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He was occasionally the bane of her existence, but he was, at heart, a good person Reasonable, too He would realize that Mrs Royle’s gathering was exactly the sort of event thatwondered why he ever went to London for the season; he always looked so bored

Honoria sealed the letter herself and brought it downstairs, handing it to a footman to deliver to Marcus When Marcus’s reply arrived several hours later, it was addressed to Mrs Royle

"What does it say?" Cecily asked breathlessly, rushing to herto peer over Cecily’s shoulder

Honoria hung back and waited She knehat it would say

Mrs Royle broke the seal and unfolded theas she read "He sends his regrets," she said flatly

Cecily and Sarah let out wails of despair Mrs Royle looked over at Honoria, who hoped she was doing a good job at looking shocked as she said, "I did ask It’s just not his sort of entertainment, I think He’s really not terribly sociable"

"Well, that rumbled "I can’t rememberAnd with so ht rude"

"He’s a good dancer, though," Cecily said

All eyes turned to her

"He is," she insisted, looking a bit surprised that her statearnered so much attention "He danced with irls, as if to offer an explanation "We are neighbors, after all It was only polite"

Honoria nodded Marcus was a good dancer Better than she was, that was for certain She never could understand the intricacies of rhythm Sarah had tried endlessly to explain the difference between a waltz and corasp it

"We shall persevere," Mrs Royle said loudly, placing a hand over her heart "Two of the other four gentlemen have already accepted, and I a"

But later that night, as Honoria was heading upstairs to bed, Mrs Royle took her aside and quietly asked, "Do you think there is any chance Lord Chatteris will change his mind?"

Honoria sed uncomfortably "I’m afraid not,sound "Such a pity He really would have been the feather in ht, dear Pleasant drea alone in his study with a hot cup of cider,over his recentit, which he iined had been her intention Perhaps not her primary intention – that had certainly been to stop hi Mrs Royle’s party – but she would have known that her words would amuse him to no end