As the Army
prepares for a possible battle with Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington arrives in
Brussels to take charge. Judith is
uneasy because there is a feverish air about society, as War looms. Charles falls more deeply in love with Barbara,
and within a short time, he proposes to her. Yet although Barbara genuinely loves her fiancé,
she has been hardened by her short unhappy marriage to a selfish roué, (having
married him for his money and to please her selfish and loose living father). So, she fears becoming close to anyone, or having
to submit to Charles’s and his family’s ideas of propriety. She continues to flirt and enjoy herself. Charles tries to overlook her capricious behavior
but he is busy with his Staff work.
Barbara grows bored
with his preoccupation with his duties, and Is seen dining with Perry Taverner,
who is a loose end because his wife, Harriet is pregnant and does not want to
go out. This leads to gossip among the
English society, and Harriet rudely snubs Barbara publicly, because she is
uneasy about her husband’s friendship with the spoiled beauty. This causes more talk and Barbara begins to
publicly flaunt her hold over the captivated Perry…
Charles returns
to Brussels and he and Barbara quarrel bitterly over what he feels was her spitefulness
in taking Perry away from his wife. Barbara is angry at being criticized and feels
irritated by the prudery as she sees it of the Audley family... And she breaks
off her engagement.
Charles tries to
help Perry and his wife to get over their quarrel and they return to England,
to try and mend their marriage. While
he turns to his work to keep himself occupied, Barbara continues to flirt and
amuse herself very publicly…
Judith hopes that
when he has recovered from the unhappy love affair with Barbara, Charles will
grow to love Lucy…
However her cynical husband, Lord Worth doubts this and feels that Lucy is a rather insipid girl who will not attract Charles.
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