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Her friends were full of admiration and not a little envy; every woman of a certain age found these dashing young blades and dandies endearing and cheerful company and she seemed to have developed an intimate relationship with at least two of them. In the process, Lady Godley had rediscovered her own zest for life, enjoying every soirée and ball, all the on-dits and whispered love affairs, the frisson of excitement in the air. Lord Byron too, was back in Town, now a celebrity poet and scandalous lover, and had graced a few parties she had attended with her literary friends. His presence had inevitably set tongues clacking with delicious rumour, especially as he and the married, volcanic Lady Caro Lamb were pursuing a passionate liaison in so public a manner.

Both young lords knew Lady Godley was susceptible to their charms and they kissed her hand with an elaborate flourish and murmured flattering compliments about her person, her house and the company she kept. When Sybella eventually returned to the drawing room, she found Valentine Ravenell in amused conversation with her. Lord Lynwood and her sister were playing piquet at the card table, their serious intent punctuated with accusations and bursts of amused laughter.

‘Bella, my dear, come and join us.’ Lady Godley patted the sofa beside her. Lord Ravenell looked up with his sweet dazzling smile. Sybella could hardly believe the owner of this angelic face had been caught in such dissolute company, then plucked from mortal danger to become her future brother-in-law in what was bruited abroad as the match of the year. Ever since the death of her husband, the unpredictability of life had alarmed her and on bad nights kept her from sleep. She felt she now lived on a thin edge, where anguish or joy had but a breath’s separation.

‘My father is a great admirer of yours, Mrs Lovatt.’ Lord Ravenell took her hand. ‘He wishes to take a supper box next week at Vauxhall Gardens to celebrate my betrothal to Loo. Just with you and Lady Godley and Freddie. We do hope you can join us.’

‘Oh, Bella, do! It will be such fun. I’ve never been to the Gardens before, but Val and Freddie have been telling me of all the wondrous things to see and do.’

‘Of course I’ll come. It’ll be interesting for me to see them again. The last time I was there was before James was born.’ She was going to say, when I was still loved as a wife, not yet a widow, but she knew how tedious other people’s grief could become and she remained silent. Lucie, however, understood what had been left unsaid and crossed the room to slip an arm round her sister’s shoulder.

‘How was Richmond Park?’

‘I was surprised how beautiful and romantic a landscape it is. Lucky Viscount Sidmouth to actually live there.’

‘And how was the riding? Did Scipio shake off his fidgets?’

‘Oh, yes! He had two great gallops, one official and one unofficial.’

‘What do you mean, unofficial, Mrs Lovatt?’ Lord Lynwood had joined the group round her.

‘Scipio was startled by a deer and took off rather fast. Your guardian thought he was bolting with me.’ She met Lord Lynwood’s dancing eyes with a smile.

‘Aha! I know what comes next. Ant decides to play the hero and rescue you!’

‘Well, not exactly.’ Sybella felt strangely protective of Mr Brabazon and did not want him to be ribbed mercilessly by his irrepressible ward.

‘You can’t gull me, Mrs Lovatt, I know exactly how he would have behaved. He’s not just my guardian, you know, he’s self-appointed Guardian to the World! He doesn’t believe the sun would still rise of a morning without his eye on the horizon.’

They all laughed. ‘He’s not as bad as that, you wicked boy!’ Lady Godley admonished him. ‘I’ve known Anthony Brabazon since he was your age and he’s only turned into a bit of a stickler since he became responsible for you. He was always as wild as fire. Unlike you, though, Freddie, espèce de petit vaurien, he just didn’t make a great show of it.’

‘You’re not really wild, are you?’ Lucie turned her face towards Lord Lynwood, a small frown between her brows.

Lord Lynwood flushed slightly. ‘I have done some reckless things, ’tis true, but since my guardian angel saved me from a lonely death, I’ve mended my ways.’ He smiled back at her. ‘Anyway, how can you accuse me of wild ways when we have Val in the room?’

Once more, his roguish spirit had got the better of his discretion and his friend cast him a stern glance. Sybella, aware that Lady Godley was ignorant of the whole shocking incident at Bow Street, turned to her and asked if she was joining the party at Vauxhall Gardens.

‘Oh, yes, ma chérie! I love the Gardens. I’ve been going there since I was a young woman. There’s nothing as magical. The grottoes, the temples, the secret groves, the music. Ah, the illuminations! C’est une fantasmagorie véritable. So many liaisons made, so many broken in those leafy bowers.’ Lady Godley’s eyes had grown tearful at the memory of her youth and lost hopes. Sybella gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze. ‘Don’t mind me, dear Bella, it’s just the nostalgie of age.’

Sybella was getting ready for bed, brushing out her long dark hair and rather exhausted by the day’s events. She gazed into the looking-glass as she brushed, trying to order the thoughts that crowded her tired mind. In the years of widowhood, she had given up on wishing for anything for herself that differed from her domestic, ordered but rather lonely existence, where romantic love belonged firmly in the past. But now, in coming to London and seeking a new life for Lucie, the certainties of her own life had been rocked. She had not expected to have her quiescent heart stirred into life again. Everything had become unstable and it made her a prey to existential fears. She could no longer guarantee Lucie’s happiness; her son’s life was so precious any threat terrified her; nor could she know where her own bliss could now be found. Her mournful reverie was interrupted by a knock at the door.

‘Bella. Can I come in?’ Lucie’s voice was urgent.

‘Of course.’ Sybella turned away from the looking-glass to meet her sister’s excited gaze.

‘Oh, Bella!’ she sighed as she flopped down on the bed.

‘I presume their lordships have left?’

‘Yes. They’re off to their clubs. I think Freddie is determined not to let Val out of his sight. They’re off to meet the Duke at White’s.’

‘With Val’s papa there, they won’t be able to get up to too much trouble.’

‘I’m so confused.’ Lucie’s beautiful face looked downcast and Sybella felt her own anxiety rise. ‘My betrothal to Val makes so many people I love happy, my godmother, Val’s father, Val and me too.’

‘But?’

‘But Val is clear-sighted and honest. He’s told me he loves me as a sister. I don’t know if that’s enough, Bella.’ Her voice tailed off. ‘You see, I do love him. Everyone does. He’s so witty and full of life and kindness, and beautiful too. He’s a prodigy. And I’d be deluded if I said that being a duchess and having a grand house and wealth was not a happy prospect. But if we can’t give each other the kind of love we need, and you know what that is like and I do not yet, perhaps we would not be happy?’