The kettle boiled and I made tea while Granddad perched on a hard kitchen chair, watching me. “So you’re to be shipped back to Scotland, are you? To Balmoral or to your brother?”

“Castle Rannoch. My Balmoral invitation is not for over another week.”

“I can’t see your sister-in-law throwing out the red carpet for you.”

“Neither can I,” I said. “In fact I’m rather dreading it, much as I adore being in Scotland at this time of year.”

“Don’t you let her push you around,” Granddad said. “It’s your home. You were born in it. Your father was a duke, and the grandson of the old queen; hers was just a baronet who got his title for lending Charles the Second money to pay his gambling debts. Remind her of that.”

I laughed. “Granddad, you’re awful. And I believe you’re a bit of a snob at heart.”

“I know my place and I don’t claim to be what I’m not,” he said. “I don’t have no time for people who give themselves airs about their station.”

I gazed at him wistfully. “I wish you were coming with me,” I said.

“Now can you see me huntin’ and shootin’ and hobnobbing with the gentry?” He chuckled, and the chuckle turned into a wheezing cough. “Like I said, I know my place, my love. You live in your world and I live in mine. You go home and have a lovely time up there. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Flying Scotsman, traveling north
August 17, 1932
Going home. Excited and dreading it at the same time.
Lovely day. Bright and warm.

The next morning I sat in a first-class compartment on the Flying Scotsman as the countryside flashed past, bathed in sunlight. It was all very pleasant and rural, but my head was swimming with conflicting emotions. I was going home—back to a place I loved. Nanny still lived in a cottage on the estate, my horse was waiting for me in the stable, and my brother would be pleased to see me, even if Fig wasn’t. The thought of Fig clutched at my stomach. I wasn’t afraid of her, but it is never pleasant to know that one is not wanted. I wondered what Sir William had said to her. Would she know that I’d been sent home in disgrace?