‘Justin!’ she croaked. ‘Justin! He’s in the river. By the weir.’ And with that she gave in to her weakness and collapsed at Fortune’s feet.

After that everything moved very quickly. Sir Philip was called, and immediately Fortune reported what Miss Frances had said before she fainted, a search party was despatched to the river.

They had no idea of what they were going to find. Frances had collapsed without telling them whether Justin was still alive, but they went equipped with a strong rope and a blanket, ready to haul him to safety.

They found him as Fran had left him, tethered to the small bush on the bank but still floating with his face in the water, his hair a dark halo about his head. There was nothing they could do for him but draw him in to the bank and lift him out of the water. It took four men to drag him ashore. The water streamed from his clothes, draining out of the waders that had drowned him.

It was a sad procession that trailed back towards the house, Fortune and Sir Philip’s man, Scott, carrying Justin, wrapped in the blanket, while Jack the stable lad and Harris, Justin’s valet, carried the things that Justin and Frances had left on the shingle beach.

When they reached the house they laid Justin upon his bed. Lady Chalfont was at Frances’s bedside, but when she heard the men come in, she left her daughter, now dozy from a dose of laudanum, and hurried down to be with Justin. The moment she saw him lying inert on the bed, she knew her son was dead and gave a cry of despair. Sir Philip was already at his side, standing looking down at the pale face with the bruise at the temple, his own face a mask of anguish. After a moment he turned away, and as he walked out of the room he said, ‘Send for Rupert.’

Chapter 25

Rupert spent the next month at Le Coq d’Argent. He had come to terms with the landlord and negotiated a special rate for his room and board. Joseph Fermont was pleased to be able to say that he had an ‘English milor’ making an extended stay at his inn. It could only be good for business, but though he was indeed staying, he seldom ate more than his breakfast at Le Coq.

Once the St Clairs had accepted him as a frequent visitor to their home, he was often made one of the party at dinner or included in family picnics taken by the river or beneath the trees in the nearby woodland. He was allowed to drive Hélène about the countryside in the chaise he had hired from the stables in town, with Annette sitting quietly in the seat beside her, a silent chaperone.

It was as they were walking in the Place in St Etienne, looking at the market stalls one afternoon, that they encountered Simon Barnier. Annette was still in close attendance, but at first Simon did not see her, perhaps did not realise that she was anything to do with the couple, who were looking at some lace being displayed to them by an old woman who brought her work to the market once a week.