Arabella was basking in the success of the fund raising for the children’s party while Martha and Ivy worked tirelessly to keep the house in order. Arthur, in his own phlegmatic way, kept an eye on the work outside and also the stables, as Goodfellow was now openly courting Widow Parker. Kate had never seen Goodfellow so cheerful or so neat and tidy, and he was now clean-shaven, where once he had sported a huge, drooping ginger moustache. Martha was very critical, pursing her lips and tut-tutting over the widow’s influence on a middle-aged man. Kate was on Marie Parker’s side, but she had the good sense not to argue with Martha. The only person who seemed unhappy with the match was Warrender, Lady Lyndon’s coachman, who normally kept himself to himself, but he had obviously a fancy for Mrs Parker too, and he strutted around the stable yard, puffing out his chest and flexing his muscles every time the widow was present. Kate imagined him like a cockerel in the farmyard, exhibiting his charms to a particularly attractive hen.

Lady Lyndon had made friends with some of the well-to-do ladies who had contributed so much hard work to the event in the church hall. She received invitations to their grand houses at least three times a week, and she responded in kind. Kate was always wary of entering the drawing room in the afternoons in case she interrupted a group of Lady Lyndon’s friends with their heads together, most likely gossiping about the unfortunate person who was not present that day.

Annie had taken a liking to Hedley Courtney and when she discovered that he knew her brother, Joseph, having met him in Bombay, she was ecstatic. Kate knew how fond Annie was of her brother and the knowledge that Joe was badly wounded weighed heavily on her mind. She was always very careful when talking to Annie, knowing that a slip of the tongue might plunge the poor blind girl into a state of panic. On the occasions when Annie visited the vicarage she was always accompanied by Kate, who sat quietly, paying little attention to Annie and Hedley’s conversation. Inevitably her thoughts strayed to her time in Delhi. She read accounts in the newspapers about the dreadful events in the uprising, and she knew she should be grateful for having escaped. She was desperate for news of Ashok and now she also had Harry to worry about. He had left her in a state of confusion as to her true feelings. Before she met Harry she had been clear in her mind that there was only one man in her life. Now she was not so sure.