Rosa knew something was wrong with her but, deep down, she was glad. If Esme’s death had proved anything, it was that this kind of love was too huge and terrifying. It was too powerful and dreadful. Better to feel nothing. Perhaps better simply not to exist at all. She began to spend less and less time with Ada, surrendering her care to the nanny who was so eager to take her anyway.

But then, a week after Esme’s death, Eustace remarked that he was pleased she had finally seen sense where Ada was concerned, and some small spark of defiance shot to life inside Rosa, like a green shoot from a plant believed dead. That afternoon she ordered the nanny to put Ada in her pram so they could take a turn around the grounds.

‘Oh, but it’s freezing outside, your grace,’ Hannah replied.

‘I am aware of that, thank you.’

In fact, she had been quite unaware and it came as a complete surprise to her to look out of the window and see there was still snow on the ground, that it was still winter.

‘Wrap her up warm,’ Rosa instructed. ‘We will not be outside for long.’

Hannah was reluctant, and as soon as Rosa stepped into the grounds she could see why. Not only was it far too cold to be outside, but it was impossible to push the pram through the snow. Not prepared to admit defeat so soon, Rosa scooped Ada up in her arms and took her to one of the hothouses.

Warmth enveloped them as soon as they stepped inside the glass structure. It was a muggy heat, unlike anything naturally found in Britain, or even Georgia, and Rosa imagined that the air of tropical islands must smell and taste this way – lush and alive. She had not been inside the hothouse for weeks, although she knew that James had potted more of his orchids there. She paused at the entrance for a moment, with the snow still melting from her boots and her fingers tingling from the cold.

Surprisingly, Ada had not made a fuss about being taken from the house, and Rosa noticed that the orchids appeared to have caught the child’s interest. From the cradle of her mother’s arm, she regarded them with her solemn blue gaze.

‘Shall we see what new flowers James has brought us?’ Rosa asked.

They walked down the centre of the glasshouse, admiring the various orchids in their beds and baskets. The sight of them pleased Rosa more than she had anticipated. Truly, she thought, orchids must be the loveliest blooms in the world. She particularly admired a new one James had brought, with its vivid orange-and-black tiger stripes, as well as an orchid that hummed softly when you stroked its petals.