“I wasn’t thinking about my reputation. In any case I suspect I no longer have one to lose. I am sure my father will have plenty to say on the subject when I get home, so I’d be obliged if you would spare me a lecture. To be honest, I don’t know why you felt the need to intervene in the first place.”

“Intervene!” Donald took a calming breath before speaking. “Did you expect me to stand idly by and wait for your lifeless body to be brought back on a handcart? Just how did you manage to give me the slip, by the way?”

“I hid. My point is that Mr. Scott was about to escort me back, safe and well.”

“Lady Margaret, have you any idea of how naive—how dangerous—blast it, how downright stupid you have been? That man—”

“Mr. Scott is a veteran of the Crimean War.”

“We only have his word for that. I hope you didn’t give him any money.”

“I don’t have any money, and anyway I am certain Mr. Scott would not have accepted it if I had offered.”

“That’s as may be,” Donald conceded reluctantly, “but to sit on the ground conversing with him as if you were having a picnic in Hyde Park, while your parents are likely going out of their minds with worry, it beggars belief.”

“How long have I been gone?”

“An hour? No more. I was on the verge of returning to Montagu House to raise the alarm when I finally spotted you.”

At this, she stopped in her tracks. “You mean you haven’t actually told my parents that you saw me run off?”

“No.” Donald urged her once more into motion. “I thought if I could find you and bring you back, the damage could be minimised.”

“The damage could be minimised,” she repeated morosely. “If by that you mean that my betrothal will go ahead, then I devoutly hope you are wrong.”

“Everyone in the ballroom was expecting it. There has been speculation in the press for weeks about the announcement.”

“I am heartily sick of being the subject of press speculation. You would do well to have a care, Lochiel; there is probably a reporter hiding behind that lamp-post eager to speculate about what we are doing out together.”

“You are the daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch and the best friend of Her Majesty’s most popular and, if I may say so, attractive daughter. What’s more, you are perceived to be somewhat unconventional.”

“‘A breath of fresh Scotch air.’ Hardly original or even rare, if one would but cross the border.”

“Lady Margaret, the fact is that your betrothal is perceived to be a fait accompli. I cannot believe that the duke and duchess would have permitted it to have been so widely reported if there had been any doubt that you were amenable.”