‘No, I shouldn’t, Edward.’ Clarissa was well aware of what he was thinking, and although she felt sorry for him and could understand that having to keep his true feelings about Ruby hidden was a continuous strain, she was irritated too. A part of her suspected that it was the fact that Ruby wasn’t interested in him that had strengthened the fixation. Edward had been used to women throwing themselves at him all his adult life, after all. But she could be being unfair here. Certainly she had never seen him this way before. When she had perceived his interest in Ruby, they’d had a conversation in which she had warned him that even if, in the future, Ruby returned his feelings, a match between them would be impossible. They were from different backgrounds, different worlds, and like it or not, a different class. She had no doubt, she had said, that Ruby was equipped to fit into society at any and every level, but he knew as well as she did that people could be horribly cruel. Ruby’s life could be made untenable. And if he was imagining that Ruby would be willing to become his mistress like so many before, he could think again. The young woman she had got to know so well would never agree to such a thing.

Edward had rounded on her at that point as though she had suggested something obscene, which in view of his previous chequered history she had thought a bit much, but his reaction had convinced her that he wasn’t after a seedy, hole-in-the-wall affair. Which in some respects had worried her even more.

Remembering their conversation that day, Clarissa said, ‘Edward, my dear, don’t you think it might be time to accept that a relationship other than friendship between you and Ruby is not possible? If you were of the same class and inclination—’

‘That’s enough.’ His glare deepened. ‘I would have thought you, of all people, would appreciate how ridiculously outdated this absurd notion of class is. The war changed everything in that regard.’

‘The war might have blurred the edges a little, and I do mean a little, but that’s all. You know as well as I do that the class system is still alive and well.’

‘And always is likely to be if thinking men and women who have got a bit about them don’t challenge it.’

Clarissa nodded. ‘Yes, I give you that, but are you really saying that if something did develop romantically between the two of you, you would be prepared to expose Ruby to women like Belinda Ferne-Rice or Rosaleen Marchbanks – or even our own mother, come to that? Ruby is beautiful and accomplished enough to win the men over, but the women would cut her to pieces with their tongues.’

‘Belinda Ferne-Rice has slept with most of her husband’s friends and half the men in London.’