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this evening and
    what was yet to come, she deserved to suffer a bit. She had made certain that the pair of them would he
    the choicest morsel of conversation at every breakfast table tomorrow morning and in every club in St.
    James tomorrow afternoon.
    I congratulate you again, Mrs. Bright." Marcus inclined his head in a small gesture of mocking respect.
    "It is not every woman who could have duped Society into thinking she was my latest paramour."
    She bit her lip. "Thank you." "Quite a fascinating accomplishment, actually." He would never forget his
    first glimpse of her in the Fenwicks' ballroom. In his view, Iphiginia had succeeded in making every other
    woman in the room appear either overdressed, underdressed, or gaudy. Marcus could not put his finger
    on why she looked so right, but he had been in the world long enough to recognize a woman with an
    intuitive artistic sense of style. It had nothing to do with her gowns or her accessories. It had everything to
    do with how she wore them.
    "The choice of virginal white for your attire was a brilliant notion," Marcus continued. "Outrageous, but
    brilliant."
    She hesitated, as if uncertain whether he was mocking her. Then she smiled tremulously. "One of the
    reasons I chose to go about in white is because you are said to favor black in your own attire and in
    many of your personal possessions." With her gloved hand she indicated the elegant black carriage with
    its ebony fittings. "The rumors were accurate, I see."
    "Were you working on the hypothesis that I would he attracted to my opposite?"
    Iphiginia considered that very seriously. "I do not subscribe to that particular theory myself. I believe
    likeminded people are drawn together, not true opposites. But I knew Society would jump to the wrong
    conclusion. Most people think that those of opposing natures are attracted to each other."
    "And it was Society that needed to be convinced." "Aunt Zoe feared my plan would not work, but I
    assured her that it was our only hope."
    "Ah yes. Your little scheme to catch a blackmailer. I had almost forgotten about it."
    She glowered at him. "You do not believe a word I ,have said, do you, sir? I knew that you were very
    intelligent and everyone said you were quite arrogant about the fact, but I had not realized that you would
    he so stubborn."
    He chose to ignore the observation. "Tell me about your Aunt Zoe."
    "What do you wish to know?" "There are a number of Zoes in Society. Which one is your aunt?"
    Iphiginia's brows snapped together. "She is Lady Guthrie. I must warn you that she and I have kept our
    family connection a secret, however. I felt it would be easier to carry but the masquerade if no one knew
    the truth. If people knew that I was her niece, it might give rise to too many questions about me, you
    see."
    "Of course," Marcus murmured. "It was essential that you remain a mystery to the Polite World."
    "Extremely essential, sir. One question would soon lead to another and I might have been unmasked
    before I had accomplished my goal. At the very least the blackmailer might have realized that I was not
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    your mistress."
    "I see." "Society believes Zoe and I to be friends, but nothing more. That explanation provides an excuse
    for us to he seen together rather frequently."
    Marcus mentally ran through a list of the people who moved in his world. His memory was excellent. He
    was quite certain he had never met Zoe, Lady Guthrie. "I seem to recall that a certain Lord Guthrie
    belonged to one or two of my clubs. I believe he died a year ago."
    "Aunt Zoe is Guthrie's widow."
    "I do not believe that I have had the pleasure of meeting her."
    "No. That is the curious thing about all this," Iphiginia said quickly. "Aunt Zoe told me that the two of you
    had never been introduced. She has seen you from a distance at parties and balls and Guthrie had
    mentioned your name in a casual way, but that was