Apparently rank and wealth were not blessings enough. Beauty had been bestowed upon her as well. Halfway through dinner it was further established—she was as kind as she was charming. No human should be so blessed.

Sinclair sat taciturn, replying when spoken to, but rarely engaging in the conversation . . . and certainly not to the lively degree of Lady Elise. Nora acknowledged they would be well matched. Lady Elise would make up for his reserve with her vivacious spirit.

The young woman engaged Nora in conversation, inquiring after Nora’s interest in what she called “the herbal arts.” She did not even look bored as Nora explained to her the various uses rosemary served that had nothing to do with food.

“I envy you your talent, Miss Langley,” Lady Elise announced as she delicately angled her spoon into her soup bowl.

“Do you?” The dowager marchioness looked mildly affronted.

“Yes,” Lady Elise replied evenly. “I do.”

“I was fortunate to have an excellent teacher in my father,” she replied.

“Ah. Well, there you have it. My father, God rest his soul, was only ever very talented at cards and drink.”

“Elise!” her aunt exclaimed in disapproval.

“Oh, please, Aunt.” Lady Elise rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows it.”

“Yes, well, perhaps, but you needn’t talk about it so openly.” She glanced at Nora with a flare of her nostrils, as though she were responsible for Lady Elise’s forthrightness. “Especially in mixed company.”

Mixed company? Meaning Nora, the peasant in their midst. She fought to maintain a neutral expression in the face of the woman’s sly contempt for her.

Lady Elise shook her head in dismissal of her aunt and focused on Nora again. “Have you considered extending your education so that you might practice more formally?”

“In what way?”

“Why, becoming a doctor yourself,” she said as though that were most obvious—or a simple thing to do.

Nora studied her for a moment, trying to decipher if her question originated from a place of ignorance. Perhaps she truly did not realize the feat of that task. Or perhaps she thought Nora was up for such a monumental task? “Medical schools in Britain refuse admittance to females.”

“Absurd,” Lady Elise exclaimed, her cheeks pink with outrage. Evidently she had not been aware of this imbalance.

Nora could not help but like the woman even more.

“Is it?” the duke inquired mildly as he lifted his glass and took a long sip of wine. “Anatomy and physiology hardly seem appropriate areas of studies for a lady.”

“Hear, hear,” the dowager marchioness seconded. “A refined lady would not sully herself in the field of medicine. How could one even entertain such a notion?” She sent a reproving look to her niece. “Ladies must protect their sensibilities and shroud themselves in the proper trappings of virtuous womanhood.” Her stare turned then and fell rather pointedly on Nora.