“I wouldn’t be so cruel to my horse,” I said. I lifted the silver lid over one of the dishes. “Toast,” I said in disappointment. “No crumpets, I see.”

“Economy, Georgiana,” Fig said. “We can’t eat crumpets if the rest of the world can’t afford them. It wouldn’t be right. Heaven knows we can barely afford them ourselves any longer. It would be margarine if we hadn’t a dairy herd.”

I noticed she was spreading a generous amount of Fortnum’s black currant jam onto her toast, but wisely said nothing. Instead I waited until she had taken a mouthful before I said, “I’m popping down to London for a while, if that’s all right with you.”

“To London? When?” Fig asked, her sharp little eyes glowering at me.

“Tomorrow, I thought. If we’re not snowed in.”

“Tomorrow?” Binky asked. “This is a bit sudden, isn’t it?”

“Yes, why haven’t you mentioned it before?” Fig seconded.

“I only found out myself today,” I said, concentrating on spreading butter on toast. “One of my dearest school chums is getting married and she wants me there to help her with the wedding preparations. And since I’m not doing anything useful up here, I thought I should answer her call of distress. Baxter will be able to drive me to the station in the motorcar, won’t he?”

I had invented this story on the way downstairs. I was rather proud of it.

“This is most inconvenient, Georgie,” Binky said.

“Inconvenient? Why?” I turned innocent eyes upon him.

“Well, you see, it’s like this—” He turned to Fig for inspiration, then went on, “We were planning a little house party. Getting some young people up here for you. We realize that it must be boring to be stuck up here with an old married couple like us and no dances or fun.”

I went over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You are an old dear, Binky, thinking of me like that. But I couldn’t possibly allow you to spend money on me. I’m not a child. I realize how frightfully tight money is these days and I know you had to pay those awful death duties on the estate.”

I could see Binky was in an absolute agony of indecision. He knew that Her Majesty would expect her request to be obeyed, and now I was about to bolt. He couldn’t tell me why he wanted me to stay because it was supposed to be a secret. It was quite the most amusing thing that had happened in ages.

“So now you don’t have to worry about me,” I said. “I’ll be mixing with young people in London and helping out a friend and getting on with my life. I may use Rannoch House as my base, may I not?”

I saw a quick glance pass between Fig and Binky.

“Rannoch House?” Fig said. “You want to open up Rannoch House, just for yourself?”

“Not really open it up,” I said. “I’d only be using my bedroom.”