‘I know, I know, I’m sorry.’ He knew she loved him, perhaps even more than she loved his father, and unlike a lot of women in her position in society she had never been a distant mother. A good number of his friends had only seen their parents once a day as children when they were brought down from the nursery before dinner for a while, but his mother had spent hours every day with him playing in the nursery or taking him for walks with their nanny. She had been affectionate too, hugging and kissing him and telling him how precious he was. He hadn’t realized just how unusual she was in this respect until he had heard his friends talking about their childhood and youth, and now it softened him and he did go across to her, sitting down beside her and taking her in his arms whereupon she burst into tears.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ he murmured softly, ‘but I can’t help how I feel about Rose any more than I can help breathing. And I am fully aware of all the reasons why a match with her would be difficult, I’ve had two years to brood on them after all, but it frankly makes no difference. I shall soon be thirty-five years old. Since meeting her I know I have never been in love before and I won’t be again. If this doesn’t work out then I shall go through life alone. But I intend to make it work, to persuade her to have me, and living abroad seems like the answer. It would cause you less embarrassment, and whatever you say to the contrary, Father, things are different abroad to some extent. We could be happy, I am sure of that.’

Arabella raised her head. ‘I don’t want you to disappear out of our lives, Alexander.’

‘It wouldn’t be like that.’

‘Yes, it would and I couldn’t bear it.’ She dabbed at her eyes with a tiny lace handkerchief. ‘If – if your mind is made up then we will present a united front as a family and weather the storm. You agree, don’t you, William?’