As we talked Binky went back up the steps and opened the front door. “Come in, Georgie.”

I followed him into the foyer. Binky had hardly had time to close the door behind us when our butler, Hamilton, appeared with that uncanny sense that butlers have when someone is going in or out.

“Back so soon, Your Grace? I hope there is nothing amiss,” he began, then he saw me and his face lit up in a most satisfying way. “Why, Lady Georgiana. What a pleasant surprise. It’s been so long.”

“How are you, Hamilton?” I said as he helped me out of my coat.

“As well as can be expected, my lady. Rheumatics, you know, and a lot of stairs in this house. Should I serve coffee in the morning room, Your Grace, or would her ladyship prefer a proper breakfast in the dining room? It hasn’t been cleared away yet although I believe Her Grace had a tray sent up this morning.”

“Jolly good kidneys this morning, Georgie. And you know what damn fine kedgeree Cook makes.”

“Sounds lovely,” I said. In an attempt to make my mother’s check last as long as possible I had been living quite simply, apart from the occasional splurge of ready-made food from Harrods. And I didn’t know how to cook kidneys.

“Go and help yourself,” Binky said. “I’ll let Fig know you’re here and then I might join you for another round, although Fig complains I’m putting on a bit of weight around the middle.” He patted his stomach, which was becoming a little like Father Christmas’s.

“Should I have fresh coffee sent to the dining room, my lady?” Hamilton asked, hovering at the baize door that led down to the kitchen.

“That would be lovely, thank you, Hamilton,” I said. “I’m sure I haven’t forgotten my way to the dining room.”

I started for the back of the house while Binky went up the stairs. I hadn’t quite reached the dining room door when I heard a shrill voice say, “Here? Now? What does she want?”

“I don’t think she wants anything, Fig,” Binky’s voice answered. “We met on the pavement quite by chance and I invited her to come in, of course.”

“Really, Binky, you are too tiresome,” Fig’s voice went on. “You don’t think, do you? I am not even up and dressed. You should have told her to come back at a more suitable hour.”

“Dash it all, Fig, she is my sister,” Binky said. “This is her home.”