‘It’s very nice to meet you,’ she said politely, tugging her hand from his. ‘But now if you will excuse me, I was hoping for an early night.’ Without giving Ruby a chance to object she quickly slipped from the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

Ruby’s cheeks had been rose-red, and Kitty feared it wasn’t just down to the amount of rouge she wore. Her drinking was out of control now; she would drink wine with her breakfast and continue for most of the day, but then shame-faced, Kitty knew that she was hardly in a position to criticise. She herself had taken to having a stiff drink on the evenings when Richard wanted her to entertain. She had found that it calmed her nerves and helped her to relax as she lay in the men’s arms. Every time, she would close her eyes and try to pretend it was Richard. That was the only way she could endure what they did to her, although she had to admit that the gifts they bestowed on her were nice. She had a drawer full of expensive jewellery now and a selection of the very finest French perfumes, but none of them really meant anything to her. All she cared about were the times when she and Richard were alone together. Sighing, she took the stairs two at a time to find Maggie and Tallulah waiting for her in her room.

‘Why don’t you treat yourself to an early night too?’ Kitty suggested as she scooped Tallulah into her arms.

‘Actually I think I will, if you’re sure you don’t need me.’ Maggie covered her mouth with her hand to hide a yawn, then after pecking Kitty’s cheek she went away, leaving the other girl alone. Kitty’s thoughts turned to Richard and her stomach started to churn. Would he feel the need to sign up and go to war? She wasn’t sure how she would cope without him if he did. And now, because he had cancelled their date, she would have to pass a sleepless night before she found out what his intentions were. With a sigh, she began to take the pins from her hair, blissfully unaware of Tallulah, whose tail was wagging furiously as she systematically chewed up yet another of Kitty’s satin shoes on the floor behind her.

Chapter Forty-One

With a heavy heart, Sunday stood at the drawing-room window at Treetops watching Tom galloping down the drive on one of the stallions he had reared. Astride a horse his limp was unnoticeable and he cut a dashing figure. When he wasn’t helping George with jobs that needed doing about the house or gardens he spent most of his time in the stables now, and Treetops had become known as one of the finest stud farms in the country. Tom had bred most of the horses stabled there and Sunday knew that he was devastated to learn that the majority of them would be taken to war and would probably never return.