As one, Bainbridge and the footmen abandoned their serving plates and stepped forward to help him into his seat at the table. ‘Why, thank you, Bainbridge,’ the young man said, collapsing into the chair. ‘What an absolute gent you are. Have I ever told you that? No, I doubt that I have.’

‘Thank you, Mister Edward,’ Bainbridge said quietly before returning to his post beside the sideboard, directing the footmen to continue the service.

Edward ran his fingers through his thick, strawberry blonde hair, making his fringe stick up like a cockscomb. ‘That’s it, Bainbridge. Return to your work. One mustn’t converse with the staff, must one? It makes everybody uncomfortable. Lord alone knows what would happen if we were to treat you as fellow travellers on the journey to the grave.’

‘Edward!’ Lady Mandeville said.

Edward pushed his wire-framed spectacles further up his nose and turned to face her. ‘Mother?’

‘You could at least have dressed for dinner. Especially since we have a guest. This is Miss Arnold.’

Edward draped his arm over the back of his chair. He took a moment to focus on Lou through the thick glass of his spectacles. ‘Good evening, Miss Arnold. What a pleasure it is to make your acquaintance. May I ask, does it offend you that I present myself at dinner in my tweeds? Is the world as we know it going to come crashing to an end simply because I failed to change my suit?’

‘Really, Mama,’ Charlotte objected. ‘It is too much to bear that he thinks he can behave like this in front of our guest.’

‘Oh, don’t mind me,’ Edward said, grinning like a fool. The second footman placed a plate before him. He pushed it away. But when his wine glass was filled, he drank it in one go and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. ‘You all go right ahead and talk about me as though I am not here. What does it matter what I think? My opinion is of no significance to this family.’ He leant forward and pointed at Lou as though to emphasise his point. ‘You see, Miss Arnold, I am the spare. The sediment that sank to the bottom of the bucket while my brother, Thomas, is the heir, the cream that rose to the top. I am the chaff. A thorn in the side. A spare part. A –’

‘Edward!’ Lady Mandeville said again, this time successfully silencing her son. She dismissed Bainbridge and the footmen, instructing them that she would ring when they were next needed. Lou wished she could follow them, rather than sit here to witness this young man’s meltdown.

When the door closed behind the staff, Lady Mandeville turned to Edward. ‘How can you be so indiscreet?’ she said coldly. ‘If your father were here, he –’

‘Well, he’s not, is he? He’s in town. Not that I would know anything about that. He has never invited me to his office in The House to introduce me to his parliamentary friends. I suppose he’s afraid I’d want to discuss Keats and Byron and Rosetti. Unlike the magnificent Captain Thomas Mandeville, who knows exactly what to say to those old Tories on the subject of policies. Head Boy, captain of the rugby team, cavalry officer; now there’s a son any father can be proud of.’