“What you like or don’t like is entirely beside the point,” Julia said, sighing impatiently. “If you are asking for my advice, then I suggest that you do as I have, and make the best of it. Despite my initial reservations about Wingfield, I came to see that it was an excellent match. My mother approved of him, and my father was particularly pleased with the connection. Like my husband, my father is rather obsessed with restoring the family seat to its former glory and as we speak is furiously planting trees. But what mattered most to me was that Wingfield provided me with the opportunity to have a family of my own. It is what I have always wanted, and Wingfield needs an heir. Thus, we have a joint ambition, even if we have little else in common.”

“So you think I was wrong to reject Killin? Even though I could not, to use an old friend’s words, abide him?”

“I think you could have overcome your initial distaste for him if you had put your mind to it. I think that if—or rather when—another gentleman offers his hand in marriage, you would be wise to consider it seriously, whether you like him or not.”

“You make it sound so cold. As if marriage is a commercial transaction.”

“In essence, that’s exactly what it is, and a lifetime’s commitment, too. A similar background, a satisfactory financial arrangement, and the support of one’s family make it more likely to succeed, but without the will to do so, it is bound to founder.”

“You don’t think that love has any role to play?”

“I believe that respect is vital. I expect in time I will come to care for Wingfield, as the father of my children.”

And yet there was no child, nor any prospect of one while her husband trailed around the Continent spending a fortune on antiques and antlers, Margaret thought sadly.

“I can see what you are thinking,” Julia said, getting to her feet, “but life is what you make it.”

Margaret smiled. “That sounds like something Molly, my former maid, would say.”

“It is one of my mother’s mottos, too, and her most valuable advice to me. She also says that patience is a virtue, and that all things come to those who wait. I hope she is right on that score.”

“You have only been married two years,” Margaret said tentatively.

But Julia shook her head, turning away. “We had better get back—it looks like it is about to rain. I actually sought you out to tell you that I, too, had a letter this morning, from my husband. He will be home at the beginning of October. He asks after you and says he is looking forward to making your acquaintance.”

“Does he plan to remain here long?”