Irma Johnson: Irma@nxi.xom

What is a cad? - A man. who at times, does not comport himself as a gentleman!

2. The worst cad in your books has to be Jason Thomas, Duke of Torquay.

3. Why? With all due apologies for lifting your words for my poem.

He offered her fine clothes and jewels,
a lovely place to live,
And, at the end of this affair,
an income he would give.

He said "no doubt he'd hurt her,too,
her decency, her pride".
But to Regina he would show
her unknown darker side.

He promised that he'd win her
but, never break her heart,
For this he'd never ask of her,
Not even one small part.

His voice became much softer
and just a little sad,
The Duke of Torquay seemed to me
a "parfit gentil" cad.

Sherrie Holmes: Sholmes@sttl.uswest.net

A cad is someone who thinks only of himself. A cad is an opportunist, one who flatters and indulges others for personal gain. A cad has no conscience and no morals. Above all, a cad is an actor, able to hide his baser instincts under a veneer of sophistication and respectability.

The best Layton cad is the young pirate in Buried Treasure, my favorite of your short stories. Left for dead by his fellow pirates, he is taken in by a local family and his injuries cared for by the family's lovely, innocent daughter.

Why is he a cad? Because he has designs on the daughter, knows she is innocent, knows he can seduce her and slip away without a second thought (unless a certain parrot with a lisp gives him away!). Naturally, the young pirate falls in love with the girl. There's nothing better than a Layton cad who redeems himself in the end!

Barbara Mentzel: Waldenbarb@aol.com

A man may be a rake, a bounder, or a libertine, and yet not be a cad. In my opinion, a true cad not only rejects the rules of society for himself; he believes morality is hypocrisy and honor an illusion. Thus he is free to use others for his own pleasure----after all, are they not seeking the same pleasure for themselves, though they are loathe to admit it?

Jason, Duke of Torquay, is just such a cad. He tells Regina, "I care for very few people...In point of fact, I care for none." And also, "What you want, Regina, has very little to do with it." He wagers against her honor because he believes it a sham, then places her in a situation from which (he thinks) there is no honorable escape.

His redemption comes when he finally understands "that curious moral rectitude, that gallant and naive assumption that there was such a thing in her world as honor, as fair play" ----and LOVE!

Betsy Richens: richens@tig.com.au

A cad is a man (always!) who puts his own comfort and pleasure before honour. He takes advantage of other people, specifically women, using them for his own ends and typically discarding them. I'm intrigued to see what your book The Cad is about because I've always thought of cads as bad guys, and I just can't picture a cad as a sympathetic character.

The character of yours who comes closest to being a cad is the Marquis of Bessacarr. Yes, he is a rake, but while a rake is not necessarily a bad thing, when it's combined with even a whiff of caddishness it becomes so.

St. John's treatment of Regina Berryman was not honorable. He was asking a clearly respectable woman to be a demirep, then when that failed he decided to perpetuate a deception on society. I could probably have forgiven that, but his refusal to consider Amelia as a wife solely because she had an unfortunate physical blemish (in spite of suiting him so well in other ways) sunk him entirely in my eyes.

I was thrilled by these clever and well-thought out entries. It's delightful for me to see them and I'm even more grateful that readers took the time and cared enough to send them in.

I'm sorry everyone couldn't win, but you know I believe in sequels. If I could give that cad, the Marquis of Bessacarr a second chance with a new book, you can be sure that all of you will have second, third, fourth and fifth chances to play the game, win prizes, and my undying gratitude (though you'd probably like the prizes better).