“Died in the flu epidemic,” he said. “So did my little brothers. I was away at school so I survived. The conditions were so brutal there, the food so bad, that even the influenza bugs didn’t think it worth visiting.” He smiled, then the smile faded. “I think my father blames me for living.”

“But you’ll have to do something with yourself someday. You can’t go on sneaking in to eat at other people’s functions.”

“I expect I’ll marry a rich heiress, probably an American, and live happily ever after in Kentucky.”

“Would you like that?”

“Good horses in Kentucky,” he said. “I like horses, don’t you?”

“Adore them. I even adore hunting.”

He nodded. “It’s in the blood. Nothing we can do about it. That’s the one thing I regret, the destruction of our racing stable. We had some of the finest thoroughbreds in Europe at one time.” He stopped as if the idea had just struck him. “We must go to Ascot together. I know how to pick winners. If you come with me, you’ll win yourself a tidy amount.”

“If I can win myself a tidy amount, why don’t you win tidy amounts for yourself and thus not be quite so penniless?”

He grinned. “And who says I don’t win myself very tidy amounts from time to time? It’s a great way to keep my head above water. I can’t do it too often, though, or I’d find myself in trouble with the bookmakers.”

I looked up and saw to my regret that we were approaching Hyde Park Corner and Belgrave Square lay just on the other side.

It was one of those rare spring evenings that holds the promise of summer. The sun was about to set and the whole of Hyde Park was glowing. I turned to savor the scene.

“Don’t let’s go indoors yet. It’s lovely to be outside. I’m afraid I was brought up to be a country girl. I hate looking out of my window at chimneys and rooftops.”

“I feel the same way,” Darcy said. “You should see the views from Kilhenny Castle—all those lovely green hills and the sea sparkling in the distance. Can’t beat it anywhere in the world.”

“Have you been around the world?” I asked.

“Most of it. I went to Australia once.”

“Did you?”

“Yes, my father suggested I try to make my fortune there.”

“And?”

“Not the right sort of place for me. They’re all plebs, all mates together. They actually enjoy roughing it and going to a loo in the backyard. Oh, and they actually expect one to work by the sweat of one’s brow. I’m afraid I was made for civilization.” He found a bench and sank onto it, patting the seat beside him. “Good view from here.”

I sat beside him, conscious of the closeness and warmth of his leg against mine.

“So tell me,” he said. “What do you plan to do with yourself now that Harrods is no more?”

“I’ll have to look for another job,” I said, “but I rather fear that Her Majesty is making her own plans. At the moment it is a choice between marrying a ghastly foreign prince or becoming lady-in-waiting to a great-aunt, Queen Victoria’s last surviving daughter, in the depths of the countryside where the height of entertainment will be holding her knitting wool or playing rummy.”