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female beauty, he watched her with pleasure, admiring her exquisite features and lush body. By the second act, he had fallen under the spell of the woman. There was something in her voice and actions that suggested a depth of character that he had not expected. By the end of the third act, he was impatient for the next evening to begin so he might see her again.
    Night after night, he returned to the Green Mews. Eventually he grew accustomed to her breathtaking beauty and began to observe the woman behind the characters she played. Watching La Solitaire, he caught hints of humor, intelligence and sensitivity that were in total contrast to the shallowness he had expected. She was not jaded or blowsy. She exuded an elegance and a curious innocence that intrigued him. As he sat in the comfortable darkness of the theatre, he became obsessed with the need to know more about the singular Maggie Mason.
    To his chagrin, he discovered that there was little known about the woman outside of the theatre. No one of his acquaintance knew where she came from or where she lived now. It was said that an incredibly wealthy nobleman, in fact, was keeping her due to the mystery behind his identity, some had hinted that the man in question might even be Prinny himself. The latter at least, Drew discounted since he knew the man's tastes did not run to such youthful actresses.
    The more elusive the woman became, the more she interested Drew. He did not really think beyond a light flirtation and he chaffed at the continued thwarting of his plans. He questioned his companions for someone who could introduce him but all to no avail. According to his friends, no one had gotten close enough to Maggie Mason to form an acquaintance.
    Thus he began a campaign of his own. He sent an enormous basket of flowers only to discover that it had been distributed among the women in the chorus. He sent notes backstage but they were never acknowledged. He was amused by the standoffish behavior of the actress but, as she continued to ignore him, his determination grew. In a gesture guaranteed to win her attention, he bribed one of the stage attendants to place a diamond bracelet in her dressing room before her performance. He had arrived at the theatre before the raising of the curtain, confident in his ultimate success, only to find, on the seat of his solitary gilt chair, the unopened box.
    Since well before he had reached his majority, Drew had become used to instant approval from females of all ages and classes. He knew he was well looking and, with his vast fortune, the majority of women he had met had fawned over his every presence. Why was Miss Maggie Mason so contrary?
    Drew flung off his cloak as he took the stairs of his townhouse two at a time. The door opened under his hand, unlocked since he hated to alert the house of his comings and goings. Frosty's white head appeared like a spectre in the semi-darkness of the foyer as the impressively-bearded butler shuffled forward to take his things.
    "I'll be in the library but I shall require nothing further," Drew mumbled as he crossed the marble foyer. "Good night, Frosty."
    The old man observed the tightness around his master's mouth and refrained from informing him of the visitor who waited in the library. He would alert Mrs. Gladdie to prepare a room for milord's brother and then take himself off for a well-earned rest. "Night, milord."
    Drew opened the door of the library and stopped on the threshold at the awareness of another presence. A figure rose from the chair beside the fireplace and a grin of delight erased the dark expression on his face.
    "Robbie! Devil take it, man, but it's good to see you." Drew crossed the Aubusson carpet in long strides to clasp his brother's hand.
    The two men exchanged greetings and then Drew pushed Robbie away in order to look more carefully at him. Although only five years separated the two, Drew felt all of his thirty years were evident beside the boyish appearance of his