be a lady, while letting her be known as Léonie de Bonnard. The Comte has become increasingly desperate and kidnaps her and carries her to France. Léonie escapes from him with the help of the Duke's younger brother, Lord Rupert. The party is then joined by Fanny Marling, the Duke's sister, and her husband, Edward Marling. Once in France, the Duke introduces Léonie into Parisian society, where she makes a big splash. A rumour comes to Léonie's ears that she is the Comte's illegitimate child—the family likeness is very striking. The Comte then persuades Léonie that her illegitimacy is destroying the Duke's reputation, as society views her as his lover. Her distress at this leads her to flee to live with the kindly village priest of her childhood. This event spurs Avon to complete his revenge. At a large party, he tells the true story of Léonie's life, then embellishes it by adding that she has drowned herself in the Seine. This breaks her mother, whose open grief betrays the Comte's guilt. Knowing he is ruined in society, the Comte shoots himself. His despised brother becomes the new Comte. Avon reunites with Léonie, they express their true feelings, and they marry. Devil's Cub follows These Old Shades with the adventures of Avon's and Léonie's son Dominic, a shockingly selfish and indulged young man who elopes with a poor relation of one of his father's friends. An Infamous Army completes the story with the Duke of Avon's great-granddaughter, Barbara, marrying the hero of An Infamous Army. An Infamous Army is also a sequel to Regency Buck. Sequel These Old Shades was itself originally intended to be a sequel to Heyer's first novel The Black Moth, which would redeem the devilish Belmanoir. But as The Black Moth was a melodrama and a sequel per se would not work in with the plot, she decided to make the new novel stand alone, renamed many characters and made them 'shades' of their former selves for These Old Shades. Precedent After These Old Shades became popular despite its release during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, Heyer determined that publicity was not necessary for good sales, thenceforth refusing to grant interviews. As she told a friend: "My private life concerns no one but myself and my family." Characters Justin "Satanas" Alastair, Duke of Avon, age approximately 40 Léon Bonnard, later revealed to be Léonie de