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“I have been making calls. Mama appears to be intent on introducing me to every single woman in Pasadena.”

“And have you seen Mrs. Barnes again?”

“We had tea together, and she was also kind enough to invite Mama and me to play whist.”

“Ah, the famous card parties where no man is allowed to spoil all of the ladies’ fun.” Mr. Whitley laughed. “They caused quite a stir when Mrs. Barnes moved here.”

“Really?”

“A rumor went around that there was money wagered, and a certain faction of society found that scandalous.” He leaned over the gap between their horses. “Is it true?”

Something about the proximity of him set the air around them humming. She breathed in, the dust of the Arroyo Seco trail subsumed by the bay rum of his scent she recalled from her first dinner in Pasadena. “I saw no money exchanged when I was there.”

He sat back. “What a shame. It would have been fun knowing that all those mamas clutching their pearls had been right. Mind you, those very same women are the ones lining up to try to secure an invitation to one of Mrs. Barnes’s dinner parties.”

“I understand that the Gills are giving a ball at your hotel,” she said.

“Indeed, I managed to convince Mrs. Gill to move it from the Raymond Hotel to the Andalusian. Quite the coup. Do I take it that an early invitation has been extended?”

She hesitated. She hadn’t seen Mrs. Gill since Mrs. Barnes’s card party, and she hoped she had not offended the lady such that Mrs. Gill would refuse to extend the promised invitation.

“Mrs. Gill did mention it to Mama and me, although we have not had any card yet,” she said.

“Not to worry, I have it on good authority that she has not sent out her invitations yet.”

“Is that so? How can you be certain?” she asked.

He laughed. “Because I haven’t yet been invited.”

“You are very confident that you will be.”

“It is my hotel,” he pointed out. “It wouldn’t do to leave the proprietor off the guest list.”

“I suppose not.”

“Will this be your first ball in Pasadena?”

“I believe it will.”

He tilted his head to the side as though considering this. “I would not have wagered Mrs. Gill would be the winner.”

“Winner?”

“Only that Mrs. Gill will be delighted to show you off.”

Her nose crinkled. “Show me off? Mr. Whitley, I can’t imagine what you mean.”

He laughed. “No, I don’t imagine you would. You see, Miss Pearce, newcomers of good social standing are something of a commodity here. There is a race at the beginning of the winter season for the leading ladies of society to secure the friendships of the most prominent of the winter resort goers, given that they add a certain sparkle to their card parties and suppers. Being an Englishwoman, you will be even more valued.”

“Mr. Whitley,” she chastised him.

“There was quite the battle for your mother and father last winter. I’d be shocked if your mother didn’t receive three invitations a day in their first month here,” he continued, grinning wickedly.

“Goodness. I hardly know what to say,” Adele murmured while ducking under a branch low enough to clear the brim of her hat. Well-connected as Mama and Papa had been in London, they certainly couldn’t claim to have been quite so in demand there.

“Oh, do not take offense. It’s quite the compliment.”

“You seem quite well acquainted with the machinations of the women of Pasadena society,” she said, unable to forget her conversation with Mrs. Barnes about Mr. Whitley’s ambitions to establish himself in the city’s pecking order.