‘What a wonderful room!’ Marlene said.

‘Thank you. It used to be the monks’ refectory. This is the oldest part of the castle.’

‘Why did your butler call it Chevy Chase?’ Marta asked.

‘After the ballad,’ Hilaria said, pointing to a plaster frieze which ran round the room, illustrating various hunting scenes. ‘It’s about a moonlit fight between the English and the Scots in the Cheviot Hills.’

‘Which the right side won, of course,’ Josephine added.

Hilaria smiled. ‘It would be rude to argue with a guest. Please everyone, do sit down.’ They all took their places, 123and Josephine noticed that Barbara Penhaligon and Marlene couldn’t have been seated further apart. She, Marta and Archie had been placed near the actress at the head of the table, while Richard Hartley sat at the other end, flanked by his wife, Miss Penhaligon and the Lancasters. Hilaria – both host and referee, Josephine thought – took a seat in the middle, opposite Alex Fielding.

Fortunately, no interventions seemed necessary. The food was excellent – a rich game terrine followed by sole with white wine sauce – and the atmosphere improved as the wine flowed. Hilaria got to her feet as the fish course was cleared away, and the conversation petered out around the table. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I won’t interrupt your evening for long, but on behalf of Lord St Levan and myself, I would just like to welcome you all officially to St Michael’s Mount. Naturally I’m biased, because I have loved this island all my life and been privileged to live here for many years, but I genuinely believe that it is one of the most special places on this earth, and I very much hope that you will grow to appreciate it in the short time that you’re with us. We are here to enjoy ourselves and to have the merriest of Christmases’ – she raised her glass and everyone at the table did the same – ‘but we must not forget the very serious cause that has brought us together. The world is growing increasingly more dangerous by the day, and it is our duty to offer a refuge to those whose freedom is currently under threat—’

‘Hear, hear,’ Marlene said, looking pointedly down the table at Barbara Penhaligon.

Hilaria continued before the interruption could get out of hand. ‘I’m delighted to announce that, as of today, Lord Baldwin’s Fund for Refugees stands at £244,000.’ There was 124a murmur of appreciation around the table, louder in some quarters than in others. ‘And thanks to your generosity, St Michael’s Mount is able to add another twenty thousand pounds to that remarkable total.’ There was a round of applause from everyone except Rachel Lancaster, who looked embarrassed and reached for her glass. Josephine felt sorry for her. An excess of wine had brought a high colour to her cheeks which sat starkly against her pale skin and the yellow, rather outdated evening dress; she had seemed uncomfortable all evening, except when talking to Angela Hartley, the only person in the room who didn’t seem to threaten her.