“Two maids, provided one could double up to cook, the agent suggested would be more than sufficient. He said that would add another four hundred a year.” Margaret giggled. “Listen to me! If Mama could hear me, she would be horrified.”

“Nonsense. Every woman should have a solid grasp of her accounts. There is nothing like being in debt for keeping you awake at night. Alexander left me as poor as a church mouse. Foolish man, he had allowed himself to be cajoled into investing in copper mines that never produced an ounce of copper. When I found out after he died that I was pretty much penniless, I was furious—not that he’d lost all his money but that he’d kept it a secret from me. However,” Marion continued, shaking her head, “there was nothing to be done about it. I could bemoan my fate and be miserable, or I could cut my cloth accordingly, and get on with the business of enjoying life.”

“It’s an admirable philosophy.” Margaret looked out of the parlour window onto the square beyond. “Is it horribly ungrateful of me to say that I am a little bored with this constant round of parties, especially when everyone has been so kind and generous.”

Marion perched on the window seat beside her. “Are you beginning to regret coming here?”

“No, I had to get away.” Margaret sighed. “I want my life here to be different, and at the moment it’s in danger of becoming horribly familiar. Don’t get me wrong—I know how fortunate I am, and I know that most women would be thrilled to be in my position. Oh dear, I sound like a malcontent.”

“You’re a restless spirit, and that’s a very different thing. By that I mean you are not so much interested in the destination, it’s the journey you enjoy. Rather like myself.”

“Is that more of your homespun philosophy?”

“If you like.”

“But what does it mean?”

“Stop fretting so much about the future. What’s for you, as my old mother used to say, won’t go by you.”

Margaret smiled. “Like this house? Do you think it’s meant for us? It feels right. I know that’s not a very practical reason for taking it on, but . . .”

“Oh, don’t underestimate it. And as it happens I agree with you, though it will cost a pretty penny to furnish. We should take a look at the New York Times. There are any number of household auctions advertised in it—there are bound to be some good practical furnishings and carpets amongst the plethora of oil paintings, statuary, and mirrors.”

“House clearances following a death, you mean?”