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it eventually if he is to do his duty—as will you.”
    Lucien snorted. “Not if I can help it.”
    His friend eyed him suspiciously for a moment. “Don’t tell me you already have someone in mind. Some foreign beauty hidden away at Roxberry Hall, perhaps?”
    Lucien smiled. “Nothing quite that exotic, I fear.”
    “Hmm . . . if you ask me, I always imagined you’d marry Lady Crossby—before she married the viscount, that is.”
    Lucien raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And why is that? Don’t tell me you’re planning to expand your business by publishing a newspaper and that you’re secretly looking for a good story.”
    Lord Winston laughed. “No. I’m quite content with what I already have—no thoughts of expansion—but I’ve always been of the opinion that you and Lady Crossby would make a very good match.”
    Lucien snorted again. “We are merely friends.”
    “And yet I couldn’t help but notice that you danced with her this evening . . . for the very first time.”
    “Are you always this astute?”
    “Actually, it was my wife who pointed it out to me,” Lord Winston confessed.
    Lucien grinned. “Well, you may tell her ladyship that I thought it only proper to ask Lady Crossby to dance, since this is her first public appearance in so long. I merely meant to offer my support.”
    “How very good of you.”
    “And,” Lucien added, “you may remind your wife that I also danced with Lady Deerford this evening, and I can assure you that I have no designs on her.”
    “I should hope not,” Winston choked out.
    Lucien took another sip of his drink, adding, “And I have every intention of dancing with a few more ladies this evening. Perhaps I’ll even ask your wife, or do you suppose she’ll wonder if I’m trying to seduce her as well?”
    “I daresay I—”
    “Ah! There you are, my dear,” a warm voice crooned. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you since my arrival, but there are so many people and too many blasted feathers about, blocking my view.”
    Turning to his right, Lucien bowed toward the lady who had just spoken. “Grandmamma,” he said. “It is absolutely delightful to see you again.”
    “Oh tosh! You make it sound as if it’s been an age since we saw each other last, when it’s only been a few hours.” The old woman flicked her wrist and peered at Winston, who’d also greeted her with a bow. “My lord, I simply must compliment you on this evening’s celebration. The floral arrangements are absolutely breathtaking.”
    “Thank you, Lady Roxberry, but this is entirely my mother’s doing.”
    “Nevertheless, I am thoroughly impressed. This is not the first Kingsborough Ball I’ve attended, you know, but I daresay it promises to be the most memorable one.”
    “If for no other reason than the pumpkin carriage Mama acquisitioned for the occasion,” Winston murmured, then quickly changed the subject by saying, “I see you have no refreshment, my lady. May I have the honor of fetching you a glass of champagne?”
    Lady Roxberry’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Surely one of the footmen can save you the effort.”
    Leaning toward Lucien’s grandmother, Winston lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I fear that whatever they bring will not be to your liking.”
    This was met with a loud guffaw from her ladyship, and try as he might, Lucien found it impossible to stop himself from laughing as well, for what only few people knew was that Lady Roxberry favored brandy over anything else and that she oftentimes drank the stuff watered down and from a champagne flute so she might appear more sophisticated and ladylike to others.
    “In that case, I give you my sincerest thanks, Lord Winston,” Lady Roxberry said. “I shall look forward to your speedy return.”
    “I assume Mama is here somewhere as well,” Lucien said as soon as Winston left, “and that you did not leave her at home.”
    “Unfortunately I had no choice, my dear—she claimed a megrim,