For about a week, Society busied itself with gossiping about whether Leander Mayfield—the False Earl, as he was now being called—had truly tried to steal the title from his brother and whether he’d fled to escape being exposed as an imposter.
After the ton tired of that, it was as if Leander Mayfield had never existed. Who cared about a shy, bookish American when the true Earl of Dearborne was handsome, had beautiful manners, and was willing to attend far more balls and assemblies? The mamas with eligible daughters were disappointed to find he was already married, but the rest of Society was more than satisfied by the extraordinarily beautiful Countess of Dearborne. There was almost no discussion about her character, but character was of little matter if one possessed an abundance of gold
