Lydia — Clare Darcy

On his arrival at one of his recently inherited estates, the Fourth Viscount Northover is surprised to learn that a family from Louisiana have made themselves at home there. In his library he meetes Miss Lydia Leyland, who engagingly confides that she has come to England to secure a rich husband.

Amused, Lord Northover watches Lydia scheme and flirt with various wealthy men as the Leylands set out to assault London society - always at hand to pull her out of the scrapes into which her forthrightness and charm precipitate her. Then Mrs Leyland takes an unexpected hand in improving the family fortunes; Lydia's resourcefulness is tested to its limits; and Lord Northover is finally obliged to admit that a man may change his mind.