron Draycott made a beeline for the Carew sisters. “You promised to play for us,” he reminded Prudence. “I shall turn the pages if you like.”
    Viscount Billings was only a few steps behind him, and as the sisters returned to the pianoforte, he followed without casting even a glance at Celia or Jane.
    “We seem to be invisible,” Celia said, with an effort to be cheerful.
    “Invisibility is a companion’s lot,” Jane answered. “Perhaps sitting by me makes you hard to see as well.”
    Celia scarcely heard her, for the last pair of gentlemen to come into the room–Lord Stone and Simon–stopped near the door and appeared to be completely absorbed in their conversation. Celia wondered what they’d found in common. Perhaps Simon had taken their hostess’s advice to heart and was already attempting to convince Lord Stone to invest in one of Uncle Rupert’s schemes.
    She turned back to Jane, noting that the young woman’s gaze had also fallen on the newcomers.
    “What’s the story about your cousin?” Jane asked.
    The question sounded almost careless, but Celia wasn’t fooled; there could be nothing casual about Jane’s interest.
    Clearly Jane was a born lady, but if she’d had a wealthy family she wouldn’t be working as a companion to a crotchety old female. Without a decent dowry or an elevated rank of her own, Jane was hardly the sort of bride a titled gentleman would seek out. Only if one of them tumbled madly into love with her would he even consider making an offer.
    Therefore it was no wonder that Jane’s eye had fallen on Simon. A pleasant young man of reasonable good looks, possessing excellent manners but not acting high in the instep, must seem very inviting to a young woman in Jane’s circumstances. Because his money came from trade, Simon was just as much on the outskirts of society as Jane was. For Jane, the fact that he earned a living with his own efforts–the very thing that made the Carew sisters turn up their noses at him–might even seem an attractive characteristic.
    The entire idea sat oddly on Celia’s mind, possibly because Jane’s circumstances were an uncomfortable reminder of her own. If Uncle Rupert were to remain adamant about his refusal to fund a dowry for her, then Celia too would have to captivate a gentleman so completely that what she brought to the marriage wouldn’t matter to him–and that fact was much less fun to think about than Simon’s possible entanglements.
    Jane cleared her throat. “Miss Overton?”
    Oh. Yes. Jane asked about Simon.
A friend would warn her, Celia supposed–and though they had met only hours before, she counted the young woman as a friend. “My cousin has been quite taken with Lady Hester.”
    Jane sounded skeptical. “I would never have guessed it. They’ve scarcely looked at each other.”
    So she’d been watching him, had she? “Simon is too discreet to wear his heart on his sleeve. As for Lady Hester, she can flirt with him any time at home, but to do so here might risk upsetting the opportunity for a match her parents would approve.”
    Jane frowned.
    Ruthlessly, Celia changed the subject. “You’ve been just a few weeks with Lady Stone, you said?”
    “About two months. Her companions appear not to last long, for I believe I am the third this