When neither of them could bear the cold any longer, Tom led the way back downstairs, all the way down to the hall where their tour had begun. He stopped at the double doors, which opened in to the ballroom; a room Lou now realised she had not seen since her arrival.

‘Go on,’ Tom said, opening the door.

Lou stepped inside and her breath caught in her chest. The day outside was slipping away to grey but inside, the little light that lingered glimmered in the crystal pendants suspended from the arms of two vast chandeliers. Gold leaf coated the moulded vines decorating the ceiling, and light reflected from the gilt-framed mirrors lining the walls.

‘This is Thomas Mandeville’s crowning glory,’ Tom said. ‘A room of this scale and grandeur is unheard of in a house of this size.’ With his hands in his trouser pockets, he bounced up and down. ‘The floor’s sprung for dancing, you’ll see how useful that is at Mother’s Christmas Ball.’

Above them, the teardrop-shaped pendants suspended from the arms of the chandeliers chimed as they nudged against each other in the breeze from the open door.

‘It’s beautiful,’ Lou said.

‘Old Tom may not have got everything right, but he hit the jackpot with this room. He was a man who understood the true value of beauty.’

Lou looked up and caught Tom staring at her. He coughed and pulled his watch from his pocket. ‘It’s almost three, I’m afraid we’ve missed lunch. I could ring for tea.’

‘I’m not hungry.’

‘No, come to think of it, neither am I.’

A silence hung in the air. But only for a moment before the second footman appeared in the doorway. He handed Tom a note and took his leave.

‘My father has telephoned,’ Tom said, reading the note. ‘He’s had word from my mother that the train from Leamington Spa will be delayed by the weather. He and Edward are going to wait in Northampton, and if it gets too late, they’ll book into The Royal Hotel rather than drive back here tonight.’ He folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket. ‘I’m afraid it looks like you’re stuck with me. What say we have an early supper and give the gramophone a run for its money? I could do with some dance practice before the ball.’

‘That’s not such a good idea,’ Lou said.

‘Oh, oh right, I see …’ Tom looked crestfallen. ‘I didn’t think that dinner with me would be so awful.’

‘Sorry,’ Lou said. ‘I didn’t mean the dinner, only the dancing. It’s just that I’ve got two left feet, I –’

Tom sighed. ‘I’m sure we can muddle along somehow.’ He looked down at her. She wanted to apologise for speaking out of turn about his cousin – to clear the air – but didn’t want the memory of that awful moment to sour this one.

Someone coughed in the doorway, and a crease furrowed Tom’s brow. ‘What is it now?’ he said, a note of undisguised frustration in his voice.