belief that we are not supposed to admire Lady R. in her present incarnation. As someone posted on another thread, Lady R. was kind to Anne when the younger woman was a motherless teenager, but her kindness overlapped to highhanded interference as Anne grew older. Lady R. ceased to be a kindly "Fairy Godmother" by the time the novel has opened: IMO the woman is more concerned about "losing Anne" than she is about Anne's true happiness. And she seems to be a terrible judge of the character of men!