I chewed on my lip, a bad habit that my governess, Miss MacAlister, had tried to break but never fully succeeded. “The problem is that I’m due up in Scotland soon. That means I won’t be seeing him all summer.”

“You should have leaped into bed with him when you first had the chance,” Belinda said. “Men like Darcy won’t wait around forever.”

“I know,” I said. “It’s that Castle Rannoch upbringing. All those ancestors who did the right thing. I kept thinking of Robert Bruce Rannoch, who stood his ground at the battle of Culloden and fought on alone until he was hacked to pieces.”

“I fail to see what that has to do with your losing your virginity, darling.”

“Duty, I suppose. A Rannoch never shirks her duty.”

“And you feel it’s your duty to remain a virgin until you either wed or die, do you?”

“Not really,” I said. “In fact it seems rather silly when you put it that way. I just had this vision of my mother, leaping from one bed to the next all her life, and I didn’t want to turn out like that.”

“But think of the fun she’s had doing it. And all those lovely clothes she’s acquired along the way.”

“I’m not like that,” I said. “I’m afraid I must take after my great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. I want to find one man to love and to marry. And I really don’t care about the clothes.”

“I can see that.” Belinda eyed me critically. She turned to her maid, who was standing patiently with arms full of towels. “Help Lady Georgiana out of those disgusting wet clothes, Florrie. And then take them away and wash them and bring her a robe.”

I allowed myself to be undressed and then lowered myself into the bathtub while Belinda perched on the tub rim.

“So what do you think of Paolo?” she asked. “Isn’t he divine?”

“Very divine. Did you meet him in Italy?”

“He came to the villa where I was staying”—she paused for effect—“with his fiancée.”

“His fiancée? Belinda, how could you?”

“Don’t worry, darling. It’s not the same over there. They are Catholic, you know. He’s been engaged to this girl for at least ten years. She’s very proper and spends half her time on her knees, praying her rosary, but it keeps his family happy, knowing he’ll eventually marry someone like that. In the meantime . . .” She gave me a wicked grin.

I felt rather odd, lying in a tub of hot water while Belinda perched on the rim, but she seemed to feel this was quite normal. “This is like old times, isn’t it, darling?” she commented. “Remember the chats we used to have in the bathroom at school?”

I smiled. “I do remember. It was the only place we could go where we couldn’t be overheard.”