He smoothed back his hair. A fat vein bulged in his forehead and, for the first time, Rosa saw the boar beneath the mask surface outside the bedroom. It made her sick. She knew there was no point trying to explain. She could make another clockwork pug certainly, but even if she built him to be identical, he would be a different dog with different experiences and a personality all his own. It would not be the same loyal companion who had accompanied her to barbecues and fish-fries in Georgia and had stayed by her side all the way from America – the one precious piece of her old life she’d still had left. Most people would have called it heresy, but Rosa truly believed that clockwork creatures had souls too. And now Cookie was gone, and gone for good. All that was left of him was the ball, still lying on the floor where he had dropped it.

‘If you ever speak to me that way again,’ Eustace said quietly, ‘then we will have serious difficulties.’ He straightened his cuffs. ‘Really, madam, I have no wish for us to be out of sorts with one another. Let us try again. Do you understand my instructions, and will you follow them to the letter?’

‘Yes, Eustace,’ Rosa said, staring at the floor. ‘I understand and I’ll do as you say.’

‘Good.’ He returned to his desk. ‘Might I suggest that you make time this week to read the book my mother so kindly presented to you as a wedding gift.’ His mouth pinched into an expression of distaste. ‘She tried to warn me that admitting Americans into the English aristocracy could only damage it, but I would not listen. I assured her that you would not do, or say, anything vulgar or coarse. Now I see quite plainly that you have much to learn about being an English duchess, to say nothing of a mother and wife. Like most of your kinsfolk, you speak so fast that no one can understand a word. You do not curtsy correctly. And that ridiculous business with the children’s party last month. Extremely embarrassing.’

Despite the winter weather, Rosa had been keen to make a good impression on the tenants and had thought it would be a nice gesture to throw a fete for the local children, introducing them to American treats such as ice cream. She’d imagined they would be delighted, but the English palate was not so used to rich, sweet food, and soon the children were complaining of stomach aches and asking if there was any hot tea instead. Rosa had noted the snide looks and sniggering from the tenants, and knew that the dowager duchess was not the only person who disapproved of an American marrying into the aristocracy.

Eustace flicked a glance at her now, before frowning down at his desk. ‘I cannot look at you. Please remove yourself from my sight.’