“As if she could ever fit into it,” she said with a snort of derision. “Or play the part, even if it could be altered for her. And the master. He might have come from money, but in my mind money does not equal breeding. I have had to educate both of them about the right way to do things. He seems to have learned well, but I’m afraid she never will.” She scooped up the dress. “I will wrap this in tissue paper for you. And maybe you might want to look and see if there are any more of Miss Jonquil’s things that might suit. I fear they will all be donated to a charity one day. So far I have kept everything as it was, keeping her memory alive. But there will come a time when that woman learns to assert herself and . . .”

She broke off as the floorboards creaked and someone was walking down the hallway.

“Is everything all right?” Rose’s voice came through my door. “Anything that you need?”

“I am taking care of the young lady, Mrs. Summers,” the housekeeper said in a calm voice. “You can go to bed. I’ll lock up and make sure everything is in order.”

She gave me a look almost of triumph as she swept out of the room with my dress in her arms.

Chapter 12

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17

TREWOMA, CORNWALL

I knew I felt uneasy here. Oh dear. I wish we had never come.

That night I had a nightmare. It might have only been the combination of the lobster, pork and rich dessert, but it seemed very real. In my dream I was in another strange house with long dark corridors. I couldn’t see properly where I was going or what lay ahead. I was running, searching for Darcy. I called his name and someone stepped out behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, making me jump out of my skin. I turned to see who it was and a voice said, “You won’t find him here. He has gone. This path only leads to destruction.” And the person laughed. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.

I awoke to a world of whiteness. The sea fog had come in overnight and hung over us so thickly that I could see only a few yards outside the window. The first trees were already faint gray shapes. I was very relieved when Mrs. Mannering did not appear to help me with my morning toilette. I managed to wash and dress without interference, then came down to find that only Tony was up, sitting at the breakfast table tucking into kidneys and bacon.

“Jolly good spread here for breakfast always,” he said. “Help yourself. I have to get going. I’ve a man coming about our calves today.”