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Lady Liz puffed up just as Harriet knew she would.

‘I have several very influential friends,’ Aunt Bess interjected, clearly irritated at the suggestion that it was Lady Liz who had the influence, just as she thought she might.

‘Oh, of course you do, aunt. So many and so influential. I’m sure even Almack’s wouldn’t be beyond you if you both put your minds to it.’

Things were progressing nicely, but Harriet spotted a glance between the two women that she didn’t understand. She tucked it away for later.

She gave them a sad look. ‘Eliza being here in London but only supporting her sister and not being part of society seems very odd. What must people think?’

‘To be honest, my love, I don’t think people are thinking anything,’ Aunt Bess said. She gave Harriet a searching look that didn’t bode well. Her aunt could be curiously perceptive when she put her mind to it. Her aunt reached over and took her hand. ‘Why do you care so passionately about this, my love?’

Honestly, Harriet wasn’t entirely certain. She squeezed her aunt’s hand. ‘Truth told, I’m not sure. Perhaps because Mama loved her. When we visited, she always took her little gifts. I think even back then Mama could see they didn’t treat her particularly well.’

Lady Liz and Aunt Bess glanced at each other again.

Harriet sat up and observed them both. ‘What? Why do you keep exchanging looks? Is there something that you are not telling me? What is it I do not know?’

Aunt Bess shook her head and smiled. ‘Don’t go inventing stories where there are none. You are right. Your mama cared for Eliza. Let me give it some thought.’

‘I thought you might recruit Grandmama Spencer…?’

At this, Aunt Bess went into peals of laughter. ‘You are so your mother’s daughter,’ she said when the mirth subsided. They all knew that there was very little that Lady Spencer could not achieve.

‘Well, she is in London and she might enjoy a spot of meddling?’ Harriet said.

All three laughed at this.

‘What say you, Lady Liz? You loved Mama so much, and I know she loved you too. Don’t you think Mama would want Lady Eliza to have her moment? To be presented to the Ton? To find an excellent match? I think she is beautiful enough to aspire to a title.’

Lady Liz smiled and shook her head before looking back at Harriet and, oddly, her eyes appeared quite misty. ‘My dear, I fear I am forced to concur.’

Harriet beamed at them both. ‘I knew I could rely on you,’ she said. ‘I simply knew it.’

‘In fact.’ She tapped a finger to her lips. ‘On that note. When will Hart be arriving? He wrote to me recently.’ She fished in her reticule for his letter and completely missed the look that passed between her aunt and Lady Liz.

Chapter 19

HARYO

Chiswick

Things were progressing nicely. Haryo watched Eliza giggling with a group of young ladies as they strolled through the gardens. She particularly loved the rose gardens at Chiswick as her mama had designed them. Even Lady Hannah was smiling. They had been at Chiswick for well over a week, and guests were coming and going all the time. Aunt Bess and Lady Liz held court and whispered in corners regularly, and Haryo felt confident that the plan for Eliza’s presentation was in full swing. After all, they could set the whole of London’s tongues wagging between them.

She was pleased at how well the Grey girls had settled in with the Chiswick set. Of course, their elder brother Charles, now Earl Grey, as a Whig politician had been a regular visitor during her mother’s time. Mama had been a fierce supporter of the Whigs and had held her infamous salons at Chiswick regularly. Lady Liz tried to emulate her, but she did not share her mother’s flair and passion so the salons, the intrigue, and the excitement had dwindled.

She smiled to herself as she ambled along in the sunshine. She was expecting Hart any day, and although she had teased Lady Grey with his presence, she couldn’t really see a match between him and Eliza, as he really was still terribly young. It would be years before he married, but if they were to fall in love, who could say? Eliza was the daughter of an Earl, an eminently respectable match. As she pondered, the idea of having Eliza as a sister grew on her. If she married Hart, she would be part of the family. Since Mama died, no-one seemed to pay much attention to what Hart got up to. Papa was always thinking of his dogs. Bess was busy with her family as cousin Caro took up a lot of her time, even though she was married. She didn’t imagine Lady Liz thought of much beyond trying to marry the duke. Perhaps Eliza was just the person to take an interest in his future. Besides, if Eliza became the Duchess of Devonshire, that would be one in the eye for the Grey family who hadn’t been bothered to give her a season.

A soft smile curved her lips as she imagined Hart and Eliza taking the Ton by storm this season. Hart was a gentle soul. He needed someone who would cherish him. After the awful infection of the ear when he was young that left him struggling sometimes to hear clearly, he needed a little more love and attention, even though he wouldn’t admit it. He had never talked of it to her, but Harriet was sure that it affected him. Perhaps someone beautiful, both inside and out, like Eliza, would be the perfect match for him. If they became firm friends now, they might later move to something more. She was sure that Eliza’s quiet honesty and gentle influence could be exactly what Hart needed. Possibly things could work if they established an understanding this season and waited until Hart reached his majority?

By the time she arrived at the house, she had convinced herself that she would most definitely like Eliza Courtney as a sister-in-law.

Feeling buoyed by her musings, she headed to the drawing room, but before she arrived there, a commotion from the main hall diverted her attention. Haryo walked in to find that the object of all her musings had obligingly arrived.

‘Hart. You are here,’ she said, walking to him with arms outstretched. He grinned at her, taking both hands, and stooped to give her a smacking kiss on the cheek.

‘Lovely to see you, old thing.’

Harriet laughed. ‘Lovely to see you, too. You will enliven things no end.’