When he left the manor house an hour later Bartholomew had a lot to think about. As his boots crunched over the gravelled carriageway he resolved that when he returned to give Kerensa her hundred pounds he would not be on foot, he would be on the back of one of the finest Pengarron stud horses. Kerensa remained the main subject of his thoughts. He longed to know why she was so unhappy, what had got into Sir Oliver to make him take off so suddenly and without saying when he intended to come back. It would be uncharacteristic of him to stay away for the birth of his child. Not every husband stayed at home for his wife’s confinement but Sir Oliver had defied convention and horrified Dr Crebo, Beatrice, and the local midwives by insisting on staying in the childbed room when Miss Olivia and Master Luke were born. Bartholomew suspected that Sir Oliver did not know another child was soon due to join the family. Why hadn’t he been told?

Another concern was over what would happen to Sir Oliver’s well-organised smuggling runs if his absence continued. The runs still took place regularly under the supervision of Daniel Berryman, the tenant farmer of Orchard Hill Farm, but Sir Oliver’s presence was required to ensure that the authorities continued to overlook the operations. If the men decided in his absence to arrange landings in the coves and creeks themselves, it would be a more risky business. The authorities could only be guaranteed to overlook Sir Oliver’s activities, and that was because of his position and well-known short temper as much as his generous bribes. An arrest was required every so often to satisfy higher-up officials and the more conscientious Revenue men stationed at Penzance. There had been good pickings recently from a wreck at Loe Bar and that might keep folk content for a while, but it would be a bad thing all round if the Lord of the Manor stayed away for too long.

In the following week Kerensa had another visitor. Hezekiah Solomon was shown into her empty sitting room while Polly sped off to fetch her mistress from the kitchens.

Hezekiah checked his appearance in the oval gilt-edged mirror above the mantelpiece. He took an ivory comb from a waistcoat pocket and drew it through his pure white hair, poking and fiddling with the fragrant arrangement until it suited his high standard of perfection. He had dressed with his usual fastidiousness and had been careful not to be over-liberal with cologne.