‘If you give me a day or so to get over the journey from France, I’ll accompany you, Grandmama.’ Piers managed a smile. ‘I need to see Pedrick and make sure the business has not suffered too much from my absence.’

‘Of course, Piers, my dear. Anything you say.’ Lady Pentelow smiled contentedly. ‘It will be delightful having my dear grandson with me again.’

‘I won’t be joining you, Grandmama,’ Alexander said firmly. ‘I can’t ride yet, and anyway, I have to return to my regiment as soon as my leg heals.’

‘In that case I think Rosalind ought to accompany me to Trevenor.’ Piers glared at his brother. ‘My wife isn’t your nurse, Alex. You’d do well to remember that.’

‘I will stay here, Piers.’ Rosalind met his angry gaze with a defiant lift of her chin. ‘We agreed from the start that we would live at Rockwood until such time as I was no longer needed here. You can’t go back on our agreement now.’

‘I’m your husband and I say that your place is with me.’

‘What’s the matter with you, Piers?’ Aurelia stared at him in disbelief. ‘Why are you being so unreasonable?’

Piers sank down on a chair by the fireplace. ‘I’m not the one who is in the wrong.’

‘I’m glad I’m not marrying into your family.’ Patricia twisted her engagement ring off her finger and threw it at Alexander. ‘You are both as bad as each other. I can’t think why I agreed to marry you in the first place.’

‘I’m sorry, Patsy. That’s all I can say.’ Alexander limped out of the room.

‘You saw that,’ Patricia said angrily. ‘Alex just walked away. He doesn’t love me. I don’t think he ever did.’

‘Patsy, you just threw your engagement ring at him.’ Rosalind stared at her sister in disbelief. ‘What did you expect him to do?’

‘If he really cared for me he would have tried to persuade me to change my mind. Now I know it was a terrible mistake.’ Patricia ran from the room, sobbing.

‘Really, such displays of emotion are very vulgar.’ Lady Pentelow rose from her seat and walked to the door. ‘I’m going to my boudoir. Aurelia, come with me. I think we should instruct our maids to start packing.’ She stormed out of the drawing room, almost bumping into Tilly, who was carrying a tray loaded with tea and cake.

‘See what you’ve done, Piers. We were going along quite happily until you returned.’ Aurelia cast him a withering look as she followed her grandmother from the room.

‘This is some homecoming,’ Piers said stonily. ‘Aurelia is right in one thing. This is my brother’s fault. We were happy until he came back on the scene.’