Over the next week Charlotte and Lord Morpeth encountered each other several times. The Viscount could be counted on to call upon her if not every day, then certainly every other and even on days where he was absent from their own drawing room he could be met upon entry to Ormond House at St James' Square and Carlisle House at Grosvenor Square. And on one occasion Charlotte was happened upon by the gentleman while sat under a tree with a book as her brother, sister and niece played pall mall in Regent's Park.

Mr Fitzwilliam had continued to call upon her, often bearing flowers, and on a memorable Tuesday afternoon had arrived within minutes of one of the Viscount's many visits. The latter gentlemen had discarded the pretence of escorting his sisters or cousins to call on her and had, just moments before the former's arrival made known his intention to court her which Charlotte had been all too happy to allow him.

Mr Fitzwilliam could be counted upon to bring lively debate to their drawing room and had made no secret of his affection for Charlotte. His initial reaction to learning that he had competition in his courtship of her had not been kind and in doing so had granted Charlotte a view of his temper. It was an occurrence she was not eager to repeat.

That gentleman had finally spoken to her of his intentions on the Wednesday and made known his desire to offer for her in the coming weeks. Charlotte had tried to gently discourage his pursuit at that meeting though she feared her words had little impact on him for he did not let up in his calls to their home and had even brought with him the following day one his elder brothers for the sole purpose of introducing them. She had been left on their departure with the distinct impression that a firmer hand and tongue would be needed and had immediately set to seek the advice of her elder friends on how to handle the matter.

In the end, Charlotte needn't have worried for Mr Fitzwilliam's father, the earl, had caught wind of his son's attachment to a country nobody and issued an ultimatum to his youngest son: if he continued his pursuit of a penniless farmer's daughter his allowance would be cut off and his inheritance forfeit. Mr Fitzwilliam, though quite attached to Miss Heywood, was more attached to his manner of living and could only acknowledge his salary as a lawyer would not allow him to maintain his lifestyle and keep a wife comfortably. He had called upon the young lady on the Saturday and made this known to her and expressed his hope that his withdrawal did no great damage to her heart. Charlotte could only inform him that his hopes were met and assured him they could part as friends for her heart had, in truth, been little touched.

While these events were occurring, Lady Susan and Lady Granville had called at Almack's Assembly Rooms to retrieve the voucher that had been issued to the Heywoods for the duration of April and purchased for them a set of tickets to the next assembly which would be held the next Wednesday. The pair had then delivered the voucher and tickets to the family on the Friday and informed them that they would accompany Lord and lady Worcester and their eldest daughter on the evening of their first attendance.

The Wednesday a fortnight following their visit to Astley's came around most rapidly. A carriage arrived at 17 Fitzroy Square in the late afternoon which was set to convey them to Lady Susan's residence at Berkeley Square and Charlotte had been instructed to bring with her the three gowns that had gone unworn during their trip to Moscow the summer previous with all their accompanying necessities. A footman would return the bulk of the garment to her brother's home later that evening.

Madelaine had begged off attending the assembly that evening, citing a headache and unsettled constitution and, insisting she would be quite happy to spend a quiet evening with Reignette, bid them enjoy themselves.

Upon their arrival at Lady Susan's, Charlotte and Alyona were immediately bundled upstairs into a guest chamber where the latter was instructed to lay out the gowns on the bed and the former to disrobe in the attached dressing room. The dresses that had been laid upon the bed included a hand-printed floral cream silk with red ribbon embellishments, a striped purple silk with slightly puffed sleeves and a pale golden silk with prominent black floral embroidery and broderie anglaise on the overskirt.

Charlotte, Lady Susan and Alyona spent close to an hour determining which dress Charlotte should wear that evening and eventually settled on the first of the three. They paired it with cream gloves, red satin slippers and a delicate Indian silk shawl to keep her warm in the carriage while her hair was held up with pearl pins lent to her by Lady Susan and she wore a pearl pendant around her neck.

They arrived at the assembly rooms no less than an hour before the doors were closed and their arrival had been preceded by Lady Granville and Lady Howard and their families. Lady Granville upon her own arrival a mere ten minutes previously had immediately set to searching out Lady Cowper with the intention of introducing the generous lady to the girl that had been taken under their wing. Lady Susan and Lady Howard, meanwhile, had already arranged with Lady Sefton that she would be the patroness to greet Lady Susan's when they arrived as she was the only member of the Lady Patronesses that had already been introduced to Miss Heywood. The Princess Lieven was absent that evening having been required by her husband to host a dinner party for several members of the House of Lords.

"Lady Worcester, how delightful to see you again! And Miss Heywood, a pleasure." Lady Sefton greeted the group as she approached and allowed Mr Heywood to be introduced to her.

Charlotte smiled at the elder lady and return a greeting of her own and engaged with idle small talk though was somewhat perplexed that so esteemed a society matron had singled them out to speak with. She was broken from her moment of musing by the arrival of Lord Morpeth at her side who immediately set to claim her first and final sets of the evening. Charlotte granted them happily and allowed herself to be led to the refreshments table and then on to meet those of his brothers and sisters who had deigned to grace this place with their presence.

Charlotte was introduced to two more of his sisters, the Lady Georgiana Agar-Ellis and Lady Harriet Sutherland-Levson-Gower, Countess Gower and to Mr Frederick Howard, the only one of the Viscounts brothers old enough to be seen in society and out of university. The group spent some few minutes debating current gossip until, eventually, the Viscount whisked Charlotte away once more as the first of a quadrille began to fill the suite of rooms and couples who were engaged for the first set drifted to take their place with their partners in the space reserved for the dances.

The first set of the evening was lively and was laid claim to by many of the young ladies and gentlemen gathered that evening; each couple who stood up with each other found lively conversation and subtle flirting. There was, naturally, some less subtle flirting which was sure to be heard among the conspiracies that would circulate the rooms later that evening and society in the coming days.

The Viscount certainly was among the number of gentlemen more openly familiar with his lady of choice and if the pair's hands brushed a little more frequently than was proper and if Lord Morpeth held Miss Heywood a little closer than he aught throughout the set they thought nothing of it. The same could not be said of the eyes that watched them; many a disapproving eye could be observed among the matrons and yet more disappointed and jealous sighs from the debutantes who had set caps of their own at the attractive young lord. Some it must be granted, watched the couple with greater understanding and tolerance with fond or amused smiles.

The ladies best acquainted with the pair and who knew of the Viscount's intentions could only declare their fondness of Hiss Heywood and their approval of his choice for all to hear. Lady Sefton had been seen greeting the newcomer to their circles upon her arrival and everything had indicated that lady's approval of young woman and Lady Cowper could be heard expressing her own desire to make the acquaintance of anyone who had so evidently earned the approval of the two great families who had elected to sponsor her.

Before the evening was finished there had emerged a consensus, reluctantly by some and happily by others, that they made a very attractive pair and speculation ran rampant as to when the engagement would be announced in the papers.

But George and Charlotte were oblivious to this. They were absorbed in each other; exchanging frequent smiles with perhaps more emotion than was common and swapping tart and ridiculous conversation on idle and insensible topics to the humour of both and the benefit of none. Charlotte, who was not skilled in dancing quadrilles as cotillions and reels and polonaises had been the preference of her local society, though she and each of her sisters had learnt the steps to the waltz at the insistence of their dancing master, had certainly stepped on the Viscount's toes more often than he surely appreciated. Lord Morpeth, though, gave no indication that he felt her missteps at all and, Charlotte being so very petite and he so very much larger than her, it was entirely possible they passed his notice by completely.

As the second dance of the set wound to a close, they bowed and curtseyed to each other and their neighbours and departed to join their friends and family who had settled themselves amongst an assortment of elegant furnishings in another part of the assembly rooms. Charlotte was glad to see her brother had been drawn into a conversation on business and his thoughts on the impact of the French Revolution on the importing and exporting of certain liquid goods by Mr Howard and Lord Worcester.

Lady Granville, Lady Susan and Lady Howard were engaged in uproarious laughter with Lady Cowper who sat beside an unknown woman who seemed somewhat sickly and swollen and bore a rather pinched expression. Lord Morpeth's sisters and their husbands moved past them to join the second set of dances. As their approach was noticed, Lady Granville called her nephew and his partner to join them; the former greeted his mother and aunt with a dutiful kiss on the cheek and a bow for the remaining ladies while the latter smiled and curtseyed cheerfully to all.

"Oh, go and join the men and their talks of war and politics, George, you'll find nothing of interest with us ladies." Lady Howard ordered of her son imperiously as they moved to sit with the group.

Lord Morpeth merely raised a brow in query and paused in his descent onto the chaise beside Miss Heywood. "I'm sure whatever you are talking of is excessively diverting mother, and the present company always provides some interesting amusement or other." He teased and, though this was directed to Lady Howard, all gathered noticed that his eyes did not drift from Charlotte. But he ceded to his mother's demand for his absence and changed his course to join the other gentleman, gripping his brother's shoulder as he greeted them.

"Now, Charlotte dear, may we introduce you to Lady Cowper, the Countess Cowper, and Lady Caroline who is Lady Cowper's sister by marriage and my own cousin. Ladies, allow me to introduce to you Miss Charlotte Heywood, a dear friend" Charlotte smiled and expressed her pleasure at making their acquaintance though noticed the increased tension between the two women at the mention of their relationship to one another. This tension slipped from Lady Cowper's features rather more quickly than from Lady Caroline's upon learning the name of her new acquaintance.

The Countess smiled gently back at the younger girl and responded in kind. "It is indeed a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Heywood, I have heard wonderful things from our mutual friends." She greeted and seemed to pause for a moment, considering her next words. "Do forgive me for asking but… do you happen to be any relation of Mrs Sophia Musters? She too was a Miss Heywood before her marriage to John Musters."

Charlotte's brow shot up and her eyes widened in shock at the mention of that woman. She had no idea her late aunt might have been acquainted with anyone of Lady Cowper's calibre. "They may not be the same person but my late aunt was named Sophia and she married my uncle Musters though I do not know if he was a John. Why do you ask, my lady?" Charlotte could not disguise her surprise at the Countess' enquiry.

Lady Cowper's smile grew wider and she released a delighted laugh. "well this is certainly and unexpected development! Miss Heywood, I believe your Aunt Sophia may have shared a very… close relationship with my own late brother, had he lived longer they might even have married for I know Mr Muster passed away some years ago." The Countess confided this knowledge with a girl who, had circumstances been different, might have been counted as family. Certainly, the girl would have had significantly better familial connections than she could currently claim.

Charlotte did not know what to make of this and leant back into the chaise with an astounded, slightly strangled sort of sigh. She wrung her hands in her skirts as she processed this information and deliberated over what to make of it. Lady Cowper noticed the conflict on the younger girl's expression and laid her own hand reassuringly over Charlotte's fumbling fingers. "The Mr Muster I speak of departed this world in the summer of 1808, almost 20 years ago now. Do you think he might be the man you would have known as your uncle, dear?"

Charlotte considered this and compared it with what she knew of her own Aunt Sophia. Admittedly, she knew very little of her aunt for she could not remember her father speaking of the woman often and, given the relationship between the brother and sister had long been a tense one, Charlotte had no strong memories of her.

As this conversation continued, her brother, who had noticed the unsettled expression on his sister's face, had abandoned his conversation with her suitor in favour of ensuring Charlotte's wellbeing. He had heard this last question from the Countess and, knowing more of their aunt that his sister did, offered the answer himself in confirming that their uncle, too, had passed away in the summer of 1808.

Charlotte had only been two or three years old when their uncle died and could not remember the single time she had met him so she was only slightly more unsettled by the turn the conversation then seemed to take. She had more memories of her aunt and had been left some of her possessions upon her own death three years previously. Looking back on those meetings with her aunt, Charlotte could vaguely recall a gentleman that had been spoken of most fondly and whom Charlotte had assumed to be her departed uncle at the time. Perhaps her assumption had been wrong?

It was fortunate that Lady Cowper had observed her disquiet and suggested that, perhaps this conversation might be best continued at a later time. Charlotte nodded at this and was grateful to leave the news behind for a while, preferring, instead, to focus on enjoying this evening with her friends and proceeded to dance until she felt her feet could no longer support her.

Her brother and then Lord Worcester had partnered her for the third and fourth sets of the evening after which they stepped into one of the antechambers that were filled with refreshments and assortments of finger foods and enjoyed a light repast in good company. The seventh and eighth sets she danced with new acquaintances made that very evening by the names of Mr Poulter and Sir Enwhorth; the ninth set was a waltz and, though Lady Cowper had granted Charlotte permission to join it, she chose to sit that set out before she was joined in the final set of the evening by Lord Morpeth for the second time that evening to the whispers of the gathered crowds.

The final set was a lively cotillion and, much to the couple's displeasure, they each spent more of the final dances separated than joined as they crossed lines at diagonals and weaved through the other dancers. Their conversation was stilted and often they finished but half of their turns before moving off in different directions as the figures of the dance dictated.

George and Charlotte were better pleased when the set ended and they could retreat once more to the edges of the room or to the more comfortably furnished antechambers where conversations could be more easily had, both resolved to eschew the cotillion when they were partnered in favour of other diversions at future assemblies and balls.

With the end of the dancing, the families that filled the rooms of Almack's began to disperse for only the most gauche of individuals would remain for more than a half hour when that time of the evening came. So, it was not long before Charlotte's party bid their goodbyes to each other with promises of calls and outing in the coming days.

The Howards had invited Charlotte and her family to join their own party at the Opera later that week and Lady Susan, who had already been invited, offered to collect and convey Charlotte when she had considered refusing out of deference to her brother's plans for the evening which would have seen them attending a dinner party hosted by his accounts manager. Justin Heywood was quick to assure his sister that if it would please her to visit the Opera then she should go. He was certain their friends would have no quarrel with her changing her plans though she was surely to be grilled on her adventures by Mrs Purvis when next they met.