And she almost broke into a run. I was breathing so fast that I stood rooted to the spot. What on earth was Darcy doing here? When we’d parted right after Christmas, he had told me that he thought he’d have to go back to Argentina. So how had he become involved with a young Australian boy? I watched the duchess descend the steps to them, shake hands with the solicitor, then nod to Darcy. Finally she held out her hand to a rangy lad dressed in a plaid shirt, khaki trousers and a bush hat. He shook the hand, looking around with wonder, as if he was observing creatures from Mars.

“So what do you think of your first glimpse of Kingsdowne?” I heard the dowager duchess’s voice as they came up the steps into the house. “Is it how you imagined it?”

“Strike me,” he said. “It’s bigger than the bloomin’ hotel we stayed in. How many people actually live here?”

“Just us. Just the family.”

“Only one family? What a waste. You could rent out rooms. Make some money.”

“We have no need to make money, young man,” the duchess said in a clipped voice. “We have all we need to live in the lifestyle to which we are accustomed.”

The voices were coming closer. “Stone the flamin’ crows!” I heard Jack exclaim. “Look at that ceiling. They don’t have any clothes on. That wouldn’t be allowed at home.”

“It’s a fresco by a famous eighteenth-century artist,” Edwina’s voice replied. “In the classical period, they frequently painted nude figures.”

“My oath,” he said. “My old gran would have boxed my ears if she caught me looking at smutty pictures like that.”

The dowager countess was now entering the Long Gallery. Her face was a stony mask.

“I saw some funny little cows as we came up the track.” The Australian came into view beside her. “Is that how small cows are here in England?”

“Cows?”

“Yeah. Skinny, brown, little things among the trees.”

“Those are deer. We have a famous deer herd here at Kingsdowne.”

“Oh, are they good tucker?”

“Tucker?”

“Yeah. We shoot the roos at home. Usually feed them to the dogs but the tails make good eating.”

“We keep the deer to be ornamental, not to eat.”

“You wait till there’s a drought year. Then you’ll be glad enough to eat them.” The young man had come out of the shadows of the foyer. He had sandy, sun-streaked hair poking out from under his hat, bright-blue eyes and tanned skin. He almost walked with the rolling gait of the sailor and he wore riding boots.

“Ah. Here you are, Georgiana, my dear.” Her Grace looked relieved to see me. “John, let me introduce you to our houseguest, Lady Georgiana. She comes from a most distinguished family, and she will be staying with us for a while.”

“Good day,” the young Australian said with a nod as he tipped his hat. “And my name’s not John. It’s Jack.”