Up to now when the Marquis gave a house party, he always enlisted the assistance of his mother whose beauty and wit had been proverbial until she had to retire from Social life owing to being almost crippled with rheumatism.
At other times her chaperonage had not been requested and, as he drove on, the Marquis thought of the very amusing bachelor parties he had given that would now unfortunately come to an end.
At these parties, because most of the male guests were bachelors, the females were the most alluring ‘bits o’ muslin’, who were the toast of St. James’s or actresses for whom the Bucks and Beaux waited at the stage door night after night at Drury Lane or the Italian Opera House.
‘They were great fun!’ the Marquis thought nostalgically.
He decided that marriage or no marriage, hi
