“Quite right, my dear,” concurred Lady Royce. “A young lady of your station must be careful not to allow some penniless handsome devil to pay court to you. Absolutely no good will come of it. But I’m sure our godson will see to it that you select wisely.”
The tea cart arrived and the maid served. When she left, Elise said, “He’s already given me the lecture ma’am.” She stirred her tea with as delicate a hand as she could manage to portray the ladylike image that was so necessary to achieve her goal. “I will heed his warnings, I assure you.”
“So,” began Lady Royce, looking directly at Elise, “who have you set your cap for then? Camden?”
“Because if it is,” added Lady Stone, “you’ve a long row to hoe young lady. It’s not likely he’s forgotten your antics of the years past.”
“Then there’s
