“If I know Mrs. Mannering she will make sure it is piping hot.” Tony paused, testing it with a nod of satisfaction. “Isn’t she a marvel? This place runs like clockwork,” he echoed exactly what Rose had said previously. “And you wait until you try the food.” He turned back to us and brought his fingers to his lips in a sign of appreciation. “I’m so glad she didn’t leave after Jonquil—” He broke off and I saw a spasm of pain cross his face. He really loved her, I thought.

After coffee Tony fetched the estate car and drove us to the home farm. Rose insisted on coming with us which made the journey rather cramped. “I haven’t seen the cows in ages,” Rose said. “The calves must be quite grown-up by now.”

“Oh come on, Rose. You can see the cows anytime you want,” Tony said.

“But you never invite me to go with you,” she said calmly.

“I don’t have to invite you. You are my wife.”

I could feel the tension as we got into the vehicle. She doesn’t want to chance his being alone with Belinda, I thought. We drove past a stable yard. “We’ve a few good mounts if you care to go for a ride,” Tony said. “I’m busy today but tomorrow I could come with you. Early morning gallop.”

“They won’t want to get up at the hour you do, Tony,” Rose said in a peeved voice.

“Just because you can’t ride and won’t learn, don’t think that everyone else hates horses.”

“I don’t hate horses. I just don’t see the point of being bumped around on a hard saddle when you have a perfectly good motorcar to take you.”

“If you’re here long enough, I expect we could find a hunt,” Tony said.

“I’m afraid we didn’t bring our riding clothes,” Belinda said. “And besides, we are only here for a day or two.”

“Oh, but you must stay longer than that. What’s the rush?”

“I need to get back to my house,” I said before Belinda could answer. “I promised my husband I’d hire a new cook while he was away.”

“What does your husband do?” Tony asked. “Or is he a fellow aristocrat and does nothing much?”

“He’s a spy,” I replied.

Tony laughed. “No, really?”

“He goes abroad a lot on various commissions,” I said, “but he is a fellow aristocrat. And we have just acquired a big estate to run.”

“Good for you. It takes a lot of work, doesn’t it? As I have been finding out since I came here.”

“We don’t have a home farm, just the estate, but the grounds are quite big and have been neglected for a while.”