Virginia opened yet another letter from Mr. Fairbrother, a man she had sworn never to speak to again, and reluctantly accepted that she was facing the same temporary embarrassment as she’d experienced six months previously. Her father’s monthly allowance had put her bank balance temporarily back in the black, so she decided to invest a hundred pounds seeking the advice of Sir Edward Makepeace QC. After all, it wasn’t his fault she’d lost her libel case against Emma Clifton. Alex Fisher was to blame for that.

*   *   *

“Let me try to understand what you’re telling me,” said Sir Edward after Virginia had come to the end of her story. “You met a Mr. Cyrus T. Grant III, a Louisiana businessman, at a lunch party at Harry’s Bar in Mayfair hosted by the son of Lord Bridgwater. You then accompanied Mr. Grant back to his hotel—” Sir Edward checked his notes—“the Ritz, where you had tea in his private suite, and later both of you drank a little too much … presumably not tea?”

“Whisky,” said Virginia. “Maker’s Mark, his favorite brand.”

“And you ended up spending the night together.”

“Cyrus can be very persuasive.”

“And you say that he proposed to you that evening, and when you returned to the Ritz the following morning he had, to quote you, ‘done a runner.’ By which you mean he had settled his account with the Ritz and taken the first flight back to America.”

“That is exactly what he did.”

“And you are seeking my legal opinion as to whether you have a claim for breach of promise against Mr. Grant that would stand up in a court of law?” Virginia looked hopeful. “If so, I have to ask, do you have any proof that Mr. Grant actually proposed to you?”

“Such as?”

“A witness, someone he told or, even better, an engagement ring?”

“We had planned to go shopping for a ring that morning.”

“I apologize for this indelicacy, Lady Virginia, but are you pregnant?”

“Certainly not,” said Virginia firmly. She paused for a moment, before adding, “Why? Would it make any difference?”

“A considerable difference. Not only would we have proof of your liaison but, more importantly, you could seek a maintenance order, claiming that Mr. Grant had an obligation to bring up the child in a style and manner commensurate with his considerable wealth.” He looked at his notes again, “As the twenty-eighth richest man in America.”

“As reported in Forbes magazine,” confirmed Virginia.