‘You really should come home with us, Patricia.’ Felicia placed her empty glass on the tray. ‘You will just have to try to be civil to Alexander and that’s an end to it.’

‘You won’t see much of Alex,’ Rosalind added. ‘He spends most of his time with Piers, going over account books and order forms.’

Patricia cast a helpless look in Sir Michael’s direction. ‘I am sorry, Sir Michael. I know I was in the wrong.’

‘Go and find her then, you little minx.’

‘Really, Sir Michael,’ Felicia said sharply. ‘That’s no way to talk to my daughter.’

‘I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, Mrs de Marney. I meant it in the most affectionate way. Patricia is like a daughter to me.’

Rosalind could see that her mother believed him, or rather that she chose to think the best of Sir Michael, but Rosalind remembered how he had pursued her before her marriage and Patricia was now a similar age. Perhaps Patricia would get her wish for a wealthy husband after all, and maybe that was her reason for staying at Greystone Park in the first place.

‘I think we should send for the carriage, Mama,’ Rosalind said quietly. ‘It’s obvious that Patricia is very much at home here.’

‘Yes, although I’m not sure she deserves such special treatment,’ Felicia sighed. ‘You are a patient man, Sir Michael. As to the ball, as I said before, my husband and I are planning to leave for Italy at the end of the month. I hope that Patricia will accompany us.’

‘I see.’ Sir Michael frowned thoughtfully. ‘That doesn’t give me much time.’

‘For what, exactly?’ Rosalind eyed him warily.

‘To organise the ball, of course,’ Sir Michael said with a smug smile. ‘I had decided on the last week in September so we can bring it forward a couple of days to make certain you are able to attend, Mrs de Marney.’

‘That’s very kind of you.’ Felicia treated him to one of her special smiles.

‘I’ll send for your carriage.’ Sir Michael rose to his feet and left the room.

Rosalind would have liked to help organise the ball at Greystone Park, but she had little time to devote to anything other than her immediate concerns at home. To her surprise Patricia threw herself into helping Christina with the arrangements, which she described in detail on her infrequent visits to Rockwood, and Rosalind was impressed. Maybe her little sister would find her true niche in the world as the wife of a Member of Parliament, and as such Patricia would be very much in the limelight. Rosalind confided in Hester, although she kept her thoughts from her mother, whose reaction was unpredictable. In any case, Felicia was too busy supervising the packing of the clothes and accessories she intended to take to Italy to show much interest in Christina Greystone’s engagement ball.