Mother sniffed. “I will not apologize for that.”

“Yes, and it scarcely matters now. The past is the past.” Camille waved away the comment. “It’s over and done with.”

“Darling, the past is never over and done with,” Mother said. “It’s always there lurking.”

“I suppose so.” Still, she had thought it was over and done with. Or perhaps she had simply hoped.

“Perhaps Grayson thinks you will fall into his arms now because he is a wealthy man?” Delilah suggested.

“Because I am nothing more than a fortune hunter from a family of fortune hunters?”

All three women stared in shocked silence.

“Come now, Camille,” Mother said coolly. “Fortune hunters rarely have money of their own, nor do they have a respectable lineage. We have both.”

“That’s when he does it, you know. When you fall into his arms.” Beryl nodded. “That’s when he will throw his wealth in your face.”

“Well, he has a long wait ahead of him!”

“Or perhaps he hasn’t mentioned his money because he doesn’t want it to interfere in your feelings one way or the other,” Delilah said.

“Good God!” Camille gasped. “Then this is a test!”

“Goodness, dear, I wouldn’t leap—”

“Of course it’s a test.” She thought for a moment. “To see whether or not I will love him enough to ignore the state of his finances.” She narrowed her eyes. “That’s probably why he pushed his way into staying here as well. He wants to be my friend, he said. Lend me his assistance. He only wants me to be happy. Hah!” A thought struck her and she paused in midstep. “Perhaps I need to reconsider my decision about Nikolai. Why, I still haven’t kissed him. I should do that immediately.”

“Oh, and that would certainly serve Grayson right.” Beryl cast a reluctant look at her gingerbread, set it on her plate, then wiped her fingers. “I am all in favor of teaching Grayson a lesson he admittedly deserves, not just for this but for everything else as well. However, I don’t think marrying Nikolai is the way to go about it.”

“Perhaps not.”

“Besides, you haven’t told Grayson of your change of heart regarding Nikolai, have you?”

“No.” Camille shook her head.

“Then let him continue to believe that,” Beryl said.

Camille stared. “That’s not a plan. How does that teach him a lesson?”

“You don’t see?”

“Nor, I’m afraid, do I,” Mother said.

“Camille continues to allow Grayson to believe Nikolai is what she wants. It will drive him mad. Eventually, if what he wants is to win you over, he will tell you everything.”

“Why would he do that?”