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The one word uncompromising answer rocked Elizabeth back in her seat.

“The very first visitor I receive is here with ulterior motives?”

“Perhaps I am being unkind, and making too much of it. But let us see where we are taken on Monday. If all of the hosts have no unmarried sons or nephews then I will try not to look too smug. If she introduces you to the so-called competition then I will confess I was wrong.”

It was a week away but Elizabeth would not bet against Harriet.

--

“I take it the first meeting went well, judging by the smile on your face?”

“A small sherry my dear, if you would be so kind.”

“Goodness. It went that well?”

The Earl poured a generous measure of sherry for his wife, and an equally generous measure of brandy for himself.

“I will restrain myself from bombarding you with questions. I will wait until the end of your discourse.”

The Countess took a sip of the sherry and gathered her thoughts.

“The first thing to note is she is not only rich, but she is handsome as well. Not an absolute beauty, but definitely pretty, and she has an intelligent sparkle to her eyes. And without you making any crass comments, she is clearly a woman. Any potential husband would having nothing to complain about. She was dressed modestly however.”

The Earl’s eyes had a mischievous glint to them but he maintained his silence.

“That is the first impression and I do not think anyone else will contradict me. When she attends an event, and she will be attending lots of events, she will draw the eye of every man. She will also draw the eye of every woman, mother and daughter, and it will be genuinely funny to watch them maintain their poise. She has many advantages. She is a widow so is not constrained by the bland pastels of the unmarried maiden. She is known to be rich. And she will attract the attention of every single man, and more than a few of the married ones as well.”

She waited to see if the Earl wanted to interject but he waved for her to continue.

“The second impression I made was of someone who was gentle-born. She was completely comfortable receiving a Countess in her morning room. A Countess who arrived without warning. The companion, a Mrs. Underwood is older, as is normal. I suspect that she has Debrett’s memorised and the salient details were mentioned before I was ushered in. There was no stuttering, no ‘ums’, no ‘ahs’, just a sense of natural poise.

“I invited her to call this Wednesday and I offered to collect her when I go and visit next Monday. Other than a trace of a raised eyebrow she accepted both offers. There were no effusive thanks, everything was appropriate.”

Another quick sip.

“I think I will stop there, the other matters will be more of a discussion.”

“An interesting synopsis. The common perception is that she is a gold-digger, one of the few to have succeeded where so many others have failed. When people think of fortune hunter they have this vision of a woman whose family is in trade. Like that ghastly Bingley woman. If a lady of breeding captures a rich husband then she is described as having made an advantageous match. The same scenario but from different social starting points. Where does Lady Napier fall within those two extremes?”

“A good way to look at it my dear. I would never have considered inviting someone like Caroline Bingley into our home. Lady Napier’s family is or was clearly from the gentry, she was not flawless but she was very close. She had been trained in how a call goes.”

“When she arrives on Wednesday at Matlock House, you are telling the whole Ton that she is not merely a successful fortune hunter. There is breeding behind her. Perhaps only a limited amount but if she is the daughter of a gentleman then that is all that matters. We know from Edwards’ research that she was born Elizabeth Harris and lived to the west of Waltham Abbey where she was baptised. It was why you chose to visit in the first place.

“I will remain circumspect but from the way you described her she will have no issues in filling her dance card?”

“Very euphemistically expressed my Lord!”

Shared smiles of a couple married for more than 30 years.

“None at all. Now with a reputed £50,000 in her reticule even the most unfortunate of women will have dance partners. But Lady Napier will have men fighting over themselves to get one of the coveted slots.”

“You are painting quite the picture.”

“I know my dear but I think it appropriate.”

“Will she be safe?”

“You have heard the word about town. She has several male footmen who appear to be nothing but guards. All distinguished by the loss of an arm. She also has different two maids, one of whom always accompanies her when she is out and about. I have heard them described in many different ways, the most memorable being they would not be out of place in the Brigade of Guards. The two of them are big solid women.”