“Yes,” said Kate. “She married a gentleman who lives in Derbyshire. I visit every year.”
James nodded, his eyes still on Miss Penrose. She was a prime article, to use vulgar parlance. He wondered why she was unmarried. She looked to be at least three-and-twenty. “Why is Miss Penrose unwed?”
“In part because she didn’t wish to leave her mother. Mrs. Penrose was an invalid. She passed away last year.”
“An invalid?” James raised his eyebrows, surprised that someone who possessed such glowing health and vitality could have had an invalid for a parent.
“Yes,” Kate said. “And also, I think, because none of the offers were . . .” He glanced at her in time to see her nose wrinkle. “The neighborhood is rather restricted.”
“Has she not had a London Season?”
“No,” said Kate. “Her family’s circu
