It took a while to spot Vincent in the crush, but then I saw him on the far side of the room, next to the piano. It shouldn’t have surprised me – he loved music and the young woman who had commandeered the instrument played prettily, the light notes rising and swelling above the chatter. Of course it was Henrietta Alexander. The stout matronly woman who sat close by her, decked out in furs despite the warmth of the room, must be her mother. Between the two of them, they had Vincent cornered. It would be nigh-on impossible for him to escape, if he even wanted to. I watched as Vincent leant down and turned the page for the piano player. He’d hinted I had nothing to fear from her, but how true was that? It was just as well I was here to stop him getting too distracted by her. Maybe Ellen was being kind to warn me about her after all. Either way, I wished I’d given more thought to the outfit I’d picked for him. He was easily the handsomest man in the room, with his moustache neatly trimmed, his wavy hair parted on one side and, on his lapel, his family crest. I felt a sort of pride in him, as if – ha! – I could ever truly claim him as my own. I could not tell from where I stood, but I knew his boots were polished to a sheen. Seeing him here among his friends, and me dressed in the maid’s outfit, brought it home to me how fragile my hold on him was. He was only ten steps away but in social terms it may as well have been ten fathoms. I couldn’t compete with the Henrietta Alexanders of this world. Not on money nor clothes, but at least I had my wits to rely on.

And he called you his Princess.

Vincent must have felt my eyes on him, because he looked up and smiled. I never got over his smile. I’d seen it much less often lately. The friction with his father had been distracting him and he refused to explain exactly what the problem was, insisting that it would only bore me. If only I could’ve been here as his guest and not as the maid! What do you expect, Zillah? He’s heir to half of Surrey. The matron at Vincent’s side, seeing him smile across the room but thankfully not realising it was for me, tapped his arm to reclaim his attention. He cocked his head to hear what she said and then they both looked across to the piano. Henrietta played energetically, her head nodding to punctuate the breaks in the music. It was hard not to admire her.