“I’m sure you are,” I said. “Now if you will excuse me, I’ll go up to my room to make sure that Queenie is putting my clothes away properly. I may still have my old room, I hope?”

“There is no one else occupying it at present,” she said.

“And then I must go up to the nursery and say hello to my nephew and niece.”

“Young Podge is fond of you, you know. He asks after you.”

“I’ve missed him. And Adelaide won’t even know me.”

“She’s turning into rather a willful child,” Fig said. “Absolutely refuses to come to her mother.”

My opinion of Adelaide rose instantly. “Maybe she needs a little more loving and someone to play with her,” I said. “It can be lonely in the nursery. I certainly found it so. But then I had a really kind nanny.”

“Children need a strict routine and discipline. One must not be soft with them, Georgiana, as you will find when you have some of your own.”

“I thought I was destined to be a lonely spinster with my bloom gone,” I said with a grin as I headed for the drawing room door.

As I reached the first landing I jumped as the lavatory door to my right opened about an inch and a voice hissed, “Pssst. Is that you, miss?”

“Queenie?” I said, staring at the portion of her moon face visible through the crack in the door.

“Come in here, miss. Sharpish.” She opened the door and almost dragged me inside.

“What are you doing in a family bathroom?” I demanded. “You know you are supposed to use the servants’ facilities.”

“Yes, well, I had to go in a hurry and they’re all the way down in the basement,” she said.

That was when I realized that my feet were decidedly damp. The floor had a good inch of water on it and more was slopping over the sides of the lavatory. “What in heaven’s name?” I began.

“Sorry, miss. I had a bit of an accident,” she said. “I finished me business, got up and pulled the chain, and the chain sort of flew up and knocked me hat off.”

“Your hat?”

She gave me a sheepish grin. “I must have forgotten I still had it on. I was worrying about unpacking your clothes like you said and I took off me coat, but forgot about me ’at. Silly me, eh? And now it’s got knocked down the loo.”

I peered through the depths of murky water and spotted a bright hint of red poking out from the pipe. “It’s still there. Have you tried getting it out?”

“I ain’t putting my hand in there!” she exclaimed in horror. “It’s full of you know what.”