Luke thanked Polly, who hastened away, then he had to wait for Beatrice, dangerously out of breath, to come upon him and his party. She instantly gleaned the story from the men’s appearance and their near-fainting female companion.

‘’Ad a feelin’ you wus about to spring yourself on us. ’Ome at last then, and brung trouble with ’ee too by the look of it. Tes some wonderful to see ’ee though, boy.’

He refused to be hugged by her, something he had never done before. ‘You can see the state we’re in. Bring medicines to the library.’

Unused to this sort of rebuff the old woman was perplexed for a time then, grumbling about her ‘poor ole legs’ and declaring ‘’e should’ve said please!’, she shuffled away to her newly allotted ground-floor room.

‘This way,’ Luke said testily, heading off a disapproving look from Jack, who saw his treatment of Beatrice, at the least, as a woeful lack of good manners. Sometimes Jack’s correctness and honesty made Luke feel small and worthless. ‘We need to get cleaned up before my parents arrive back.’

Fronting a line of servants, primed by her to be unobtrusive, Polly knocked on the library door and entered. Like the entire house, the room was panelled in dark Pengarron oak. Cosy and draughtproof, furnished for comfort rather than ostentation, the room was lined from floor to ceiling with books, on any subject that had taken the family’s fancy.

Luke had ordered many volumes himself: classical literature, medical and natural history, diaries, mythology, poetry, the arts, philosophy, theology. He had always meant to wade through them, but rarely had he taken a book off the carefully catalogued shelves. Now he observed them with interest and a sort of hunger. They would be very useful, if only… No, it was best he kept those thoughts, that longing, at the back of his mind – it would be deemed a silly venture.

Hot beef broth, bread, cheeses, cold meats and puddings, cordials, red wine and canary were laid out on the long table. Luke rectified his earlier misdemeanour by enquiring after the health of Polly’s young son, Shaun, then resuming his acquaintance with the manor’s cook, Ruth, and head housemaid, Esther King, and Cherry, his former nursemaid and now young Samuel’s. He allowed Polly to introduce a couple of new underlings, a boot boy and a footman. Jack gave all four women a warm hug.