Lisa grimaced at the very idea, her hands tightening around the gift she’d brought for Mrs. Morgan. It was a small thing really, a book she thought the woman might enjoy. Nothing as risqué as the volumes Mrs. Morgan had given her during their visits in the country inn. Those had been . . . well, frankly, they had been rather shocking . . . and titillating all at the same time. Lisa had found herself fascinated by the tale of the prostitute Fanny and her adventures. The descriptions of what had occurred had quite taken her breath away and left her imagining what it would be like if Robert were to do some of the things to her that Fanny’s lover had done to her.

Lisa scowled unhappily at the thought of Robert. Their nearest neighbor at Madison and Lord of Langley. He was a dear family friend as well. And Lisa had been in love with the man since she was knee high. He was beautiful and strong and smart and . . . thought of her as nothing more than a little sister. Seeing Christiana and Richard so happy, and Daniel and Suzette so happy had made Lisa long for a husband and happy home too, and it had galvanized her to make Robert realize she was not a child and was perfect for him. She’d done everything she could think of the last two years to achieve that end, but the idiot man appeared to be blind and stupid and still persisted in treating her like an annoying, if adorable, little sister. And frankly, she was quite sick of it. Lisa had determined that she wouldn’t love him anymore and intended to find someone else to be interested in at tonight’s ball. Or at least try. Surely there would be someone there she would find attractive and could distract her from her interest in Robert?

Perhaps Lord Findlay, she thought, recalling the one man she had danced with when she’d come to London for the first time two years ago. She and Suzette had come in search of their father, who hadn’t yet returned home from a business trip. They had attended a ball with their sister, Christiana, the night they had arrived. It had been in the hopes of finding Suzette a husband. To achieve that end, Suzette had danced nearly every dance with nearly every single male in attendance. With all but one, actually—Charles Findlay. He had not asked Suzette to dance; instead he had asked Lisa.