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The meal was a subdued affair. Both Leonora and Charlotte were still reeling from the broadsides as to their looks and general prospects. They felt their new clothes, with which they had been so delighted, probably erred on the side of ‘milksop’. The food itself was meagre, the main dish being potatoes and a rabbit stew, and it became obvious that as Lady Bucklebury barely ate herself, she was unconcerned with providing a lavish table for her guests, expecting them to share her abstemious habits. Mrs Priddy kept the conversation alive by enquiring about elderly acquaintances, but everyone soon beat an early retreat.

Their bedchambers and dressing rooms were on the second floor, above the drawing room, and they congregated in Leonora’s. When the door was closed, she threw herself on the bed. ‘Well! I’ve never known such an unmannerly woman!’

‘Now, now, Nora dear, it won’t do to get uppity. She’s from a different age, and wealth has removed her from the usual niceties of manner.’

‘Nanny P, if you suggest Lady B’s sour temper is just due to lack of food or sleep, I shall scream!’ Leonora sprang off the bed and they all laughed.

‘I’m afraid if I show mere kindly manners and politeness, the Countess will dismiss me as a milksop, which she considers worse than a jezebel or cockish wench!’ Charlotte’s fair skin had flared with emotion.

‘Now Miss Charlotte, you are not to use such vulgar terms.’ Mrs Priddy wagged her finger. ‘It’s just about acceptable to talk in such an informal way when you’re in the country but not here. And not under Lady Bucklebury’s roof!’

‘At least I won’t be accused of being a milksop! I was so pleased to belong to this family but now I see such a Lady Virago at its head, I’m not so sure.’

‘We’re all tired. Let’s to bed and everything will seem better in the morning.’ Peg Priddy straightened her skirts and kissed Leonora and Charlotte on the cheek.

Leonora pulled her close. ‘I’m so glad you’re with us, Nanny P. You put everything in its place. Of course things will look better tomorrow. For a start I want to explore Hyde Park.’

‘I’ll come with you!’ Charlotte said, her face brighter and her sense of adventure restored.

‘The Park is safe enough if you two stay together. Beware there are pickpockets and other ruffians, and young men exercise their horses first thing, so perhaps go out a little later.’ Nanny P did not see the lively look that passed between the two young women. ‘Good night, everyone.’

Leonora woke early after a deep untroubled sleep. She was still on country time and wondered what a suitable hour was to surface for breakfast. As she lay in a deep feather mattress, her gaze travelled around the palatial bedroom, the details just visible now the pale light was beginning to seep through the curtains. Her four-poster bed was hung with silk curtains frayed into ribbons at the edges but once beautiful. Pale yellow and embroidered with flowers and bees, they looked too fragile to pull closed and she feared she’d be enveloped in a cloud of dust if she did. The room itself was panelled and painted a pearl grey to which time only added an attractive smoky patina. It was restful to lie there warm and safe, and Leonora’s mind returned to her beloved Hasterleigh and the Earl.

Her jealousy of Claudette Dupré and fears about her importance in Lord Rokeby’s life had given way to a fierce protectiveness after Lady Bucklebury’s harsh dismissal of him the day before. She knew Society and the Countess herself would consider it ludicrous if they knew her secret longing, a longing she barely managed to acknowledge to herself. But she held close to her heart what Lord Rokeby had said, so surprising she was not certain she had heard it right. You alone have made me want to live. Had she made that up in a reverie of wishful thinking? Surely such words could not be true?

Leonora refused to enter the maze of speculation and instead, reminded herself she was here on Charlotte’s adventure; her young friend was to be given a chance of marriage that had been denied to herself with the death in Spain of her beloved Captain Worth. This was a noble cause and she and Nanny P would do their utmost to help her attain it. There was a soft tap at the door and a young maid entered with a jug of steaming water which she carried through to the dressing room and placed beside a large, chipped Delft bowl on the marble-topped table. ‘Good morning, Miss Appleby. I’m Amy.’

Leonora knew it was probably time to struggle out of bed. Gazing towards the morning light suffused through the grimy glass of the window, she thought how entering London Society was akin to entering enemy territory, where pitfalls and Society queens like Livia Dearlove lay in wait to undermine women like her, neither rich, high-bred nor beautiful. But there was entertainment and opportunity too. She knew she and Charlotte had to be prepared for anything.

Energised by the thought, Leonora was impatient to see more of the city, and explore the great park. She dressed hurriedly in her new walking dress of dark green twill with a matching pelisse, fastened becomingly with silver toggles. She picked up a lilac-trimmed bonnet to match her calfskin boots and knocked on Charlotte’s door.

Charlotte was dressed already, looking pretty in her walking gown of primrose yellow cambric lawn. ‘Let’s have a hasty breakfast.’ Leonora led the way downstairs, drawn by the smell of coffee.

After toast and honey and a cup of coffee, Charlotte looked across at Leonora and with a mischievous smile said, ‘Do you think this is too early to set out, seeing Nanny P has warned us about the risks of meeting young men exercising their steeds?’

They both laughed and Leonora stood up. ‘I’m sure we’ll be safe from any untoward attention. Come on, Lottie.’

The quickest route to Grosvenor Gate was through Grosvenor Square and both young women scrutinised with awe this grandest of structures. Houses of pale stone stood in four proud ranks around the large oval sweep of grass and trees in the centre. The largest houses had pilasters rising from the first floor to the attics and Leonora found herself thinking about the lives behind those glinting tall windows. She wondered which was the Rokeby mansion. Everywhere was bustle and activity as carts delivered vegetables and meat, the carters shouting their wares and the delivery boys scampering up and down the front steps leading to the basements of the towering houses above.

The Grosvenor Gate entrance into the Park was thronged with early horsemen leaving while carriages and curricles, wishing to take the crisp morning air, swept in with a flourish. It was all so new and exciting that Charlotte hung on tight to Leonora’s arm. The frosty grass was punctuated by gravelled avenues and copses of bare trees as far as the eye could see. The distant glint of water drew them towards the Serpentine and they walked down the well-trodden track, careful to avoid the centre where horses’ hooves had churned the earth to mud.

The low sun made everything sparkle and Leonora and Charlotte felt their cheeks tingling in the chill air. Riders mounted on flashy stallions eyed the young women appreciatively as they passed; some were more forward, leaning out of their saddles to doff their hats and ogle. Leonora drew Charlotte close and said, ‘When a man does that to you, just turn your head away smartly to give him “the cut”. Now practise it with the next one.’ They laughed and quickened their pace.

They approached the Serpentine’s edge where noisy children and dogs gambolled amongst the reeds when Leonora’s eye was caught by an enormous black horse emerging from the trees. The rider, sitting tall astride his magnificent steed, appeared to be a giant. She nudged Charlotte who recognised him and cried out, ‘It’s Mr Lockwood!’ Relief at meeting someone so familiar in this unfamiliar place flooded them both. They waved.

He trotted up and reined in his horse, seeming to loom over them as they gazed up into his smiling face. He had swept his hat off his head, and his hair was unruly.

‘Oh, we’re so glad to see you!’ Charlotte was the first to speak, her voice warm with feeling.

George Lockwood laughed as he dismounted. ‘Why? Are you tired of London already?’

‘No! We’ve only just arrived but it’s good to see a friendly face, Mr Lockwood.’ Leonora put out her hand.

‘Well, I am inordinately pleased to see you, Miss Blythe, Miss Appleby.’ He bowed. ‘You are happy reminders of my favourite place. And unlike you, I am definitely tired of London!’

His reins were looped over his arm as he allowed his horse to nuzzle his ear. ‘This fine beast is Titan. I shall bring him with me to Hasterleigh after the Season is over. I think he longs for those rolling acres almost as much as I do.’ In a companionable group, they walked round the Serpentine. ‘Tell me then of your first impressions.’

Charlotte spoke first. ‘We’re staying with my dragonish great-grandmama in her ancient lair in Brook Street and she is full of opinions.’