For a second or two, Eleanor watched Lord Montagu ride away. He seemed nice, but an inner voice told her something was not quite right.

“Do you like him any better after today?” Alice asked.

“I hardly know. We spoke about the weather, flowers, and what we liked about Town, in no great detail, I might add.” He was very handsome but either reticent to talk about himself very much or not very intelligent. Was a lack of intelligence what she had sensed? “What do you think of Lord St. Albans?”

“Hmm.” Alice pursed her lips. “I am wondering if he is actually a rake.”

“Do you think we ought not know him? It is not as if someone in our family introduced him.” Madeline appeared bothered by the thought. “My mother is arriving today. She would be upset if we had made the acquaintance of a rake.”

That was true. Matt’s stepmother, now Lady Wolverton, could be a stickler. None of them had realized how much of one until Augusta announced that rather than attending the Season and finding a gentleman to wed, she planned to attend the university in Bologna, Italy. That had caused quite a muddle. Lady Wolverton even threatened to have her new husband gain guardianship over Matt’s sisters. Fortunately, Grace had fixed everything by arranging for Augusta to travel to the Continent with Cousin Jane and her husband and their little boy. It all turned out well in the end. Augusta married, and when the university refused to allow her to attend, Phinn made them give her the final examination, and she earned her diploma. Still, no one wanted that type of trouble again.

“We will ask Matt.” Eleanor was certain he would know which gentlemen were ineligible.

Her sisters nodded their agreement.

Eleanor took the rear of their column as they passed several maids carrying baskets and started single file around a milk wagon. Her sisters had just passed the conveyance when she heard another vehicle. A coal dray was coming directly at her. “Go!”

Adele jumped forward and the dray swerved just before it would have hit her. Eleanor turned her head to see Jemmy had the dray’s leader and was yelling at the driver.

“We have to tell Matt.” Alice’s voice was hard and flat.

“I agree. But not when the rest of the family is around.” Eleanor thanked the Lord no one had mistaken her twin for her. But that meant someone had taken the time to recognize her apart from Alice. Otherwise how would they know which horse was hers?

Less than an hour later, Eleanor and her sisters entered the breakfast room, but her brother was not there. In fact, the room was almost empty. “Where is Matt?”

“He is with Walter.” Grace picked up a teapot, set it down, and glanced at their butler. “They should be here soon.”

“Is something wrong with Walter?” Eleanor took her seat and took a piece of toast.