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The tree-dotted parkland rose gently on the left-hand side She gli on the top of one low knoll, then, as the carriage swung round, the house came into view

‘Lawks,’ Dorothy observed inelegantly

‘It is the largest house in the shire,’ Isobel pointed out ‘I thought it ht be a small palace fro, don’t you think? Quite like home at Bythorn Hall’ It was no simple mansion, to be sure, but the red brick looked warm, despite the chill of the sodden February air

The chaise drew up close to the double sweep of steps that led to the front door Too soon Isobel fought the sudden wave of panic The Earl and Countess of Hardwicke had offered her shelter for the sake of their old friendship with her parents—Philip Yorke, the third earl, had met her father, the Earl of Bythorn, at Oxford—so they were hardly strangers, she told herself, even if she had not met them for several years

‘Be on your best behaviour, Dorothy,’ she warned ‘The earl has been appointed the first Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, so he will soon be the king’s representative’

‘Foreign, that’s what Ireland is,’ the maid said with a sniff ‘Don’t hold with it’

‘It is part of the new United Kingdom,’ Isobel said repressively ‘You enjoyed the celebrations at the beginning of the year, do not pretend that you did not! I must say I would like to see Dublin when the earl and countess move there in April, but they will have far uest’

In fact it was very kind of Lord Hardwicke and Elizabeth, his witty blue-stocking countess, to give sanctuary to their old friend’s disgraced daughter at such a critical juncture in their lives It ht suit the Jervises to put it about that Isobel was helping the countess with her preparations, but she was sure she would be more of a distraction than a help

She had wanted to flee to her friend Jane Needham’s cheerful country manor in the depths of the Herefordshire countryside It was remote, it was safe and it held warmth and love But Mahter to retreat from London, then she would do so, very ostentatiously, under the wing of a leading aristocratic family

The doors opened, footather up their scattered shawls and reticules as Isobel tied her bonnet ribbons and strove for poise