“Please do not apologise, Mama. I'm quite old enough to vomit on my own.” She heard a smothered giggle. “It's quite permissible to laugh girls. I'm not so stuffy as to object.”

Amelia grinned. “You were very sick, Em; I'm so relieved that you got out of the carriage in time.”

Emily joined in the laughter. “Amen to that, Millie.” She reached up tapped, gently, on the roof, and the carriage resumed its stately process down the drive.

Whilst the girls exclaimed in wonder at the extent of the rolling parkland and the handsome trees both Emily and Lady Althea sat silently, immersed in their own thoughts. Lady Althea had no reservations about her return to Westerham. It was where she belonged now that her husband was no longer alive. She had accepted her reduced circumstances happily when she was sharing them with her beloved Peter. Without him the misery of her penury had quite overwhelmed her.

She knew that now she had returned she would get well again and be able to take her place in society. Lady Althea glanced down at her new dress and her thin lips curved in appreciation. Soon her father would replenish the whole of her wardrobe and she could start re-establishing herself in the ton. The season had barely begun; in a few weeks she was certain that she would be strong enough to enjoy escorting Emily to the balls, soirees, and musical evenings on offer in London.

Emily's thoughts were not so sanguine. Her mother's happiness, maybe her very life, was dependent on her fulfilling her grandfather's wishes. She had no doubt that his benevolence was linked to her marriage to his heir, the Viscount Yardley. If he had truly wished to restore their fortunes he could have done so two years since, when he received the first letter asking for help.

She looked across at her mother, so thin and frail, but at least she was smiling. Edwards had assured her Lady Althea was no longer taking laudanum every night to help her sleep. Everything rested on Emily's shoulders. Well, they were strong enough; she had been running Glebe House, and educating her sisters, for the past two years. She doubted that many 19-year-olds could do as she had done. Compared to that, persuading her cousin Sebastian to make an offer should present no difficulty .