“Hmmm,” Harriet purred in agreement, taking a sip of her tea as she mentally added Miss Fawley to the guest list for a future dinner party and considered which of her sons it would be best to sit her next to. Frederick was out of the question so really it came down to whether Miss Fawley was more suited to life as a mother or as…well, one didn’t wish to be unkind about Fitz but Harriet had long suspected that the woman he needed ought to be forthright enough to whip him into shape in terms of respectability so either way it required a degree of backbone.

“Of course new relationships never hurt, I always found that expanding one’s social circle was the only way to find variety – after all, life would be fearfully dull if we only ever spoke to the same people,” she said smoothly, wilfully ignoring the fact that the vast majority of their kind never ventured much beyond the extension of their own families for company, let alone to horizons unknown. But her sons were different beasts: one reliable, structured, already a fixture and the other a freer spirit with a charmingly eclectic group of friends. “Do you agree?” Her smile reached her eyes as she leaned towards the younger woman. “Please feel free not to Miss Fawley, my sister disagrees with me frequently and we have always remained friends.”