Forty

Cassy waited anxiously for cards to be presented that would announce the identity of her guests and hoped that it was someone she liked. Lilian had promised to visit in her letter. She liked Lilian. Out of the dozens of young women she'd met in London, she was the only one who did not affect arrogant manners and snobbish ways. They had become friends for a time until Lilian had made a match and gone off with her new husband to tour America.

But to Cassy's dismay, it was Robert. And he had brought along Zack, much to her surprise and vague uneasiness. Somehow, she knew that Henry would not be pleased to know that the viscount had been to his home in his absence.

"Henry is in London?" Robert asked with a slight lift of his brows. "How unfortunate. I had thought to find him at home. Well, I can present you with my felicitations, and perhaps have some of the Duke's excellent brandy. Oh, you do recall the duke's cousin, I am sure..."

He seemed to expect Cassy to allow him to linger and she