Gabriel smiled in return, mildly amused by what he perceived as ladylike flirtation. He was about to reply, when he realized Miss Flite hadn’t been looking at him when she’d spoken.

She’d been looking at Compton.

• • •

Effie made her way down the gaslit, richly carpeted corridor on the house’s ground floor, her steps unhurried but purposeful. Lord Compton had said the library was where he conducted his business. A fortuitous admission, and one Effie’s mind had latched on to like a vise the instant he’d made it.

She’d waited most of the evening to extricate herself. Until now, her dance card had been too full to allow for any moments of freedom, except for a short visit to the ladies’ retiring room. A marked success, considering the circumstances. It had been Nell, not Effie, who had been destined to ensnare men with her loveliness. A destiny that had been snuffed out that fateful day on the Academy’s roof. If not for Effie’s weakness, it would be Nell standing here, preparing to bring about Lord Compton’s downfall, not Effie herself.

But so long as Effie was here, she was determined to do her best.

She may not be sweet or gentle or possessed of perfect porcelain skin, but five years in Paris had taught her to respect her strengths. What she lacked in classical beauty, she more than made up for with confidence, and with the gift of originality.

The moment the supper dance had ended, and the guests had departed for the dining room, Effie had slipped away to pursue her own agenda.

The enormous skirts of her Parisian ball gown rustled silently over her wire crinoline as she approached the library’s double doors. She’d bought the gown at a salon in the Rue de la Paix. It was a beautiful garment, made of Prussian blue silk, with a bodice cut low at the neck and shoulders, and an unforgivingly narrow waist that made a bounty of Effie’s modest curves. Along with the distinctiveness of her looks, and the resoluteness of her manner, it had helped her achieve her goal this evening. She’d made herself memorable, a young lady whom Lady Compton, and every other society hostess, would feel bound to invite to all their future events during the season.

It had also ensured she’d caught the attention of the gentlemen in attendance. According to Miss Corvus, Lord Compton was an admirer of beautiful women. It had behooved Effie to at least attempt to appeal to his masculine senses.