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Eliza had piled the necklaces into her lap and was about to replace them when she noticed a small ribbon left in the empty box.

She tried to pick it up but found it attached to a flap that opened a secret compartment at the base.

Her heart was in her mouth as she slipped her fingers inside and pulled out a small, folded letter together with a miniature painting in a simple gold surround.

She found herself confronted by a red-headed man in a tricorn hat with a roguish expression that seemed to challenge her own startled gaze.

This face was thrillingly familiar. She could not know the colour of his eyes but something about their shape reminded her of her own.

She knew immediately here was her father.

Looking for a name, she found nothing inscribed on the back.

The letter was yellowed at the edges and she unfolded it carefully.

An untidy black cursive script had scrawled on the top right-hand corner, On board the hellish ‘Medusa’ that carries me from you.

Eliza’s hands were shaking with the realisation this was a letter from her mother’s lover, possibly the man in the portrait, and most probably her true father. She read on:

My most Beloved,

The miles of Shifting Sea that separate you from me rob my Hopes of seeing You and little E again.

How can I Bear this? I hear you in the Wind, I see you in the Bright unfurling Foam, you are the Air I breathe and your Beauty calls to me.

I was as Free as an untethered Cloud until I saw You and in that moment Loved you.

The Bliss! You Loved me in return and In our path we left a Trail of Light.

And little E is the Reward of that Love we shared.

When I have paid my Dues I will return to claim You, the only Woman I have never wanted to Flee. You have Given my Soul back to me.

It was signed with a flourish of an R and splashed with water marks, presumably from sea spray.

Eliza flung herself back on the bed, pressing the two pieces of paper and the portrait to her breast. After the anxieties and uneasiness of the last few days, she felt a peace descend.

It seemed clear to her that her father and mother had loved each other, that she had been created with love.

This settled her fevered mind and she knew with clarity that she could not agree to a convenient marriage with Mr Flynn, however much comfort and wealth he offered.

She intended to live for something more transcendent than friendship, more rousing to the blood than good sense; even should the cost be that, like her mother, she died alone.

Eliza also now knew with the same serene clarity that we cannot control whom we love.

She knew she was asking more than life was disposed to offer by setting her deepest hopes on Lord Purfoy, a man who had told her his stone-cold heart had been miraculously revived through love, but for another.

This was her destiny. In this moment of recognition, Eliza felt magnanimous towards her parents, towards Mr Flynn and the decisions of his life, the opposing choices made by her friends Rose Bowman and Marina.

For loving, even into a void, was better than not loving at all.

Eliza dressed hurriedly, put the Bathwick ring in the box and fastened round her neck one of her mother’s necklaces made of beads of clear quartz. She then slipped into her pocket as a talisman the note to the haberdasher and her father’s love letter, and descended the stairs for dinner.

Corinna was in a happier frame of mind, having made the decision to return to London in the Purfoy coach with Taz in charge.

She excused herself for a minute to check again on Emma.

Zadoc Flynn was elated after his rainy day at the races.

‘The horses were padnags compared to Ohio, my fleet-footed Pegasus.’ He greeted Eliza with ebullience, delighted with his judgement in choosing such an outstanding filly.

‘She has every chance of winning the Owners’ Race. We’ve got ten days to prepare.’

Eliza took her place at the table and asked, ‘Have you decided on your jockey yet?’

‘No. It would be ideal if I could get Taz to ride her. But he’s too well-known already in the equine world and they would ken he wasn’t Ohio’s owner. He’s also my arch-rival’s prize asset. I could never persuade Taz to ride against Lord Purfoy and Horatio.’

Eliza’s renewed lightness of spirit had made her reckless. She surprised herself by saying, with some defiance, ‘Well, I don’t owe Lord Purfoy my loyalty. If you still want me to ride Ohio, I will do it.’

Mr Flynn leapt to his feet, almost knocking over his chair in his enthusiasm. ‘Do you mean it, Miss Gray?’ He grasped her hands in his large paws. ‘We’ll have to embark on some early morning training with a light saddle. Are you happy with that?’

‘You overlook an important point, Mr Flynn. What do you do about the fact that I’m not Ohio’s owner, nor am I male?’ Eliza extricated herself from his enthusiastic hold.

‘That’s easily overcome. I’ll transfer ownership of the mare to you, and you’ll ride her as a lad.’

‘You ask so much of me!’ She gasped as the full enormity of the deception hit her.

‘No more than you are capable of, Miss Gray,’ he said, his broad face alight with enthusiasm. ‘No more than you did when we went to Tattersalls.’

Corinna came into the room. ‘So what’s the news?’

Zadoc Flynn was aware of the loyalties between old friends and carefully said, ‘I’m entering Ohio in the Owners’ Race.’

Corinna frowned. ‘That’s rather rash; it’s Raven Purfoy’s race, or rather the race he always wins. He won’t be pleased, you know.’

Eliza felt her resolve falter; she was naturally loyal and would be so to Lord Purfoy until the end of time, but she had to remind herself of today’s revelation that she was no more to him than an inconvenient responsibility since their collision those few weeks ago.

She met Corinna’s gaze with pain in her own eyes.

‘Lord Purfoy seems to be happy with his new love. He is with her in Bath. I don’t see that a horse race will be quite such a priority now. ’

Corinna was puzzled. ‘Are you sure?’

Eliza wondered if she was being too impetuous in her decision, but the chance of riding Ohio in her first race was an exhilarating thought. ‘He implied this was the case. And I had earlier seen him with a woman with whom he seemed familiar.’

Corinna murmured, ‘I don’t claim to know Rav’s heart but that seems highly unlikely to me.’

Eliza did not wish to pursue it; she could barely contemplate any further loss.

Everyone she had longed for seemed to have been stripped from her grasp.

But what wild impetuosity had sprung her into Mr Flynn’s camp, to ride against Lord Purfoy, to deceive her generous, loving hosts?

She was close to reneging on her promise to ride Ohio when Zadoc Flynn stood up to go.

‘On my last night here I’m off to join the gaming tables at the casino. I’ll see you for breakfast.’

* * *

As Eliza rushed from his coach, Lord Purfoy remained deep in thought.

He feared his heart had finally broken its bonds and was out of control.

But his damnable pride! What damage had he done in not explaining Mrs Cornford to Eliza?

She had caught him unawares with her question and had imbued the incident with such unwarranted significance.

Now more than ever he knew this was a strand of his emotional life that he must clarify.

Taz’s face, streaked with rain, appeared at the door. ‘Where to, guv?’

‘Back to The White Hart.’

Purfoy entered the front door of the hotel and ran up the stairs, two at a time, to the first floor where he had his rooms. He divested himself of his redingote and hat and without pause, crossed the corridor to knock on the opposite door.

‘Come in,’ a woman’s voice answered, and he walked in to find Mrs Cornford reclined on the sofa in a charming gown made of blue silk and lace and tied at the front.

Her eyes met his and her seductive glance became more guarded.

His lordship did not look like he was bent on pleasure. ‘You seem discontented, my lord?’

He dropped a fleeting kiss on her cheek. ‘My apologies, Amelia. How ill-mannered of me.’

‘Come sit beside me.’ She patted the satin. ‘It’s seldom I have the diversion of your company for more than an hour or two.’

He sat slightly apart from the voluptuous curve of hip and breast and took her hand in a more formal gesture. ‘Amelia, we have been good friends to each other, I hope you can agree?’

She nodded, her expression placid but her eyes betraying anxiety as to what was to come. ‘’Tis true, my lord. We never aspired to more.’

‘I hope you understand that circumstances have changed for me.’ He met her eyes with a soft expression.

She smiled, slipping her feet to the ground. ‘I always knew this time would come. Perhaps it is you have fallen in love?’

‘Indeed, I am shocked at this alteration in myself. So unexpected, in some ways so unwelcome. How much more comfortable to continue as before. But love changes everything, and I am changed.’

He took both her hands and brought them to his lips. ‘Thank you, dear Amelia, for your generosity and understanding, for the pleasure we have shared.’

‘Well, my lord, we never pretended it could be anything more. I can only wish you but fair weather for the future. She is a lucky young woman.’ They both stood up and held each other in one last long embrace.

As they broke away, Purfoy said, ‘I know you are staying in Bath to see your sister, but I will be leaving tomorrow. When I’m back in Town, I will ask my bank to set up an annuity. But you are to come to me if ever you are in trouble.’ With that he kissed her hand and was gone.

* * *