“By George! I’ll see that shameless couple hang on Tyburn tree yet!”

“If we took the matter into our own hands, my lord,” said Bessant, “we could have our fun with the pair first—particularly the girl, if you take my meaning.”

Harold Webb and Mr. Russell turned over his words in their minds, savoring the implications. That high-and-mighty uncle brought to his knees, Alice begging and pleading for mercy, saying she would do anything… anything…

Webb ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips. “When do we start?” he said.

Mr. Bessant straightened himself up. The servant had suddenly become the leader.

“We will bide our time,” he said. “I cannot travel up to town. You gentlemen must report to me the jewels she wears.”

“Don’t be too long about it, laddie,” said Mr. Russell rather sulkily. He thought Bessant was getting a bit above himself. “In the style she’s living, the jewels won’t last long!”

Now, the ghost, unused as he was to the inflationary prices of the Regency where a dozen fine India muslin handkerchiefs could cost as much as fifty guineas, did not expect the jewels to last forever. But he certainly did not realize how much it would cost Alice to run a house in town, a carriage, an army of servants and a constantly changing wardrobe, not to mention Miss Fadden who seemed to have no idea of the value of money at all, but encouraged her young mistress to buy the most expensive gewgaws on the market.

Then with the start of the Little Season, there was Alice’s box at the Italian Opera to be rented, not to mention the vast bill for entertaining she was beginning to run up as she gave elegant little suppers, crowded routs and one ball to which the whole of the ton came to drink up her wines and eat her food.

And then there was the sad case of Sir Peregrine. So far he had not proposed marriage although the lovelight had not dimmed in his eyes. But it seemed that he was always about to be shot or have to flee the country because he could not meet his gambling debts and Alice had cheerfully, at first, lent him money.

She was unaccustomed still to the ways of the ton and did not realize that young men did not ask young ladies for money.

She also wondered why Sir Peregrine did not ask her for her hand in marriage for that way he could get his hands on all the money she had. But Alice had been too openhanded and Sir Peregrine, finding that he could get what he wanted without having to marry to get it, continued to flirt expertly and escort her everywhere and take her money.