One glance at the little milliner he had seen the day before told him that she was even more alluring than he remembered and her hair particularly was a colour that was unique.

He realised that it was a hue chorus girls attempted to attain with the use of dye-pots, only to be disappointed.

There was no doubt that in the milliner’s case it was natural and a perfect frame for her large eyes.

She was very thin and it gave her a spiritual grace that made Lady Adelaide look heavy and somewhat clumsy.

The Earl was far too shrewd to stare too obviously across the shop or appear to be interested in anything except the lady he was accompanying.

Lady Adelaide was in her element.

She was so elated at the thought of the Earl giving her a present and seeming to be more effusive than usual that she chattered away, flirting with him with sidelong glances and an invitation on her red lips that she felt he must find irresistible.

Mrs. Burton produced a number of extremely attractive bonnets for Lady Adelaide to try on.

Each time she turned to ask the Earl’s opinion she was sure that there was a look of admiration in his eyes and, as she was determined to spin out the time they were together for as long as possible, she kept on asking to see yet another creation.

She must have tried on nearly a dozen when the Earl addressed Mrs. Burton,

“I saw a bonnet I rather admired yesterday. One of your assistants was showing it to a client at Fletcher’s Hotel near Drury Lane.”

Lady Adelaide was still.

She was immediately curious as to who the Earl was visiting in that vicinity and suspected that it was a performer at either the King’s Theatre or Covent Garden.

In the circumstances the woman was not likely to trouble her particularly. But she had no wish for him to take another mistress, having learnt from Richard that his interest in one he had recently housed and provided with some quite outstanding jewellery was now at an end.

If he was going to be generous with jewels in the future, Lady Adelaide was determined to have them herself, although what she really craved was nothing more expensive than a gold wedding ring.

She was, however, wise enough not to interrupt, but to listen to what was said as Mrs. Burton replied to the Earl,

“Can your Lordship describe the bonnet in any way?” Mrs. Burton asked.

“I think it was black,” the Earl said vaguely, “with some trimming that might have been red or pink, I really cannot remember. Perhaps your assistant can recall the one I mean.”

“That would have been Thalia, I mean Miss Carver,” Mrs. Burton said as if to herself. “I will ask her.”