“From past experience, she would pack him off to the ends of the earth and confine me to my room until I had learned my lesson. My sister Lenchen had an affaire de coeur,” Louise clarified in answer to Margaret’s baffled look. “When she was about fifteen or sixteen, Helena fell in love with the librarian. I have no intentions of repeating her mistakes, however, and absolutely no desire to be the cause of Lieutenant Stirling losing his post. I am perfectly capable of keeping my feelings to myself. And I know my secret is safe with you.”

“But what will you do about it? You cannot possibly think you have any sort of future with Leopold’s governor?”

“Of course not.” Louise’s expression softened once again. “Right at this moment, M., I’m not interested in the future. I long to feel his embrace. Are you shocked?”

Shocked, but on the other hand secretly reassured to discover that her friend was mortal, and that she was not alone in experiencing such longings. Not that she would say so to Louise. “Compared to what I have been regaled with in Lambeth, that is tame,” Margaret couldn’t resist teasing. “If you had informed me that you longed to feel some other part of him, then I might have been shocked.”

“Margaret! What on earth—my goodness, do the women actually discuss such intimacies in front of you?”

“They take great delight in doing so. You would not believe how well-informed I am in matters pertaining to the bedchamber and its consequences.”

“Really?” Eyes wide, Louise leaned closer. “Do tell.”

“Certainly not.”

“That is positively cruel of you. I shall have to discover for myself what you mean, then.”

“Lou, you don’t mean that,” Margaret said, brought abruptly back down to earth. A kiss was one thing, but to contemplate more than that would not only be very wrong, it would be courting danger. “You won’t do anything silly, will you?”

But her friend treated her to a sphinx-like smile. “Lieutenant Stirling is to accompany us to Osborne in April. We shall be incarcerated there, in our own little world. Just like you and your little surrogate family in Lambeth. I intend to make the most of it while I can.”

“What do you mean, make the most of it?”

But Louise simply widened her eyes and shrugged. “I am not sure how long the queen plans to remain at Osborne, though of course we’ll be back for Lenchen’s wedding in July. I am not supposed to tell you yet, but even as we speak, my mother is informing your mother that you have been chosen to be one of the eight bridesmaids.”

“No!”