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man’s.”
    “I wouldn’t know.”
    Vanessa grinned at that prim tone. “No, you wouldn’t—but you will. Or are you getting nervous again?”
    “Not at all,” Jocelyn said, and meant it, though it was one thing to talk about and something else again to actually do. “It’s time to find out what all the fuss is about. Just knowing how it’s done isn’t enough anymore to satisfy my curiosity. But it can’t be just any man.”
    “No, of course not. A mild attraction isn’t enough for the first time. You have to be knocked off your feet at the very least.”
    “I’ve been looking,” Jocelyn said defensively.
    “I know you have, dear. Obviously those dark, swarthy men of Mexico just weren’t your cup of tea. If only you had made this decision sooner, before you met someone like Charles, whom you were seriously considering for marriage.”
    “But how could I know I would want to get married again?”
    “I warned you these things just happen. No one plans on falling in love.”
    “Still, I honestly thought I wouldn’t marry. After all, I will have to give up a good deal of the freedom I’ve come to enjoy if I do.”
    “With the right man that won’t matter at all.”
    They had decided between them, on that long sea voyage from New York to Mexico, that now that marriage was a possibility for the future, Jocelyn had to get rid of her maidenhead. It was the only way she could keep Edward’s name from being blackened with ugly gossip. And after all, a widow had no business being a virgin. That she was one at twenty-two was nothing to be proud of, not when it was the last thing anyone would expect her to be.
    Her virginity had at last become a hindrance, and as Vanessa had said, something she should have seen to long ago. Her options now were limited. Having a doctor do it was one. But the thought of instruments being poked inside her to cut her membrane left her shuddering with distaste. The only other option was to take a lover, someone not in her social sphere, someone who had never heard of Edward, and especially someone she wasn’t likely to ever encounter again when it was over. Whether she then returned to New York and Charles Abington the Third, or whether she met someone else suitable to her station and means, she could marry without worry. Edward’s affliction would never come to light.
    Jocelyn was ready, had been ever since they haddocked in Mexico. And Vanessa was wrong. She had found several Mexicans quite attractive. Unfortunately, her interest was not returned, or if it was, she was too inexperienced to have read the subtle signs. She was not at all adept at flirting.
    It wasn’t going to be easy, this matter of finding a lover. Besides being so inexperienced, she had Mr. Longnose to consider, and being unable to stay in any one place long enough to develop a relationship to the point where she could entice a man into her bed. She supposed she should hope to be pursued again, as she had been in the Middle East, and on the East Coast of America. Some countries bred men more aggressive than others, or at least more bold in their desires. She could use a little of that boldness now, boldness she had heretofore considered sheer arrogance and audacity.
    Recalling the bloodhound who was still dogging their trail, Jocelyn said, “I wasn’t brooding about Charles, you know. In fact, it’s been quite some time since I’ve even thought of him. Do you think I mightn’t have been as fond of him as I supposed?”
    “My dear, you really hadn’t known him long enough. They say some loves are rather instantaneous, though I’ve never experienced one of those myself. Most love takes time to grow. We might have spent several months in New York, but you didn’t even meet the man until three weeks before we were forced to leave. I find the fact that you were interested at all a very good sign, since you have tended to ignore men for the most part these past years. Now…tell me why our persistent friend