Again, he seemed to be at a loss. ‘I have no memory of such a feeling.’ He shrugged the enquiry away. ‘But I did leave on extremely bad terms with the Master and that I would change if I could.’

‘You quarrelled with the Master of Winchester College, sir?’ That was akin to declaring war on the House of Hanover! Fanny could hardly contain her astonishment.

‘We never quite saw eye to eye, throughout my entire school career. Then, in a final fit of undignified behaviour, he wrote such a letter to my father as to be almost defamatory.’

Fanny gasped in alarm; Sir Edward chuckled. ‘Do not panic, my dear. He was a ridiculous creature who, mercifully, left College soon after I did. There is no need to go into the details but please rest assured that I can look back on the drama secure in the knowledge that Right was entirely on my own side.’

There were elements of his speech that disturbed her a little. A master being expected to see ‘eye to eye’ with a boy? Can he truly have meant what he said? But then she remembered: it no longer mattered. Any critical judgement could now be suspended. This was her future husband! She must believe and support him! From now on, Fanny, too, would always be there, with Right, on his side. She was visited by the sensation of a sudden lightness of being: how much less thinking would be required of her in this new future. How much easier, more straightforward life promised to be.

Sir Edward was dining at Hatch, so he turned the gig around and, sharing a companionable silence, they headed back to the Park.

Finally, he spoke: ‘There is something I must confess,’ he began. ‘The timing is unfortunate and, madam, I beg you to believe that I would never have arranged things thus had I known that agreement between us would be made so very quickly.’

‘Oh?’ Fanny was instantly uneasy.

‘I am mortified to announce that, in a matter of days, I must leave Kent on business for several weeks.’

She felt even lighter. ‘Oh, sir! Please do not worry on my account.’

‘But I must, my dear madam.’ He gave a flick of the whip. ‘You had the right to expect me to be by your side for the first weeks of our engagement. We should be going out in society; deepening our friendship. I am depriving you of all the excitement which is your rightful due, and I am sorry for it.’

‘It is quite all right, sir.’ Fanny tried to feel deprived as expected but simply could not. ‘We will have plenty of time for all that in the future, God willing. It is to be a long engagement after all, is it not?’ Her father had certainly reported that it was all agreed. Nevertheless, she saw no harm in mentioning it, just to make sure. ‘Will this business be of interest, or pleasure?’