Martha sighed. ‘We may not. We would be unwise to make this public for obvious reasons. It would only raise questions if we pry too closely. At least we can assume that this is about the plants, and not about you and I.’
‘Perhaps,’ said Thea. ‘But it still doesn’t make complete sense that he would halt our correspondence completely. Why would he not maintain it in order to keep the specimens for himself?’
‘Good question,’ said Martha. ‘Perhaps he was more threatened by you than we thought, or he knew he couldn’t maintain the subterfuge in the household. Either way there is more to understand.’ She looked at Thea steadily, but Thea saw anxiety there.
‘Indeed. We must be careful. People have eyes on us for whatever reason.’
Martha nodded. ‘In any case, I shall certainly look forward to meeting Mr Knatchbull again.’
Thea gave her a look. ‘You must be civil to him. He and George have a necessary but uneasy relationship. I am pressed to be nice.’
‘Why?’ asked Martha. ‘They clearly sit in parliament together, but it doesn’t mean they have to like one another. Would George be interested to know this news?’
Thea gave a wry laugh. ‘I wouldn’t have thought so. I am perplexed as to why George is so keen to maintain their relationship when Knatchbull is everything he hates. He keeps whatever is key about their relationship to himself but is clear on the point and recently he has indicated he might want to increase the reciprocal relationship by gifting Knatchbull more plants.’
‘And you don’t know why?’ asked Martha.
‘He keeps me out of the detail of his relationships,’ said Thea. ‘But it may be something important for the family, so we should cooperate.’
‘I may be able to be useful there,’ said Martha. ‘If I can add value to that relationship through my contacts or new seed, he may be more amenable to having me around.’
‘Good thinking,’ said Thea. ‘Anyway, enough of them now. It is enough to be around them in society; I have no desire to think about them when I am not.’
‘Of course.’ Martha smiled at her. ‘And here they are taking up all of our conversation when you are taking me back to our new home.’
Thea grinned at her as the carriage jostled, the mystery receding in her mind. Sometimes she still just lost herself in looking at Lady Foxmore.
‘Are you going to sit across there for the whole journey?’ asked Martha with a content smile and a gleam in her eye. ‘Or do I get to touch you at some point in the next few days?’ She reached for Thea’s knee, but Thea batted her hand away playfully.
‘I will have you know, Lady Foxmore, that I am a married woman and cannot be seen by the people of London to be engaging in illicit activity with one of England’s most intrepid adventurers.’
Martha pursed her lips in mock thought and then reached to either side of her in turn and drew the curtains. ‘How about now?’
Thea giggled and slipped onto the cushioned bench beside Martha. ‘You always could solve a problem.’
‘Still can,’ said Martha, holding out an arm so Thea could nestle into the crook of her shoulder. When she did, Martha kissed her on the top of her head. ‘I still can’t believe I get you all to myself.’
‘Not quite all to yourself,’ said Thea as she snuggled in. ‘The staff at Hawkdean is huge, even with many of them remaining in London, and, of course, there are the children.’
‘Of course,’ said Martha, sitting up a little straighter. ‘How I am looking forward to meeting them. They are with their governess, I assume?’
‘Most of the time,’ agreed Thea, ‘but I try to spend at least an hour or two with them every day. We are lucky that Annie is a wonderful governess and skilled at a great many things. They have Mr Fenwick too, of course, who I understand a little more now I have seen his goddess costume at the masquerade.’ As anticipated, this drew a complicit smile from Martha.
‘I knew it,’ she said. ‘I always suspected he had a thing for Edgar.’
Thea turned to look at her. ‘Edgar Pickles? You are not telling me that they were…’ she thought back to how accommodating Edgar had been when he found out about her inclinations.
‘Oh no,’ said Martha. ‘Sadly unrequited I am sure. Edgar only really had eyes for his collection, I think.’
Thea sank further into Martha, recalling her wonderful friend who had accidentally killed himself in an overenthusiastic electrical experiment. She played with the fingers of the hand that enveloped her shoulder. ‘Anyway, when Mr Fenwick is not being the goddess Athena, he has been teaching the children science and maths. Edward will have another tutor for the sword when he reaches six.’
‘Two years away?’ asked Martha, frowning to remember.
Thea nodded. ‘He will go to Eton in a few more years of course, but I am determined that the girls should continue their education.’
‘I would expect nothing less from you,’ said Martha. ‘Are they eager students?’
‘Yes, but different from one another,’ said Thea. ‘Sammy is astute, she reminds me a little of Ursula. She can turn her hand to most things and enjoys helping me to manage the estate finances. Edward idolises his father despite the fact that he sees him so little. He will be a success due to his rank, not due to his effort. And Abi is Abi. Still so young but into anything outdoors, the flowers, birds and puddles. So many puddles. If there is dirt, she will find it.’
