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increasingly uncomfortable with him. She could not quite decide. Perhaps it was that his manners were just a little too easy for a totally new acquaintance – although normally she was the first to appreciate an open temper. Maybe it was the obvious admiration that he was showing her that concerned her more. Whatever it was it began to annoy her and she was more than pleased when, stepping out of the shrubbery at the rear of the house, Captain Churchman broke the silence in a rather more rational vein.
    ‘How do you like Abdale?’ he asked, pausing for a moment to look back at the building. ‘Mr Abdale has greatly improved the property over these past few years.’
    ‘So it appears. Both the house and grounds are much changed from what I remember. The whole vista seems to have been redesigned.’
    ‘Aye. If only my brother would give the word we could do the same at Grantham, but he will not. He believes the money better spent on improving the tenants’ lands rather than extending our park. But there … you have lived in town up to now, I believe, Miss Barrington. You will not have come across such issues before. You must find country life very different from what you are used to.’
    ‘It is certainly very different. It is not unpleasant, exactly, although I cannot think it an improvement.’
    ‘But I find you an improvement, Miss Barrington. Our little society can only be delighted at your arrival at Abdale House.’
    Much to her annoyance, Lydia blushed yet again. She could not like such talk on so short an acquaintance yet she had to admit to feeling flattered by Captain Churchman’s attentions. She glanced across at him and felt a sudden chill as the winter breeze caught the empty sleeve of his greatcoat.
    ‘We should go inside,’ she said. ‘I daresay Mrs Abdale will need me shortly. I regret that you are in the minority in considering me an asset to the neighbourhood. Dependent relatives are not greatly admired on the whole.’
    After this initial visit Edward became a frequent visitor to Abdale House. It soon became apparent that he held Lydia in particularly high regard. It was to her that he made his way immediately on entering the room, and for her he reserved his warmest smiles. Whenever Lydia expressed an opinion he would quickly second it. If she wanted anything he would make every effort to procure it for her. Mrs Abdale noticed all this with grim satisfaction. So Julia was safe after all. A younger son, disabled most horribly in the wars and with scarcely more to his name than Lydia herself, dependent on the charity of his brother – why, he would make an unexceptionable match for her. True, her niece was showing little enough interest in Edward in return but Lydia was doubtless a sly puss and, remembering her mama’s predilection for a red coat, Mrs Abdale did not doubt that she would speedily succumb to his charm. They could live in poverty and probably utter misery in some damp cottage somewhere, raising numerous children with nothing to keep their bodies and souls together, and Mrs Abdale would be satisfied that they had got their just desserts.
    Lydia herself viewed his attentions with concern. As well as her displeasure with the openness of his admiration for her she felt unhappy about her position in relation to Julia, whom she knew felt strongly for him and who was so far managing to display a creditable restraint whenever Captain Churchman was with her.
    The weather had turned suddenly wintry and the girls were kept much indoors over the next few days. By the end of the third day Lydia was feeling decidedly fidgety. She deplored the lack of exercise which formed her chief diversion and felt plagued by Mrs Abdale’s incessant demands on her for trivial errands and meaningless little jobs around the house. But by the Thursday a hard frost had set in, making the snow crisp underfoot, and Lydia excitedly urged Julia to accompany her to the pond to see if the ice had set sufficiently to