In spite of his words and the casual manner he’d adopted she knew he was disappointed. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings but neither did she want any intimate tête-à-têtes, and dinner alone with Edward could be . . . The word that came to mind was dangerous but she substituted awkward. It could be awkward. She saw him mostly with Clarissa at Foreburn and although they’d gone out for the occasional excursion she’d always made it clear she expected Clarissa to be present, which Edward had accepted without comment. She and Clarissa and Edward had gone to the theatre just before Christmas to see a pantomime, and she had found herself in a beautiful little box overlooking the stage far below, sitting between Edward and Clarissa. It had been fun until a rather grand couple with two children had swept into the next box and turned out to be people that Clarissa knew. She had seen the woman talking in an aside to the man once the introductions had been made, and she had just known they were speculating as to who she was and why Clarissa’s brother was with her. She had been on edge the whole time after that. Fortunately Edward had arranged for drinks to be brought to the box in the intermission so she hadn’t had to converse with Clarissa’s friends in the foyer, and once the show had ended she’d declared she had a headache – which was perfectly true, brought on by her tenseness – and they’d left immediately. She’d declined any further trips out.

As Edward drove her home he kept up an easy conversation that required little response from her, which was just as well; she really was feeling utterly exhausted. Once they’d arrived outside her lodgings he jumped out of the car and opened her door for her with his usual grace, and she turned and smiled at him on the doorstep as she said, ‘You really don’t have to come back tomorrow, Edward. I mean it. You’ve helped enormously today and—’

‘I’ll pick you up at nine o’clock sharp.’ He waited until she had opened the door before sliding back into the car, and as he did so she noticed the curtains in a couple of the houses opposite twitch.