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England, then?’
    ‘ We are going to England, Bram. It’s only our first stop, though.’ He pulled out his watch and clicked his tongue in exasperation at how late in the afternoon it was. ‘Look, I’ll explain later. Will you trust me and come with me?’
    Still the groom hesitated. ‘Are you sure you want to do this, sir? You’ve upset your mother and now you’ll be upsetting the Largans.’
    ‘I am sure. Very sure. That woman treats her servants badly and I for one can’t stomach it any longer. Why, she and old Mr Largan have even set my mother against Conn, a man we’ve all known and liked since boyhood. I can’t be doing with the hypocrisy and the downright cruelty of it all, Bram lad. I was going to leave anyway, I promise you.’
    If Kieran returned, he might give Bram his job back, because Bram was a good worker. But there again, he might not. Being several years older than Conn and Ronan, Kieran hadn’t been one of their group of friends and had spent a lot of time away from the estate since he grew up. No, it wasn’t worth risking.
    He saw that his old playmate was wavering and added firmly, ‘I’m leaving today whether you join me or not.’
    ‘Then I’d be honoured to travel with you.’

3
    X anthe hummed as she cleared up the kitchen. It’d been months since Conn wrote to his friend who might be able to bring some money out to Australia for them. She needed to be patient but it was hard sometimes and she felt trapped here, even though she worked for such nice people.
    Hearing a sound behind her, she spun round to see her mistress standing there, leaning on her walking stick.
    ‘You should have rung for me, Mrs Largan. It’s no trouble to come and see what you need.’
    ‘I wanted to catch you on your own. Maia’s cleaning my bedroom so perhaps you and I can have a quiet little chat? I’m worried about her, you see. Your decision to leave once your money comes through has made her so unhappy.’
    Xanthe sighed. ‘I know. But I can’t help how we’re both made. I always felt we’d go our own ways one day, and I’ve tried to prepare her for it, but she refuses to believe me.’
    ‘Will you sit down and tell me about what you want to do? Or should I mind my own business?’
    Xanthe helped her mistress to ease herself down into a chair then pulled up another for herself. ‘It’d be good to talk to someone who isn’t part of the problem, if you don’t mind, ma’am. The trouble is, I’ve always wanted to see the world. And Maia – well, she doesn’t want that.’
    ‘Do you want to become a lady explorer like Louisa Anne Meredith? I’ve read her accounts of her travels in the Antipodes and always envied her.’
    ‘You envied her?’
    Susannah Largan smiled. ‘Yes. I was very interested in botany when I was younger and more able to go out and about. Does that sort of travelling interest you?’
    ‘No, not at all. I’ve no wish to go exploring wild places or living among savages.’ She smiled. ‘Growing up in the mill terraces with no gardens didn’t give you much chance to grow fond of plants, let alone study them, and I was always more interested in books than flowers. No, I want to see the other countries I’ve read about, especially Greece. My father loved the Greek language and myths so much. I want to go there for him. And then . . .’
    ‘Then what?’
    ‘I don’t know. See something of my own country, or yours, or Scotland. Visit Paris. I’ve read that a man called Thomas Cook is taking groups of people travelling to France and Germany. I could maybe go on some of his tours now that I have money.’
    ‘And where would you live in between your journeys?’
    ‘I could visit my sister Pandora or rent a little cottage somewhere pretty once she and Zachary have paid us something for our shares in my uncle’s emporium, because to be honest . . .’ She looked round, listening, not wanting Maia to hear this. ‘I don’t see myself ever coming back to live in