‘Oh yes, there can be no doubt.’ The doctor patted his arm. ‘Although whether she will miscarry after the fall she just took is anybody’s guess. All we can do is wait and see. Meantime, you know where I am if you need me, Oscar.’ And with that he lifted his hat from the hall table, plonked it on his thick thatch of silver-white hair and walked off, leaving Oscar to stare after him in shock.

After a few moments he became aware of Miss Wood coming down the stairs and he said shakily, ‘I can’t believe what the doctor has just told me, Serena. That little Ruby is having a child!’

As always at the sight of him her heart skipped a beat. She had loved him for so long and yet she had never given him a sign and she was confident that he had no idea of her feelings for him. He was a married man, albeit in name only, and it was enough for her just to be able to see him each day and be near him.

‘I’m afraid there can be no doubt,’ she told him sadly.

He sat down heavily on the little gilt chair in the hallway and dropped his face into his hands. ‘What a mess,’ he groaned. ‘Lydia is going to go mad when she knows.’ But then after taking a deep breath he rose. ‘Putting that aside, what Miranda has done is quite unforgivable and now she must realise that there are consequences to her actions. Excuse me.’

He took the steps two at a time as he went to summon his daughter to her mother’s room and Serena Wood sighed. After seeing the look on Oscar’s face, she wouldn’t like to be in Miranda’s shoes, that was for sure, although to her mind the girl deserved everything she had coming to her.

Once Oscar had entered his wife’s room, he sent her maid to fetch Miranda and soon the girl appeared with her arms crossed across her chest and a scared expression on her face. He dismissed the maid and after closing the door he looked at Miranda and asked pointedly, ‘Well? Would you like to explain what happened to elicit such appalling behaviour?’

Miranda gave a defiant shrug as she looked at her mother for support but for once Lydia stayed silent.

‘She . . . she annoyed me,’ she said eventually and to her dismay she saw her father’s hands clench into fists.

‘She annoyed you! Is that the best excuse you can come up with?’