Simon takes the box into his palm. ‘It was not my intention for this to symbolise … I did not believe I would ever have the temerity to ask …’ He laughs at his own awkwardness. She cannot recall the last time she heard a genuine laugh from him. ‘I merely wanted you to have an item of jewellery in place of the one you have resigned.’

He hands her the box and she opens the lid straight away. Nestled inside is a milky opal. It takes the candlelight and splits it into a thousand colours: reds, yellows, purples and greens. These are the hues Montague promised her, and more besides; Simon has provided an entire spectrum.

Reverently, she pulls the gem out and sees it is attached to a solid golden band; a ring of fractured colour and beauty. She slips it onto the third finger of her left hand.

Simon watches, enraptured.

She cannot help thinking of Constance’s wedding ring. He did not smile when that was put in place. Nor did his bride.

A strange shiver runs through her. No, Constance would certainly not be smiling now.

‘Do you like it?’

She glances up, basks in the warmth of his affection. The choice is hers now. Everyone else has gone; she is free.

‘I will wear it always,’ she says.

CHAPTER 38

The Feast of Epiphany approaches. They receive a letter from Mrs Muckle’s brother, telling them that the charwoman has a putrid sore throat and must delay her return. In all honesty, they are happy to make do without her. There is plenty to eat, and Morpheus gobbles up any leftovers before they turn bad. The laundry can be sent out, so there is only the washing of plates and dishes to deal with for the moment.

Simon is adept at scouring. ‘Cleanliness is paramount in medicine,’ he tells her. ‘A discipline no doctor should neglect.’

The charwoman will have to be given warning, anyhow, if they are to go abroad and wed this year. Simon anticipates being able to sail in late spring when the weather is calm. Any gossip that arises between now and then shall simply have to be borne. England may not accept a man who marries his dead wife’s sister, but there are plenty of countries that will.

Agnes decides she will not return to Orange Grove in the interim. It is not just the memories of Mamma and Cedric that keep her away; she does not want to step into the parlour where Pearl died, or see the wreckage of her studio. She thinks of the shattered frames, of the presence hovering upstairs and it makes her shiver even when she is sitting before the fire.