‘Crawfie?’ The Duchess raised her eyebrows. ‘And who thought of that?’

‘Me,’ Lilibet said proudly, ‘and it’s all right, I asked her if we could call her Crawfie and she says we can.’

‘I like it,’ the Duke said approvingly, ‘As long as that is all right with you, Miss Crawford?’

‘Perfectly all right with me.’

‘Isn’t that marvellous? I knew as soon as I saw you at the Elgins’ that you would be fun.’ The Duchess motioned to a chair. ‘Come and join us for tea. Or perhaps you prefer squash?’

Marion hesitated. She had expected to be dismissed. ‘I’m sure you might like some family time?’

But the Duchess insisted. ‘Take a pew. My husband and I have a lot to ask you.’

Sitting with her tea and trying not to show her nerves, Marion watched the family. She admired the obvious fondness and ease between parents and children.

The Duke was a handsome man but very slender and clearly shy. Putting down his teacup, he lit a cigarette and asked, through a bad stammer, how Marion had found the girls so far.

‘They are delightful, sir.’

The Duchess, pretty in a lilac-blue tea dress and warm fur tippet around her shoulders, sat back in relief. ‘My husband worries so.’ She reached for his hand and patted it. ‘You see, Miss Crawford, neither of us had much of a formal education, but we want our daughters to have a broader view of the world than we were given, or indeed we can give. It’s impossible to send the girls to an ordinary school, obviously, but this is 1932. We want them to grow up as modern young women. Do you see?’

This was music to Marion’s ears. ‘I do, ma’am. The last war has shown us that women can do more than was expected of them before, and do it willingly.’

‘Quite so.’ The Duchess glanced quickly at the Duke, who took another lungful of tobacco smoke. ‘They won’t be expected to find paid work as such, but as the King’s granddaughters they will work within the royal family, representing all that the monarchy does around the world.’

‘B-b-bally hard work too,’ the Duke said.

Marion put her cup on the table and leant forwards. Her confidence was growing in the company of these forward-thinking parents. She was going to tell them how much she cared about education. ‘You would like them to gain qualifications, perhaps? Having my teacher training under my belt has given me the opportunity to study child psychology from this September.’

‘Where did you study?’ the Duke asked, his speech more relaxed now.

‘Moray House, part of Edinburgh Provincial Training Centre.’

The Duchess put her hands together in joy. ‘Edinburgh. Isn’t it a marvellous place? So good for shopping. The linens are exquisite.’

‘So I have been told, ma’am, but rather beyond my purse as a student. I trained with some of the poorest children in the city.’

‘Oh dear,’ the Duchess said. She looked a little less comfortable.