“Blimey, if it gets much worse I’m going ’ome,” the driver muttered as he pulled up outside Rannoch House. Our butler, Hamilton, opened the front door.

“Why, Lady Georgiana, what a pleasant surprise,” he said. “I was not informed that you were expected. Let me take your coat, then go and make sure that your room is ready for you.” He peered out into the street where Queenie was wrestling with the bags. “I’ll send a footman to help with your luggage.”

“Is His Grace at home, Hamilton?” I asked.

“At his club, I believe, my lady. But Her Grace is here.”

He had only just said the words when Her Grace came down the staircase toward us.

“Georgiana!” she exclaimed, a look of surprise on her face. “What are you doing here? We understood that you had moved into Kensington Palace.”

“Only until the wedding,” I said. “I was invited to keep Princess Marina company and now she and the Duke of Kent are on their honeymoon, so the apartment is being closed up and I have returned here for a little while, if that’s all right with you.”

Her eyes darted nervously. “Why yes, of course. Binky will be pleased to see you. He’s off at his club as usual. Goes there every morning to read the papers. Seems to prefer reading them there, which is silly because we have the very same newspapers here.” Turning, she said, “We’ll have coffee in the morning room, Hamilton.” She went through ahead of me and took up position in the best armchair beside the fire. I went over to the window seat, suitably far away from her.

“How are the children?” I asked. “Both well?”

“Podge has had a cold. I don’t think the London air agrees with his chest. I suggested to Nanny that she not open his windows at night, but she is of the old school. All children should sleep with windows open, no matter what.”

“That’s how I was brought up,” I said. “As you know only too well, all the bedroom windows at Castle Rannoch are always kept open.”

“Things may improve now that the new central heating is being installed,” she said. “You must come and visit sometime next summer. So where are you off to now? Another royal residence?”

Fig deeply resented that I was royal by birth and she only tenuously by marriage. She resented even more that I had quite a chummy relationship with Queen Mary. Also that I had a rich mother. “Or perhaps it’s back to America with Mummy? You seem to lead an exciting sort of life.”

“I’m not sure of my plans, Fig. For the moment I’d like to stay in London.” I heard the sound of luggage being dragged upstairs. “But don’t let me keep you from what you were doing. I should probably go up and supervise Queenie unpacking my things.”