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‘Well then, you’d better bother me after all. I have a set of dilemmas of my own and have proved myself less than adroit in solving any of them; perhaps I can restore my self-esteem and help solve yours?’ There was an underlying perturbation in his humorous eyes.

Madeleine checked that Dot was sitting out of earshot in a window seat on the far side of the room, then said in a rush, ‘My grandmother, the old Lady Lockhart, has died and unexpectedly left me her fortune.’

Mr Shilton visibly paled with shocked surprise. This young woman had not just brought anarchy to his own heart, she had also caused disruption to a whole social order. ‘I presume this means Lady Lockhart has disinherited the heir, your cousin Lord Lockhart?’

‘This is the precise trouble. It has caused the most prodigious outrage, particularly from his mother, my Aunt Lucinda.’

‘I’m not surprised at all. It flies in the face of accepted practice and is a most provoking thing to do. I cannot recall another major legal deflection of such family wealth.’ His gaze was on her face, serious and concerned, aware that the Ferdy of old would have been as disapproving as the Lockharts at such blatant flouting of the customs of ancestral inheritance. But what of the Ferdy now? He feared he was a leopard losing his spots, not recognising the capricious animal he had become. He looked away and asked in a ruminative voice, ‘Do you know what made your grandmother change her will?’

Madeleine blushed, aware that it might not be just the Lockhart family who suspected undue influence. Too quickly, she responded, ‘No, not at all. In her will, she wrote that Lord Lockhart already had his father’s fortune and she was concerned for my future, being without parents and with limited prospects.’ Madeleine dropped her eyes, then continued, ‘But she did not know that Lord Lockhart had already run through his father’s inheritance and was banking on hers.’

‘Perhaps she did,’ Mr Shilton said with a sardonic smile that would have appealed to Madeleine’s sense of humour had she not been facing the most momentous conundrum of her life. She met his gaze with the ghost of a smile as he continued, ‘So, what do you intend to do with your good fortune?’

‘I have barely had a moment to consider it thus. Of course, it would mean I have a home and no longer have to rely on the help of my cousins. It also means I could make my idea for a house in the country for abandoned children come to pass.’

‘So my Nonsuch dower house will be safe! Thank the heavens.’

They both laughed nervously.

Madeleine’s face lost its humour as she now addressed the added source of her anxiety and fear. ‘My aunt, Lady Lockhart, says I have to marry her son and restore the Lockhart fortune and estate to the rightful heir. As you know, it’s Great Cheney in Berkshire, a not unsubstantial property. This is the way of noble families.’ Madeleine’s head was bowed and she did not see the spasm of disgust on Mr Shilton’s face. Her words struck him a visceral blow that took his breath away. He leaned forwards to stir the fire to greater life with his boot while he collected himself.

‘And what do you say about this suggestion?’ His voice was neutral and subdued.

‘I certainly don’t wish to marry Edwin, but my aunt says it would be the honourable thing to do. Families like ours should act for the general good, not on the impulse of individual desire.’

Ferdy Shilton shuddered. Until he had met Miss Rose, this had been the code he had lived by too. Personal wishes and private happiness were not relevant to the matter. This was the reason he would never break his word to Miss Payton, even though the idea of marrying her became daily more to do with obligation and virtue than delight. But pride in his honour as a gentleman and a willingness to put on the harness of necessity did not mean he was happy to see Miss Rose’s life constrained by duty and convention. He could not bear that the woman he feared he truly loved should sacrifice herself on the sword of family obligation. And to such a weak and worthless man.

‘No one can make you marry Lord Lockhart.’ He could barely utter the preposterous words.

Madeleine chilled him further with her response. ‘I know. I can barely contemplate it. But when you are so alone in the world, marriage would at least give me a place to belong, even if it’s not the place I would choose.’

‘Don’t say such things. You have the Wolfes, you have me.’ Ferdy had involuntarily put out his hand to her.

Madeleine shook her head. ‘It’s utterly improper that I’ve come to your door to ask advice, but I did not know what to do. My aunt threatened to prosecute me if I don’t marry her son. She’ll say I put pressure on a frail old woman to get her to change her will.’

‘But that is blackmail, Miss Rose.’ Mr Shilton’s voice was cold with disdain. ‘They won’t go through with the threat. They have too much to lose.’

‘I think Lady Lockhart is just the kind of woman who would cut off her own arm if it meant continuing the fight when there was an outside chance of winning. She is frightening, when crossed. But unlovable as they are, they are my only family and I don’t want to lose them and be completely alone.’

‘It seems you are inclined to accept Lord Lockhart’s offer so as to maintain them in your life?’

‘No! Oh, I don’t know.’ Madeleine put her head in her hands, suddenly close to tears.

Ferdy Shilton took one of her hands in his. ‘With your own fortune, you would have a home and a future with friends. You would not have to marry, you know.’

Madeleine shook her head.

In a quieter voice, he said, ‘So tell me, Miss Rose, you are not against marriage in principle?’

‘No, not at all. It does bring certain advantages, ’tis true.’ Madeleine was suddenly suffused with misery, and blurted out what she had never meant to share with anyone. ‘It’s just that the man I would marry cannot marry me.’

They sat in silence, but his fingers squeezed hers gently. A sense of infinite calm and trust seemed to flow through that slight pressure of his hand enclosing hers.

Madeleine could not raise her eyes to his, afraid she would give herself away. Eventually, she stood up. ‘I must go. I can’t be late for dinner. Thank you, Mr Shilton.’

His voice was subdued. ‘I fear I haven’t been very helpful to you.’

‘You have listened to me, and that has been more help than you can know. Thank you.’ And with that farewell, she and Dot picked up their pelisses and bonnets from Maltby and hurried out of the front door and into the violet dusk of encroaching night.