Following her very brief marriage to Lord R-'s friend the Marquess of B-, Clorinda is now the Dowager Marchioness of B-. While constrained by the formalities of mourning, she is becoming accepted in Society through her own ventures into philanthropy and the patronage of Lady J-. She remains the beloved third of Mr and Mrs F-. She takes up her pen again during a trip to her late husband's villa near Naples in company with Lord R- and Mr MacD.