Christina and Sylvia burst into the room. Christina laid a bunch of hothouse lilies on the side table. ‘You poor thing, Patsy. How you must have suffered, but at least you have some good news now.’

Sylvia laid a basket of oranges on the coverlet. ‘We didn’t have time to get anything more interesting, but these are from our orangery.’ She sat on the edge of the bed. ‘You look awful. You need cheering up.’

Patsy managed a watery smile. ‘I’m bearing up, but Bertie is being horrible. You’re lucky to have each other and no brothers to bully you.’

Christina shot a sideways glance at Bertie and her cheeks flushed prettily. ‘I don’t know … I think you’re lucky to have such a handsome brother.’

Bertie laughed. ‘I hope you’ll save the first dance at the wedding for me, Chrissie.’

Her blush deepened. ‘Of course.’

‘We’ll leave you to chat,’ Rosalind said hastily. ‘See if you can persuade Patsy to get dressed, Chrissie.’

‘I’ll see you at dinner, Patsy.’ Bertie leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

Rosalind waited for him outside the room. ‘Patsy will get her grand wedding when Alex is fully recovered, but I’m really worried now, Bertie. Is Piers’ life in danger?’

‘All I know is that he’s in good hands. Alex is there to keep an eye on him.’

Rosalind shook her head. ‘I’m worried, Bertie. Everything you say makes me think I should leave as soon as possible.’

‘You can’t think of going before the wedding, surely? Mama would never forgive you.’

‘And I would never forgive myself if Piers took a sudden turn for the worse and I wasn’t there to comfort him.’

‘If you go to France you’ll have to take Patsy. She’ll be desperate to see Alex.’

Rosalind walked on slowly. ‘I don’t know about that.’

‘You’ll have to tell her what you’re planning.’

Rosalind stopped outside her bedroom door. ‘Bertie, stop putting obstacles in my way. I have to change out of my riding habit now. We’ll talk later.’

‘All right, but think about it, Rosie. Another two or three days isn’t going to make much difference. Speaking selfishly, I would love to spend some time at home with my family, especially at Christmas.’

‘You don’t have to accompany me, Bertie. I’m quite capable of coping on my own. I just need to find a boat to take me straight to Brest. Anything else would take too long.’

Rosalind opened her bedroom door and went in, closing it before Bertie had time to argue. Her mind was made up. Nothing would keep her away from her husband and the man she had once thought she might marry. Both of them were dear to her and she could not bear to think of them suffering on their own in a foreign country.