Lady Madeline Fordwich, who acted as political hostess for her distinguished Tory father, each season acquired a protégé to advance socially and politically in London. Her former suitor, Lord Eskott, though a Whig, had become a dear friend. But Escott did not at all approve of Maddie's newest protégé, Henry Aldred, a relative with whom she appeared to be falling in love. Regency Romance by Joan Smith; originally published by Fawcett Crest