‘I know I should. You won’t forget, will you, when you get home?’

‘No,’ said Tibor seriously. ‘I won’t forget.’

It was time to stop talking because the beaters were approaching and the shooting would soon begin again, but Cicely was content to wait in silence, thinking about Hungary. What should she wear? She would take Ellen of course. Surely her mother would agree that she ought to have at least one new dress, for all that waltzing? She did hope she would not say she should make do with the dresses she already had, done up with the addition of a little lace here or a beaded trimming there, bought after hours of matching and choosing at Marshall and Snelgrove. Why not a proper dress for once, the sort Aline Hartlip would wear, from Worth or Fortuny? Thank goodness anyway she’d got her new hunting boots.

Lionel and Olivia were both beginning to feel the strain of concealment. They had exchanged banalities with the rest of the party as they walked to the next stand and had taken as long as possible over the short piece of grassy ride which they had to cross alone, having left Charlie Farquhar at his place with Aline by his side, to reach Lionel’s appointed position and his waiting loaders. During that time and the few minutes after the shooting in which they strolled back towards the rest of the party, they had walked with Olivia’s hand on Lionel’s arm, but had only been able to agree how necessary it was to be alone together.

‘We could say we had a headache and go home,’ Lionel had suggested. ‘Two headaches.’

‘No one would believe us. Only Gilbert Hartlip has headaches.’

‘Gilbert? Does he?’

‘It’s not generally known. For some reason he’s ashamed of it. He gets them after shooting, Aline told me.’

‘He’s an odd chap. What did he mean by all that nonsense about my poaching? I’d have been furious if my mind hadn’t been on other things. Stupid ass.’

‘I suppose you were shooting awfully well. I should have congratulated you.’

‘On that particular occasion I think I was probably poaching. But it’s a thing I never usually do, and I apologized profusely. I thought he was fairly ungracious about it.’

‘I thought he was very rude. You apologized handsomely and he went off looking as if he’d have preferred a stand-up fight.’

‘Perhaps I was a bit airy about it. I couldn’t think it mattered. There was something so much more important on my mind.’

Inevitably they had come closer to the others; there was no avoiding them. Olivia, suddenly feeling that perhaps they ought not to draw attention to themselves, went over to join Aline and Charles Farquhar, who were beginning to move off down the ride in the wake of Sir Randolph, Gilbert and Bob Lilburn.

Aline slipped an arm through hers.

‘What a perfect day.’

‘It’s getting rather colder.’

‘Not for you, my dear. It’s no use sounding so sensible. Anyone’s only got to look at your face.’