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evening.”
    “Excellent idea,” Lyndwood agreed with alacrity. He was clearly relieved to have Lucas along. “Perhaps we ought to arrange for the carriage to wait at a specific location somewhat removed from the activity?”
    Lucas nodded, thinking swiftly. “It will be difficult to maneuver the carriage near the park. At this time of night the crowds will be large and unpredictable. Tell your coachman that if he does not find us waiting for him at the same place where he sets us down, he should drive two streets over from the grounds and wait there near a small tavern called the Hound’s Tooth.”
    Lyndwood nodded, his handsome, concerned features in deep shadow. “I know the place and so does my coachman, I’ll wager. Don’t mind telling you again Iappreciate your joining us tonight, Stonevale. When the ladies take a notion to have an adventure, ain’t much a man can do to stop them, is there?”
    “That remains to be seen,” Stonevale said.
    Annabella, dressed in a stylish blue walking dress with a matching blue pelisse, giggled. “If you believe you can stop Victoria from doing anything she pleases, you have a surprise in store for you, my lord.”
    “Miss Huntington gets up to these tricks frequently, I take it?”
    Annabella chuckled again. “Victoria is never dull, I assure you, but this is a first for her, I believe. She told me she has been planning this for some time.”
    “It would seem Miss Huntington has gone ungoverned by a husband for far too long,” Lucas observed, and glowered at Annabella as the giggles turned into outright laughter. “I have said something amusing?”
    “Miss Huntington intends to go the entirety of her life without such governance,” Annabella informed him.
    “I understand she fears being married for her fortune,” Lucas said carefully. He wanted information but he did not want to raise too many questions about his motives.
    “She fears marriage altogether,” Annabella replied, her laughter fading. “She has seen nothing but very sad examples of the wedded state in her own family. And of course the business of being constantly pursued for her inheritance for so many years has only inclined her more than ever away from any desire for matrimony. Sometimes, I confess I wonder if she isn’t right in her thinking. What good is marriage for a woman?”
    “Damme, Bella,” her brother broke in sharply. “What a mutton-headed thing to say. Don’t go taking any foolish notions into your brain about following Miss Huntington’s example in life. Mama would have hysterics. To be perfectly truthful, as charming as Victoria is, if her aunt wasn’t such a good friend of Mama’s, I should think twice about allowing you to go about with her. Only look at the situation I am in tonight because of that woman’s influence on you. The sooner you are married, the better. Thank God, Barton has almost come up to scratch.”
    Annabella smiled demurely in the darkness. “I knowyou cannot wait to rid yourself of the responsibility of supervising my behavior, but I fear you must contain your enthusiasm for a while longer, Bertie. Upon due reflection I have decided to have you refuse Lord Barton’s offer, if and when it comes.”
    “Upon due reflection probably means you discussed the matter with Miss Huntington,” Lyndwood said morosely.
    “I do recall a conversation on the subject,” Annabella said. “She was kind enough to give me her opinion as to the sort of husband Lord Barton would make.”
    Lucas broke in on the fraternal wrangling, his interest sharpened by Annabella’s last remark. “How was Miss Huntington able to form an opinion about Barton?”
    “Oh, I believe he pursued her quite industriously for several months last year. During that time she had an opportunity to learn a great deal about him.”
    “Did she?” Lucas was aware of the chill in his own words. “Just what did she learn?”
    “A number of small items such as the fact that Barton has apparently