“I am a military man,” Padgett said. “I obey orders, I put my country before myself and my word is my badge of honor. I was present at the first meeting of the conspirators when a vow of silence was made. I do not break vows, whatever the consequences, but I have regretted it every day since. It meant the end of my career. It banished my poor wife to a life of loneliness and social withdrawal.”

“I didn’t mind, dear,” she said from across the room. “I married you for better or worse, you know. Watching you sink into despair has been hardest. And we did have Ronny for a short while.”

“So he recovered enough to father a daughter?” I asked.

Major Padgett nodded. “Even in his incapacitated state, he couldn’t keep his hands off the maids. We watched him closely, but young Maisie McPhee was his night nurse and he didn’t always sleep. My wife had always wanted a child so we decided to adopt this one and make sure it was raised in a good home. And the Duke of Clarence’s heart finally gave out soon after Veronica was born. We raised her as our own. It was like two guinea hens trying to raise an eagle chick.”

“You told her about her real parents then?” I asked.

“Of course not. Only a handful of prominent men were party to that secret. We thought it only right to tell Veronica she was adopted when she was old enough. As I said, she always sought danger and the forbidden. She went into my office, which was off-limits to her. She snooped through my private files and she found regular payments to Maisie McPhee. She went to visit that woman, who was already slipping into insanity. Apparently Maisie spun our daughter a grandiose tale about her royal parentage and claimed they had actually married, which wasn’t true. Veronica blackmailed and coerced me into confirming who her father was.

“After that she started having grand ideas about being a member of the royal family. We tried to make her see sense. We were glad when she took up flying and started to make a name for herself as an aviatrix. But obviously it wasn’t enough for her.”

“She told me before she jumped from the aeroplane that nothing was enough to fill the void.”

“God rest her soul,” Mrs. Padgett said. Darcy crossed himself.

Daylight was fading when Darcy and I finally drove down the winding road to Castle Rannoch. The sky was glowing pink and gold. A flight of wild duck circled the loch. It felt as if the world was finally at peace.

“Darcy,” I said after a long silence, “why haven’t you given up on me? What do you see in me? I’m not your sort of girl at all. I’m penniless, for one thing. I’m not glamorous. I’m not sexy. I’m not beautiful.”