Their baggage had departed the previous day; it would be waiting for them when they arrived at Westerham. Now the moment for departure had come the family was silent. The girls stopped their excited chattering; Emily felt her chest constrict, but Lady Althea was only worried that her beloved father would not welcome her as she hoped. The house she had spent half her life in was no longer somewhere she wished to be. It held too many sad memories, and was a daily reminder of her insurmountable loss.

Foster would ride on the box with the coachman. It would be unseemly for him to travel inside even if there was sufficient room. He had been obliged to hire a second carriage to transport the three servants. He had expected them to travel with the baggage but Miss Gibson had refused to agree to this. She had insisted that they could not manage a two-day journey without their personal maids.

The steps were folded back and the carriage door slammed shut. Foster sprung up on to the box and the coachman gave the four handsome matching bays the office to start.

“Well, we're off. I can hardly believe we're leaving Glebe House for ever.” Millie said, quietly. Emily shivered. She could not bear to consider the possibility that she would be found wanting by Viscount Yardley and they would all be sent back.

Lady Althea fell into a fitful doze and Amelia and Serena were happy watching the blaze of autumn colour pass by their window. Emily was allowed to sit undisturbed and contemplate the future. What did Sebastian look like? Was he handsome? Would he be a considerate husband? She smiled as she remembered how happy her parents had been. She wanted her union to be a loving relationship like that. She swallowed as bile rose in her throat.

Her marriage would never be the same; it was to be one of convenience; Viscount Yardley needed to set up his nursery before he left for the continent and she was marrying to provide security for her family.