‘Oh, do look!’ Cassy was now squealing. ‘A dear little man with a shy! Boys,’ she shouted out to her brothers, ‘do win us a coconut! Mary needs all the strength she can get.’

‘Papa,’ Fanny said then, ‘I have been thinking …’ She took his arm and guided him away from her siblings. ‘About your advice of last week, that is.’

Mr Austen Knight slowed his pace, turned to the side and studied her, expectant.

‘And perhaps there is some sense in your methods,’ she said with a shrug. ‘I can see that Ned, in his current, regrettable condition, is unlikely to take Sir Edward’s word on this difficult matter – or any other, come to think of it.’

Fanny had not acknowledged it before, but now she could see that not one of her siblings had ever been prepared to give her husband a fair hearing. The realisation brought with it a great sense of injustice.

She stopped walking, stood with her father and watched her brothers in their latest antics. They had now taken a boat out on the pond. William was standing and rocking it sideways, threatening George with a dunking. The girls on the bank, clutching their coconuts – the Knight boys were all excellent shots – were both hooting with laughter. They must be the noisiest family in the whole park.

What fun they all used to have, Fanny thought, with a pang. And what fun they all still had, without her. Why had she let herself become so very separate?

‘And so …?’ Her father gave a gentle nudge to her arm and brought Fanny back to the moment.

They started walking again while she got up her nerve.

‘And so I am willing to allow them a short interview alone.’ Fanny gulped and felt rather faint. What on earth was she doing?

‘My dear, you are sure?’ Mr Austen Knight could not hide his surprise.

‘No more than ten minutes, mind!’ she added in a panic. ‘And I shall be in the next room throughout it. Pray, make that clear.’

But, as soon as the promise was made, Fanny felt unusually resolute. After all, her logic was faultless. Had not Sir Edward assured her, on numerous occasions, of Mary’s disinterest? Would not this concession play well with the Knights? They must surely appreciate that she had now done something for Ned, and was no longer the enemy.

‘It is the only way I can see that we bring this whole thing to a close, and return to normality. I just want our families to return to the way we once were!’ Oh, how she yearned for that! She led her father back to the party. ‘So yes, Papa. I am perfectly sure.’

And, though it sounded somewhat absurd even to her own ears, she then whispered: ‘I shall send word when the plans have been laid.’