‘Why, Oscar, I never took you to be a snob,’ she admonished him, much as his father had done. ‘You might do well to remember that your father built this business up through blood, sweat and toil. Had he not you would not be where you are now. Just remember that and don’t get above your station!’

It was not until he was seated on the train back to Birmingham that Oscar thought on her words. A lot of what his aunt had said was true. Serena was a truly lovely woman, who had stood by him throughout all the difficult years of his marriage. He flushed as he thought back to the time after Miranda had been born when Lydia had banished him from their room and told him in no uncertain terms that she never intended to lie with him again. He had been distraught and it was Serena who had given him comfort in more ways than one. On more than one occasion he had crept along the landing from his lonely room and found her willing and able to love him as he longed to be loved without asking for anything in return. But after a time common sense had kicked in and he had apologised to her for the way he had behaved and had kept his distance ever since. But even then, there had been no word of reproach from her and she had continued to ensure that his house ran like clockwork and that all his needs were catered for. Now as he thought of her he felt a warm feeling spring to life in his stomach. Serena was still a fine-looking woman and he was shocked that some man hadn’t come along and snapped her up years ago. Could what his father and his aunt thought be true – that she really did have feelings for him?

He decided he would watch her closely to see if she gave any sign of having feelings for him. And if she did . . . who knew what might become of it once his divorce was finalised? And then an idea occurred to him: he could ask her to accompany him and Ruby to London. It would be perfectly acceptable; he would tell her that he needed a chaperone for Ruby. Thinking about it, it would not be the done thing to take a young lady of Ruby’s age away without one – he didn’t want to set tongues wagging. And so he decided he would ask her the moment he arrived home.

As it happened, she was in the hall when he rushed through the front door, kicking the snow from his boots. She hurried forward to take his hat and coat, saying cheerfully, ‘Oh dear, you look very cold. I’ve just made up the fire in the drawing room, so go through and I’ll bring you a tray of tea.’