“Ever since I have known you,” Richard replied, “you have always set me impossible tasks. I remember at Eton you used to demand delicacies that were out of season and quite unobtainable within the school bounds. When we were in the Army, I was sent foraging when there was not a pig or a chicken within a hundred miles of where we were camped. And now I have to find you a wife! ”

He threw up his hands and exclaimed,

“Dammit all, Vargus, it’s far simpler to provide you with a dozen doxies of the first water!”

“I can find them myself,” the Earl replied.

“That reminds me,” Richard exclaimed, “I promised to look in on Genevieve this morning. If you have not met her, it is something that should be a definite part of your education.”

“Who is Genevieve?” the Earl asked without much interest in his voice.

“She is the latest addition to Madame Vestris’s ballet at the King’s Theatre.”

“I have met Madame and, although her legs are exceptional, she is too flamboyant for my taste,” the Earl remarked.

He was speaking of the dazzling young actress, who, it had been said, ‘sang like an angel, danced like a sylph and possessed the most shapely legs in the world’.”

“I agree with you,” Richard said, “but Genevieve is different. She only arrived from France about a fortnight ago, in fact just after you left, and she has taken London by storm.”

“I seem to have heard that story before.”

“I know, Vargus, but she really is exceptional. She not only dances well but she also has a charm that does not come off with the greasepaint. Come and meet her and you will see that I am not exaggerating.”

“I will come,” the Earl replied, “if you promise to accompany me to at least two of the balls that are taking place tonight.”

Richard groaned and the Earl added,

“One of them will not be too bad, because it is at Ashburnham House.”

“The Princess de Leivens!” Richard exclaimed. “At least she introduced us to the waltz, even though she has the sharpest tongue that ever graced an Embassy.”

The Earl laughed.

“She is too clever to cause a diplomatic incident, but I often wonder how long it will be before the Russian Ambassador is recalled.”

“He will not be, if his wife can prevent it. The Princess likes England. Or should I say the English.”

Richard rose to his feet as he spoke and shouted for his valet.

“Jarvis!”

The man came hurrying into the room to help him into the exceedingly smart cutaway coat with long tails, which, because it fitted without a wrinkle, had obviously been made by Weston.

“You will find the Princess will be only too willing to assist you in your search, Vargus,” Richard remarked.

There was, as he spoke, a twinkle in his eye as if he knew that he was being provocative.