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Clair.
    Suzette was not the only one to be puzzled by Diana's reaction. Once again outside the box, as he returned to his original quest of refreshment, Reginald could not help remarking on the strange coldness between his uncle and his ladylove. "You must have overwhelmed Lady Diana. Ordinarily she is all that is charming, but I could see that she was 75
    The Willful Widow
    by Evelyn Richardson
    somewhat shy in your presence. Perhaps it is that she has been in mourning so long that she is unaccustomed to all this attention. But is she not lovely, Uncle Justin? With so many who admire her, I cannot believe that she allows me to call on her and escort her occasionally. In most cases, I would not have the audacity to ask someone like her to be my wife, but I cannot help myself. However, it is hopeless, for she will never marry again."
    "Oh?" Justin's ears pricked up at this piece of news.
    "Yes. Unfortunate, is it not, for she would make a splendid viscountess, or a duchess for that matter. Her husband did not leave her with a feather to fly with, but she says she has had her fill of looking after men, and now she intends to look after herself. I suppose one cannot wonder at it with an absent-minded recluse for a father and a wastrel for a husband, both of whom were utterly irresponsible and let their inheritances slip through their fingers without a thought for her. It is a great shame." Reginald sighed gustily. "But excuse me, I must procure something to drink for the ladies." He plunged off into the crowd, fumbling his way toward the refreshments.
    Justin stood for a minute, an arrested look on his face. Why the little jade! She had no more idea of marrying Reginald than he did, but she had allowed the viscount's father and uncle to think that she meant to do so, purely out of spite. He grinned, in spite of himself, remembering his first encounter with Lady Diana. What a fire-eater! Though out of fairness to the lady, Justin had to admit that he would have 76
    The Willful Widow
    by Evelyn Richardson
    been equally incensed if someone had dared to interfere in his affairs the way they had in hers.
    The situation called for some delicacy. He could not withdraw the pressure and allow the lady to think she had won. Neither could he push her so far that she accepted Reginald's suit merely to prove a point. From the little he had seen of Diana, Justin could believe her entirely capable of doing such a thing. Perhaps, for once, Alfred in his own bumbling way was right—seduction was the only answer.
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    77
    The Willful Widow
    by Evelyn Richardson

Chapter 8
    In the ensuing days, Justin did his best to observe his quarry. Attaching himself to his nephew seemed to be the most effective way to discover Lady Diana's whereabouts, for there was hardly anything that the besotted young man did not know about the pattern of her daily existence. He never tired of expounding on her manifold charms—her grace, her beauty, the elegance of her mind, her intellectual accomplishments ad infinitum—until his uncle thought he was like to be ill of hearing them.
    Anyone else would have wondered at this sudden interest on the part of an uncle who had hitherto been bored to distraction by any member of the Earl of Winterbourne's family, but Reginald, never observant at the best of times, was lost in a fog of happiness at the opportunity for catching even the briefest glimpse of his ladylove. Thus it was that he even took to riding in the park, though he was an indifferent rider at best and subject to the whims of his horse, a stolid bay with a gloomy disposition and a predilection for his own stall.
    Though he considered himself above such frippery things, Reginald could not help remarking on the magnificence of the animal on which his uncle was mounted one afternoon as they rode together. It pleased him to be seen with such an impressive pair as Justin and Brutus. "Lady Diana is a most elegant horsewoman and is extremely