~~ I ~~

It was a sunny afternoon in early September. Olivia Paige had decided to make use of the fine weather and to go for a long walk that afternoon. She often went for walks, nearly always unattended, a habit that almost always brought her mother's reproach on her but which she was unwilling to give up.

She walked downhill towards the village, leaving the old Manor House behind her just as a light curricle stopped in front of the main entrance. A young man, perceiving Miss Paige, got down from the curricle and immediately followed her. Olivia sighed. Sir Edwin Arncott was a neighbour, and she had known him all her life. Lately, it seemed, he had developed a tendre for her, and she feared she would soon have to tell him that his attentions were unwelcome. Olivia wished that her sister Agnes was still there – she had been her principal advisor in matters of the heart, and her advice had always been worth listening to. But Agnes was married now, and her advice would take some time until it reached her little sister. There was nothing for Olivia to do but to face the inevitable and do whatever she saw fit to do.

Meanwhile, Sir Edwin had reached her. He was not ill-looking, though he was not really handsome either. There were one or two attractive traits about him – he had dark, curly hair, a pleasant smile, and excellent manners.

"Good afternoon, Miss Paige," he said as Olivia had stopped to meet him. "How lucky I am to meet you! You are going on your customary walk, I suppose."

"Quite so, Sir Edwin," Olivia said.

"May I have the honour of escorting you, Miss Paige?"

"Certainly, sir, if you choose to. I suspect, however, that you did not come to Bradenham for the sole purpose of accompanying me on my walk."

"I came here to meet your father, Miss Paige," Sir Edwin said. "There is a matter of some … delicacy … I wanted to settle with him."

Olivia did not need a great deal of imagination to know what the "matter of some delicacy" was. During those past weeks, it had become quite obvious for her that Sir Edwin wanted her to become his wife. He had hinted at it several times – that "he trusted Miss Olivia would soon follow her sister's example", that "Miss Paige's beauty and refinement made her the paragon of all young ladies in the neighbourhood", and that "any man lucky enough to win Miss Paige's heart" should be "fully aware of the honour bestowed upon him and thank the Lord daily". Things like these led to only one conclusion – Sir Edwin considered himself to be that man. Unfortunately he was not.

"My father has gone out, Sir Edwin," she therefore said, coolly. "We do not expect him back before dinnertime. Is it an urgent business you have with him?" She sat down on a stone bench overlooking the village.

"Urgent, Miss Paige? Why, yes, one might say so," Sir Edwin said. He sat down next to her and, for a moment, nothing was said, though Sir Edwin was looking at her intently. Olivia pretended not to notice. Suddenly, Sir Edwin seized Olivia's hand and said, "You cannot be in doubt as to what purpose there is to my visit, Miss Paige."

Olivia withdrew her hand and looked at Sir Edwin reproachfully. "Indeed, sir, I have no idea," she said coldly. Agnes had once told her that one could put off an unwelcome admirer by acting with strictest decorum even when he did not. Olivia could only hope that Agnes had been right.

"Please forgive my boldness, but surely you must be aware of my feelings for you!" Sir Edwin exclaimed.

"I am afraid I do not know what you mean, sir," Olivia said, continuing the game. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"I mean to marry you, Miss Paige," Sir Edwin answered indignantly.

"Do you?" Olivia said dryly. "Why, sir, I always thought that a lady had at least something to say in that matter. You did not even ask me whether I meant to marry you."

"You must be aware of the advantages of this match, Miss Paige," Sir Edwin said stiffly. "As Lady Arncott you will be well respected in the neighbourhood, and Bradenham Park is only two miles from here – you will be able to visit your parents whenever you want. Besides you have known me for years – there will be no surprise in my character, as might happen if you chose to marry a man you do not know."

"Despite all these advantages I do not wish to marry you, Sir Edwin," Olivia replied. "There is one thing you have not even mentioned, yet I believe it to be vital for a happy marriage. Love."

"What has love got to do with it?" Sir Edwin asked.

"A great deal, sir. I do not intend to marry a man I do not love, or someone who does not love me. Mutual love and respect is the only thing that will ever induce me to marry."

"I have seen a great deal of love-matches end in bad marriages, Miss Paige. Believe me, there are other things one must consider. Love is all very well, but it does not feed hungry mouths, and it does not keep you warm and dry."

"Perhaps not, sir. Still, I only have to see my sister and her husband to know what I want. They are very much in love, sir, and they are happy. Nothing short of such happiness will do for me. I am sorry, sir, but I cannot and will not accept your offer."

"Perhaps your father will…" Sir Edwin began.

"You underestimate my father, Sir Edwin," Olivia said crossly. "Once he has heard my opinion of the matter, he will not even try to persuade me."

She got up and went towards the old manor house, not waiting for Sir Edwin to follow her. However, he came up close behind her, and they entered the house together. Upon Sir Edwin's enquiry, the butler informed him that Mr Paige was not at home and would not be home before dinner time, and, having received that bit of information, Sir Edwin abruptly took his leave.

Olivia, relieved that she had finally had the chance of telling Sir Edwin her mind on the subject, entered the drawing room where her mother was doing some crochet work.

"You look flushed, my dear," Mrs Paige remarked calmly. "Have you been out?"

"Yes, Mama," Olivia said.

"Was that Sir Edwin Arncott I heard you talking to?" Mrs Paige inquired. Olivia saw that the drawing room window was open, so it was quite likely that her mother had overheard parts of her conversation. There was no use in trying to keep the subject of their conversation secret, it seemed.

"Yes, Mama, it was Sir Edwin," Olivia said. "He came here to see Papa, but left when he found that Papa was out."

"Why did he not come in? I would have loved to have a nice little chat with him. Sir Edwin is one of my favourite neighbours, as you know."

"I know, Mama, but I am afraid he was vexed, so he left."

"Vexed? Why should he be vexed?" Mrs Paige asked, taking her daughter's hand. "Did you annoy him, Olivia?"

Olivia smiled. "I am afraid so, Mama. I told him I would not marry him."

"Sir Edwin has made you an offer, my dear?" Mrs Paige exclaimed.

"Yes, he has, and I refused him," Olivia said. "You see, Mama, he had a good reason to be vexed."

"Quite so," Mrs Paige said. "I hope you know what you are doing, Olivia. There are few men like Sir Edwin."

"I know, but I do not love him. Would you have married Papa, had you not loved him?"

Mrs Paige sighed. "I suppose not," she said. "Although, my dear, in my day the matter was usually settled between the young man and the girl's father. I do not know whether my dear Papa would have allowed me to choose for myself. Fortunately the young man who offered for me was very much to my taste." Mrs Paige smiled, lost in recollections of the days of her youth.

"Well, if you will not have Sir Edwin it cannot be helped," she finally said. "But let me tell you, my dear, that both your father and I are very disappointed. We hoped you would consider him. He would have been able to make you happy- just as happy as dear Lady Gordon."

Ever since Agnes had married, she was "dear Lady Gordon" to her mother. Olivia smiled. "Mama, if ever I find a gentleman only half as amiable as Sir Felix Gordon, I will be most happy to marry him – and I have no doubt I will be happy with him."

~~~o~~~

When Olivia entered the breakfast parlour the next morning, her father greeted her with the words, "So Arncott has popped the question, has he?"

"Papa," Olivia exclaimed. "How can you be so indelicate?"

"Have I hurt your sensibilities, dear? I am sorry to have done so. So, has he?"

"I see Mama has already informed you," Olivia sighed. "Do you have no secrets from each other, Papa?"

"Why should we?" Mr Paige retorted. "Olivia, once you have been married for as long as we have been, you will know that it is quite unnecessary to have secrets from each other. The other is bound to find out sooner or later, and usually a quarrel ensues. Too much fuss. – Your mother is quite disappointed, you know."

"So she told me," Olivia said, "but I could not give Sir Edwin any other answer than the one I gave him. I do not love him, Papa."

"A pity," Mr Paige said. "Olivia, there may be more amiable, more handsome, and richer men around than Sir Edwin Arncott, I admit that. But at least one thing we can be sure of – Sir Edwin is not a fortune hunter."

Olivia sighed. Ever since her father's eccentric old aunt, Mrs Granby, had left her vast fortune to be equally divided between her two grand-nieces, her father had been in agony lest they should fall prey to that species of young men generally called fortune-hunters. He had strongly opposed their coming out in London, and had not been able to hide his satisfaction when his younger daughter had contracted the measles and had had to stay at home. Agnes had made an instant hit in London, and within three months she had become engaged to Sir Felix Gordon, a young baronet from the North.

Mr Paige had thoroughly researched the young man's circumstances before he had given his blessing, and even the fact that Sir Felix was evidently devoted to Agnes had not allayed his doubt. Fortune hunters, in Mr Paige's opinion, were one of the Biblical Plagues, and he was determined to protect his daughters from that kind of men.

The post arrived, and among the letters there was one for Olivia from her sister. She excused herself, and went to the drawing room to read her letter – but she did not stay there for long. Mr Paige had hardly settled down to read his newspaper when his daughter burst in and exclaimed, "Papa, may I go?"

"I would love to give my permission," Mr Paige said dryly, "but first I would like to know where it is you wish to go."

"Agnes has invited me, Papa. She wants me to join her and her husband in Surrey, and she wants me to spend the season in London with them. Say I may go, Papa!"

Mr Paige sighed. "I suppose there will be no peace until I allow you to go," he said. "However, I will not." He saw Olivia's disappointed face and smiled. "Should your mother, however, give her permission, I cannot withhold mine."

"Give my permission for what?" Mrs Paige asked, this moment entering the breakfast parlour. Olivia handed her Agnes's letter and watched her mother expectantly. Mrs Paige nodded. "One thing is certain," she said. "Lady Gordon will be able to introduce you to circles to which I have not been admitted. What an opportunity!"

"Is Agnes not a bit young to be her sister's chaperon?" Mr Paige asked. "I do not want to saddle her with the duty of bringing her sister out."

"Why not? She offered to do so," Mrs Paige said. "I suspect she misses Olivia, and we know Olivia misses her too. If Sir Felix finds no reason to object – and if he objected, Agnes would hardly have issued this invitation - why should we?"

"We are Olivia's parents," Mr Paige pointed out. "My dear, imagine what kind of people she will be meeting in London, under Agnes's aegis."

"She will be meeting Sir Felix's friends, mostly, and that is recommendation enough. Sir Felix will know with whom to associate. We trusted him with our oldest daughter, why should we not trust him with both? He will take good care of Olivia."

"I am still here, you know," Olivia remarked. "Do not talk about me as if I were not with you."

Mr Paige laughed. "Very well," he said. "Now, what do you say, my dear? Shall Olivia go?"

"Of course she will!" Mrs Paige said. "As if there could ever be a question as to that. – You will need new clothes, my dear."

"I do not think I will buy that many here," Olivia said. "I will buy some in London, though. Agnes will indulge in some shopping, I am sure, and she will be most happy to go shopping with me as well."

"Will she?" Mr Paige asked, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"She would not be Agnes any more if she did not," Olivia said with a smile, put her arms round her father's neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Papa, for letting me go."

"It was your mother's decision, not mine," Mr Paige protested, but he was pleased nevertheless.

Olivia turned to her mother and kissed her, too. "Thank you, Mama," she whispered. "I shall go now and answer Agnes's letter."

~~~o~~~

For the following two weeks, the ladies of Bradenham Manor were very busy. Despite Olivia's protests that she would buy any new clothes she needed in London, Mrs Paige had taken her to Marlow to buy a couple of things – "For, my dear, you have to admit that the things you wear here in the country will just not do," she had said, and Olivia had been obliged to agree with her.

Crewe, Olivia's lady's maid, was busy packing her trunks, and Mr Paige took every opportunity to warn his daughter against the dangers of the Metropolis. Olivia felt sorry for her father, yet his behaviour exasperated her. She considered herself clever enough to avoid the lures thrown out by certain people, and besides she put absolute trust in her sister and Sir Felix.

So she was glad when, finally, the day of her departure arrived and she got into her father's carriage which was to take her and Crewe to Surrey. It would be a fatiguing journey, for they had chosen to travel the entire distance in one day – Mrs Paige had strongly objected to their spending one night at an inn – and so they departed from Bradenham Manor very early in the morning. They stopped for lunch at Staines, and travelled on until, towards the evening, Sutton Court came into view. Sir Felix had bought the estate from one of his friends, a Mr Farnham, who had inherited Sutton Court from his great-uncle and had found himself unable to finance the necessary renovation of the estate. Mr Farnham's great-uncle had preferred life in London to the countryside, and had hardly ever visited his property in Surrey. Therefore, both the house and grounds had fallen into disrepair, and the damages had been so bad that Mr Farnham had thought the place uninhabitable. He had not understood why Sir Felix Gordon had set his mind set on buying the place, but had jumped at the opportunity to get rid of a cumbersome inheritance. Under Sir Felix's supervision, Sutton Court had been repaired, and once the new Lady Gordon had furnished the house according to her taste, nothing was left to be desired even for the most fastidious visitors. 

Olivia looked out of the window and saw the huge Elizabethan house situated in a large garden. There was still much to be done with the garden – it was orderly, on the whole, but some of the trees needed to be pruned, and some of the statues lining the driveway towards the house were in need of repair.

The rays of the setting sun made the windows of the house shine like gold, and as the carriage drew nearer to the entrance Olivia noticed the front door being opened and a procession of servants coming out to await her arrival.

The carriage stopped, the door was opened and a footman assisted Olivia in stepping down. Olivia noticed her sister and brother-in-law, who were awaiting her at the door. Agnes came towards her at once, embraced her briefly, kissed her cheek and said brightly, "I am so happy you are here, Olivia! I was in agony all day, imagining all kinds of things that could happen to you. Did you have a pleasant journey?"

"Very pleasant, thank you," Olivia replied smilingly. "So this is Sutton Court! No wonder you are so fond of it, Agnes! I am positively in love with the place already!"

"And you have not even seen what it looks like inside," Agnes replied, well pleased with her sister's appreciation of her home. "I am sure I will never love a place as much as this."

Olivia turned towards her brother-in-law. "How do you do, Sir Felix?" she asked. He replied to her greeting with a pleasant smile, and welcomed her to Sutton Court. "I am glad you favour the place with your approval," he said. "I hope you will feel at home here, Miss Paige."

"Miss Paige?" Olivia asked, with a smile. "I beg you, Sir Felix, to leave aside such formality. We are brother and sister, aren't we? So please call me Olivia, as everyone in the family does!"

With a laugh, Sir Felix promised Olivia to consider it, and asked her to come into the house. Olivia entered a great hall, with a grand oaken staircase leading upwards. The walls were decorated with portraits of Sir Felix's family - Agnes had taken away the old tapestries that had made the place gloomy and even frightening, as she confided to her sister.

"The house looks much more cheerful now," she said, and Olivia agreed with her that the staircase looked much better without the tapestries.

Sir Felix took his leave for the time being, and went to the library to "get some work done", while his wife took her sister to her room.

"It is our best guest room," she said to Olivia as she opened the door. Olivia liked what she saw. The walls were wainscoted, and a small door in the panelling led to an adjoining dressing room, where Crewe was already at work unpacking Olivia's trunk. Two large windows would provide the room with ample light during the day, even though it was dark now. The furniture was new and looked comfortable.

"How do you like it?" Agnes asked Olivia.

"I love it," Olivia said, smiling at her sister. "I think I will like this place so much you will have trouble dragging me to London for the season."

Agnes laughed. "I think not," she said. "But Sir Felix will be pleased when he hears this. He is prodigiously proud of this place, you must know. Just imagine, he bought Sutton Court for my sake! When we were courting, I once told him that I did not want to live too far from my family, you know, so when I had accepted his offer of marriage the first thing he did was settle the purchase with Mr Farnham! Is he not the best of all husbands? I sometimes wonder whether I deserve to be loved so much."

"Agnes!" Olivia exclaimed. "Of course you deserve it! How can you ever have doubted it?"

"I do get these odd notions at times," Agnes said smilingly. "I will leave you alone now, Olivia. If there is anything you need, just ring, one of the servants will supply it. I have ordered a bath to be prepared for you, by the way, it is just the thing after a hard day, is it not? We will dine at half past eight – do not worry, we usually dine earlier, but today we wanted to wait for your arrival."

Olivia promised to make haste, not wishing to keep her sister and Sir Felix from their repast for longer than necessary, and Agnes left her sister to her abigail's care.

~~~o~~~

Half an hour later, Olivia joined her host in the drawing room. While they were waiting for Agnes to make her appearance, they had a comfortable chat, mostly concerning the purchase and renovation of Sutton Court. Sir Felix, after having expressed his fear of boring his sister-in-law and being assured that she was genuinely interested in the topic, was happy to oblige, and pointed out the changes he had made in the house and surrounding grounds. He promised Olivia to treat her to an extensive tour of the house the next day, and, should the weather allow it, to take her on a tour round the grounds in his curricle in the afternoon.

"I do not know whether seeing the two of you on such familiar terms pleases or vexes me," Agnes said as she entered the room, seeing her husband and sister absorbed in their conversation.

"Jealous?" Sir Felix asked her with a grin, rising from his seat to greet her.

"Absolutely," Agnes said. "My sister is very pretty, after all, and you are bound to notice it, as all men do."

"All men are not married to you, my dear," Sir Felix replied gallantly. "I am. So tell me, how could I possibly want for anything – or anyone – else?"

"Flatterer," Agnes said, evidently pleased.

"I am not done yet," Sir Felix said. "This is a fetching shawl you are wearing. Have I seen it before?"

"No, you have not. Your aunt sent it to me as a birthday present. Do you like it?"

"Were your sister not present, I would already have shown you how much I do," Sir Felix said, and added, with a laugh, "But I will not corrupt Olivia's morals if I can help it."

"Felix!" Agnes exclaimed, blushing. "Really!"

"I apologise," Sir Felix said, seemingly repentant but not fooling anyone. "Shall we go in?" He offered his arm to Olivia and led her into the dining room, where a delicious dinner was waiting for them.

During the meal, Agnes informed Olivia of their plans for her stay. "Felix will have to go to his estate in Cumberland next week, and until he returns we will stay here in Sutton Court by ourselves. I am so happy to have you here with me, Olivia – how lonely I should have been, had you not come!"

"You might have joined me," Sir Felix pointed out.

"No, I might not!" Agnes said. "I told you that what with the preparations for our stay in London there was no way for me to join you. I will come with you next time, I promise," she added in a softer tone, seeing the disappointed look in her husband's eyes. "When I am not quite as busy."

Sir Felix nodded, giving his wife a tender look. "I shall miss you, too," he said, simply, and turned to Olivia. "I am glad Agnes will have someone to bear her company while I am gone."

"How long will you have to stay in Cumberland?" Olivia asked.

"Heaven knows," Sir Felix said. "But I will try not to stay longer than two weeks. After that, I will come back and take you to London. By the way, Agnes, Forde has written to me today telling me that he has taken the house I told you about – the one in Half Moon Street."

"Delightful," Agnes exclaimed. "I am looking forward to London. Aren't you, Olivia?"

With smile, Olivia assured her sister that she, too, was looking forward to their season in London. They spent the rest of the meal discussing their London acquaintance and telling Olivia whom she was most likely to meet there.

The evening ended soon. Having got up very early and fatigued from her journey, Olivia retired to her room very early, and fell asleep the moment she lay down on her bed.

~~II~~

The next morning, Olivia awoke to the sound of birds singing just outside her window. The sunlight streaming in through the window painted golden rectangles on the floor. Olivia remained in bed for a while, enjoying the luxury of being fully awake and not having to get up immediately. Then the door opened, and in came Crewe with a cup of tea for her mistress, informing her that the weather was fine and rather warm for the time of year.

On entering the breakfast parlour, Olivia found her sister in Sir Felix's arms, and although he released Agnes at once and greeted his sister-in-law pleasantly, Olivia felt like an intruder.

After breakfast, Agnes showed Olivia Sutton Court. The building was even larger than Olivia had imagined, and their tour of the house took them nearly two hours. They started in the kitchen, where a formidable female supervised the preparation of the meals, and ended in the Long Gallery where the tapestries from the staircase had found a new home.

"I did not have the heart to throw them away," Agnes said, "and Felix thought that here they would do no harm. We rarely come here, you know – although I sometimes walk in here in bad weather."

Between the windows there were some portraits, but Agnes could not tell Olivia anything about the personages in the pictures.

"They are members of the Farnham family, I suppose," she said. "Felix bought the house including its contents; Mr Farnham did not care for any of the things. So, I am afraid we will never know who those people are. But I let the pictures stay here – some of them are quite nice, aren't they?"

Olivia agreed that some of the pictures were well worth looking at – one of them, showing a mother with her two children – even bore Gainsborough's signature.

Descending the stairs to the drawing room, Olivia looked at the portraits that lined the staircase. "I trust you can tell me who these people are, at least," she asked her sister smilingly.

"I can, though I admit I do not make such a good job of it as Felix does," Agnes said, laughingly. "If you want to, I shall get him to explain them to you."

"I would love to know everything about the portraits," Olivia said, and Agnes sent one of the servants to fetch her husband.

Olivia spent the following half hour listening to her brother-in-law telling her stories about the personages shown in the portraits. He did so in a very amusing way – among other things, he informed her that Sir Frederick Gordon, Sir Felix's grandfather, had been a "libertine of the worst kind" – "I do not like to shock you, Olivia, so I am not going into detail, but he was a great favourite with the ladies, they say." Looking at his portrait, Olivia could verily believe that – allowing for the different fashion of his time, Sir Frederick had been an exceptionally handsome man. Another picture showed Sir Felix's father, a sober-looking man in his mid-forties dressed in hunting clothes, and his favourite horse. "My father was a great sportsman, you must know," Sir Felix explained. "That horse was a brute, though – I lived in mortal dread of him. We had to have him shot when my father died, for no one else could handle him. Nearly killed one of the grooms. The devil of a temper, if you will excuse my saying so." Olivia did excuse him.

There were two more pictures – one of them was a full-length portrait of two young ladies, the Misses Broadbent, seated in some kind of bower or summer house. "The portrait was done in my grandfather's garden, they say – not Sir Frederick's, of course – in their favourite place, shortly before the elder Miss Broadbent got married. It was to be a parting gift for my mother, as you may have guessed she was. She is the one on the left, by the way. The other young lady is my Aunt Honoria, Lady Burnhope."

"Is she the aunt who sent that pretty shawl to Agnes?" Olivia asked, recalling the previous evening's conversation.

"I guess so, for she is the only aunt I have got," Sir Felix laughed. They walked on to the next portrait, Olivia's favourite. It showed three boys, two of whom were evidently brothers. One could see the family likeness in their hair, their eyes, and their mouths. Yet one of them, presumably the older one, looked at her with a serious expression, while the younger one was smiling, and showing a picture book to the smallest boy who was sitting on a stone bench next to him. A spaniel puppy was at their feet, looking adoringly at the boy with the book. Olivia could nearly see the dog wag its tail.

"What a beautiful picture this is," Olivia sighed. Sir Felix nodded. "And very true to life, too. Look at the smallest boy. Do you know him?"

Olivia gave the boy a closer look. "Is that you, Sir Felix?"

"Yes, this is me," he said, smilingly.

"Who are the other boys? Not your brothers, I presume, for I know you have no brothers."

"They are cousins of mine," Sir Felix said and pointed to the earnest one. "William Lennox, now Viscount Burnhope. And –" he indicated the boy sitting next to him, with the book in his hands, the boy who seemed to be the object of admiration of both his young cousin and the puppy, " – his brother, Adrian."

"It looks as though you were very close to your cousins," Olivia said. Sir Felix nodded. "They – Adrian especially – were the brothers I never had," he said. "They used to spend a great deal of their time with us in Cumberland, and we were at school together. I was rather small for my age, and some of the older boys thought that was reason enough to tease me – until Adrian stopped them. He could be a bit of a bully if he wanted to." Sir Felix chuckled. "As long as I was under his protection, no one dared even look at me in a way he might not like."

"But your cousin seems older than you. He must have left school one day," Olivia said. "What happened then?"

"Nothing," Sir Felix replied. "By that time, I was old and strong enough to stand up for myself. Adrian had taught me that, too. – William is not quite as energetic as his brother; he is more like his father. A sensible fellow, does not talk much, but what he says is usually well considered. You will meet him in London. A pleasant enough gentleman; I am sure you will like him."

"I am looking forward to meeting Lord Burnhope," Olivia said. She was curious whether Mr Lennox would be in London as well, but did not want to appear so. Therefore she refrained from asking, thinking that she would soon be able to find out for herself.

Olivia looked at the picture once again. The artist had been able to capture the boys' different characters – William's earnestness and quiet reflection, Felix's affectionate and trusting nature, and Adrian's vivacity and the laughter in his eyes – amazing grey eyes.

In the afternoon, Sir Felix took Olivia on a tour of the park. He explained to her what the place had looked like when he had first set eyes on it, and the changes he had made ever since. Olivia duly admired the beauty of the grounds, and marked out some especially beautiful spots worthy of closer inspection. Olivia hoped that the fine weather would continue for a while, to allow her to go for her walks and explore the park on her own.

The evening of Olivia's first day in Sutton Court was quite uneventful. When Sir Felix joined the ladies in the drawing room after dinner, Agnes took her place at the pianoforte to play one tune after the other without showing any signs of fatigue. Olivia accepted Sir Felix's challenge to a game of backgammon. Thus, the evening passed peacefully – too quiet an evening it was, Sir Felix remarked, said he hoped that his guest was not bored and asked his wife to invite the local parson and his wife one of the following evenings.

"We must not make poor Olivia feel like a recluse," he said with a smile.

"She will not feel like one once we are in London," Agnes replied, "but if you want me to, I shall of course invite the Watsons."

"Do so," Sir Felix said and turned to Olivia. "The Reverend Mr Watson is one of the most entertaining men in the neighbourhood, though he does not intend to be." He laughed. "He will take the opportunity and warn you against the frivolities of London, Olivia."

"I did not know we would be indulging in frivolities, Sir Felix," Olivia said, smiling.

"What else could we do in London?" Sir Felix answered with a grin. "Yet, listen to Mr Watson. One should always listen to the advice of worthy men like him." He paused. "Whether one follows it is another question," he finally said.

~~~o~~~

The next morning, Sir Felix announced that he would spend the day in his library, where his steward would call on him shortly. In view of his prolonged absence, he said, he had better arrange matters as well as he could, rather than interrupt his sojourn in London.

"I might, of course, ask Burnhope to escort you to all those social gatherings," he said with a broad grin, "but I daresay I would do neither of you a favour if I did. Burnhope is not too fond of those squeezes. Then there is Cousin Bernie – no, I had better not ask him. I might as well trust the cat to keep the cream." He laughed as Agnes protested.

"Do you not trust me, my dear?" she asked indignantly.

"My love, I would trust you with my life," Sir Felix said, taking his wife's hand, "but I am not sure whether I can trust Captain Lennox with a beautiful woman. He is what mothers warn their daughters against. – But never fear, I will not be obliged to leave you to his mercy."

"I am relieved to hear it," Agnes said.

Once Sir Felix had left them to themselves, Agnes and Olivia went out into the garden to cut flowers for the numerous vases in Sutton Court. Then Agnes went to see her cook to discuss the way the produce of the orchard should be dealt with, leaving Olivia to arrange the flowers. Having finished, Olivia sat down in the morning room to write some letters, and afterwards decided to practise on the pianoforte. Although she knew that she would never reach Agnes's excellence with the instrument, she liked playing the piano very much. Thus, she passed her time until luncheon, when both Agnes and Sir Felix joined her again.

They had several suggestions for Olivia's amusement, but Olivia had already made plans of her own. There was a lake in the park, in the middle of which there was a small island. On the island she had perceived a small summer house, and this was where she meant to go. Neither Sir Felix nor Agnes had any objection to this, and so Olivia set out into the garden soon afterwards, looking forward to a pleasant afternoon.

She took the long way to the lake, enjoying the warm sun and the scent of the roses and lavender growing alongside the path. She met no one, apart from a middle-aged gardener trimming a hedge, greeting her respectfully as she passed. Olivia responded to the greeting and continued her way towards the lake.

Once arrived by the lakeside, Olivia walked along the waterfront until she finally came to the bridge that connected the small island with the garden. Olivia looked at the bridge apprehensively. It was an old, wooden bridge, and it did not look quite safe. A tiny little voice in Olivia's head suggested that she had better give up the notion of going to the summer house, and should find herself some other place to sit down instead. This tiny voice of reason, however, was not to Olivia's taste, and she chided herself for giving way to such thoughts. Certainly Sir Felix would have warned her, had it been dangerous to cross the bridge, she thought and decided to go nevertheless.

The lake was beautiful. The deep green water was covered with water-lilies, and one could distinctly see some carp swimming in it. Gingerly, Olivia stepped onto the bridge, ready to retreat the moment it would creak, or make any kind of distressing sound. There was none, and this made Olivia bolder. She took some more steps, and as nothing of an alarming nature happened, she walked on. Having reached the island, she followed a narrow, winding path and soon arrived at the summer house. From there, she had a stunning view of the house and grounds, as well as the village in the distance. Olivia felt that her walk had certainly been worth while, and sat down to enjoy the peace and quiet of the place and the beautiful scenery. She remained there for about half an hour, and then decided to explore the island some more before she turned back towards the house.

The island, apart from the summer house, was not very interesting. Not much had been done to keep the former flowerbeds in good condition, although lately the beds had apparently been weeded. The shrubs, too, were in desperate need of some trimming, and Olivia decided to ask Sir Felix what plans he had for the island. It was unlikely that he had forgotten to give instructions concerning the place. He may have given some orders, Olivia thought, but there being so much to do – as he told me himself – the gardeners may not have got around to carrying out his instructions. Why did the old gentleman who owned the place before Sir Felix let it come to ruin like this? It is a shame!

She directed her steps towards the bridge again, and this time did not hesitate to use it. Having reached the highest point of the bridge, Olivia stopped and looked at the water lilies in the lake. Among their leaves, Olivia could see the fish swimming in the lake, and leant forward to catch a better glimpse. Suddenly, with a loud crash, the railing gave way and Olivia, losing her balance, tumbled into the lake. Instinctively she let out a scream, and managed to take a deep breath before she disappeared in the deep, dark water. I am going to drown, she thought, and began a desperate struggle to get to the surface. Somehow, she managed to do so, but could only attempt to cry for help and take another breath before she went down again. Her cry for help had been nothing but a gurgle, she knew that, and it was unlikely that anyone had heard it. Once again, Olivia somehow came to the surface, and drew another breath. Yet she knew that, unless someone came to her rescue, she would sink sooner or later, and drown. She could not swim, and how she had managed to come back to the surface twice was beyond her understanding.

Just as she sank to the bottom of the lake again, she suddenly felt two hands grab her arms and pull her towards the surface. Frantically, she got hold of whoever her rescuer was, and in her desperate attempt to reach the surface again, she pushed him underwater. He showed considerable strength by escaping her clasp, and when he was back on the surface he snapped, "Don't do that again or I'll leave you here. Now hold still and I will try to get the both of us out of here." Trying to calm herself, Olivia did as she had been told.

The moment they reached the lakeside, Olivia sat down on the lawn, coughing and nearly in tears. Her saviour, a young gentleman about the same age as Sir Felix, sat down next to her and watched her in a way she found quite impertinent. He was good-looking – he had dark hair, and a dark complexion that would have made him look like a foreigner, a Spaniard, perhaps, had it not been for his lively grey eyes and the distinct English accent in his speech.

"Here," he said and handed her his greatcoat which he had apparently taken off before coming to her rescue. "Take this – the water was beastly cold, wasn't it?"

"I will ruin it," Olivia protested, as she took the greatcoat from him.

"So what?" he asked, indifferent, it seemed, to the mortal danger his garment was in. "I had rather have a ruined greatcoat than be blamed if you catch your death of cold."

"But what about you, sir?" Olivia asked. "Will not you catch cold as well?"

"Not likely, I hardly ever fall ill," he said. Olivia, becoming aware that her fall into the lake had made her white walking dress rather more revealing than it was intended to be, hurried to put the greatcoat around her shoulders, blushing violently.

"Are you hurt?" the young man asked, with some concern in his voice. "I am afraid we will have to walk to the house. Unless you want to ride, that is," he added, and Olivia realised that there was a horse grazing not far from them. She declined the offer, not being much of a horsewoman. The gardener, attracted by the spectacular sight of a horse feasting on Sir Felix's lawn, came near them and was at once ordered to take the animal to the stables, and to send word to Miss's abigail to be ready to assist her. 

"Can you walk, or do you need my help?" the young man inquired, as Olivia shakily rose to her feet.

"I think I can walk, thank you," she said quietly. "I only just realise what danger I was in. How can I thank you, sir?"

"Don't," he laughed. "I threatened to let you drown, after all. – You were lucky I just happened to ride past when your accident happened. I doubt the gardener would have been with you in time – provided he could swim."

Olivia shuddered at the mere thought.

Meanwhile, they had reached the main entrance of the house and, in walking in, nearly bumped into Sir Felix who was coming down the stairs.

"Good God, Olivia, what has happened?" he exclaimed at the sight of them.

"I fell into the lake," Olivia said. "The bridge was not as safe as I thought it would be – the railing did not hold my weight. It broke when I leant on it."

"You could have drowned!" Sir Felix cried.

"She nearly did," the young man said, matter-of-factly.

Sir Felix turned to Olivia's rescuer and broke into a broad grin. "Adrian!" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much, apart from pulling young ladies out of your lake," the young man retorted. "Now, would you be so kind as to present me? I do not wait for introductions when rescuing damsels in distress."

Sir Felix, still grinning, turned to Olivia. "You may have guessed already," he said, "but never mind. Olivia, please meet my cousin, Mr Adrian Lennox. Adrian, you have had the honour to save the life of Miss Olivia Paige, my sister-in-law."

Mr Lennox greeted Olivia with a polite bow, which seemed absurd considering the circumstances of their meeting. Olivia could not help but laugh as she curtseyed and said, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir."

"Pleased to make yours, Miss Paige," Mr Lennox said.

"You still have not answered my question, Adrian," Sir Felix said. "Why are you here? I thought you were in Italy!"

"Apparently I am not any more," Mr Lennox replied calmly. "Could we postpone this conversation until later? I would like to make myself presentable before meeting your wife. I want to make a good impression on her."

"A better one than having saved her sister's life? Agnes will adore you, Adrian."

"Can't she adore me later, when I have put on dry clothes?" Mr Lennox asked, with a smile.

"I guess she can," Sir Felix said, and took Mr Lennox upstairs to one of the guest rooms. Olivia went to her room, where Crewe took her in hand at once, not withholding her opinion of young ladies who went for walks by themselves, fell off bridges, allowed themselves to be rescued by young men wholly unacquainted with them ("It could have been anyone, ANYONE, Miss Olivia!"), and acted in a way that ought to make any sensible young lady feel thoroughly ashamed of herself.

Olivia did not really listen to Crewe's sermon, but thought of Mr Lennox instead. He had lived in Italy, apparently, so that was why Sir Felix had not expected to meet him in London. Yet he had come back – taking his friends and family by surprise. Apart from rescuing her, an act that ought to guarantee Olivia's eternal gratitude, he had other qualities as well. He was handsome, one could not deny it, even though his complexion was rather dark – a blemish brought on by the Italian sun, probably, and likely to be remedied once Mr Lennox had been in England for a while. He seemed to be good-humoured, too, and Olivia liked his wry sense of humour. Olivia was looking forward to seeing him again at dinner – this evening promised to be more entertaining than the previous one had been.

~~III~~

Olivia had just put on her evening dress and had settled down at her dressing table to let Crewe do what she could to her hair "to make it fit to be seen", when the door burst open and Agnes hurried into her room.

"Dearest," she exclaimed, "I only just heard! It is terrible, simply terrible! Are you hurt? I shall send for the doctor immediately."

Slightly amused but also touched by her sister's concern, Olivia assured Agnes that she was perfectly fine, and asked who had informed her of the accident.

"Bailey did," Agnes answered. Bailey was Agnes's dresser, a young woman with impeccable taste but also an unfortunate inclination for gossip and exaggeration.

"In that case you must be surprised to find me still alive," Olivia said dryly. "Did you ask Sir Felix to have the lake dragged?"

"Do not talk nonsense," Agnes snapped. "Do not make fun of me just because I am worried about you!"

"I am sorry," Olivia said. "But if I did not make fun of it, I would die of fright – even now. Had Mr Lennox not been at the right place at the right time…" Olivia left the rest unsaid.

Agnes shuddered. "Do not think of it, pray," she said. "I shall always be grateful to him! How can I thank him enough?"

"I have already asked him that question, but he refused to answer it – he actually advised me not to thank him at all," Olivia said with a smile.

"Modesty. I like that in a man," Agnes said. "Tell me, what is he like? Bailey could not tell me, though she did tell me about his valet, who arrived an hour ago. An Italian, apparently, with such eyes…. and Bailey said he had a way with women, so I suppose he is of the dangerous sort. I will have to keep a strict eye on the housemaids. – But do tell me about Mr Lennox!"

"I have not seen much of him," Olivia said. "But I think he is quite an amiable, gentleman-like man. He was in Italy – did you know?"

"Oh yes, Felix told me."

"He looks like an Italian, too," Olivia continued. "Though he does not sound like one, of course."

"As if you knew an Italian by his speech," Agnes said with a smile.

"I know I would not, but I would know him for a foreigner, wouldn't I?"

Crewe, after having put the finishing touches to Olivia's hair, solemnly announced that she had done her best, and that she hoped Miss Olivia found nothing amiss with her appearance – "for it was all that could have been done in such a hurry".

Olivia cast a critical glance at her reflection in the mirror. "What do you say, Agnes," she asked.

"You look very pretty, my dear," Agnes replied. "Mr Lennox will find that his act of heroism has been worth his while."

"So you think he should not have rescued me, had I been ugly?" Olivia asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Of course not," Agnes said. "But if the female in need of rescue is pretty into the bargain, show me the gentleman who would hesitate."

"Next you will accuse me of having fallen into the lake on purpose," Olivia laughed. "Just in order to be saved by Mr Lennox. It is a rather spectacular way of making a gentleman's acquaintance, and I daresay it makes a lasting impression."

"I suppose you are right," Agnes said. "Shall we go down? I do not like to keep the gentlemen waiting."

"Which is a polite way of saying that you are dying to meet Mr Lennox," Olivia said teasingly, as they left her room.

~~~o~~~

The gentlemen were already waiting for them and rose from their seats as Olivia and Agnes entered the drawing room. While Sir Felix introduced his cousin to Agnes, Olivia took the opportunity to continue her assessment of Mr Adrian Lennox.

He was rather tall, though not quite as tall as Sir Felix, elegantly dressed, and his attire was both fashionable and expensive, although probably the leaders of the dandy set in London might find one or two items of clothing not quite fashionable enough. His black hair and his dark complexion made an interesting contrast to his eyes – those amazing grey eyes Olivia had already noticed in the portrait. His manners left nothing to be desired – though he seemed to be quite as easygoing as Sir Felix, he was perfectly polite.

Olivia could see that Agnes liked him very much, so much in fact that Sir Felix joked he ought to be glad his cousin had not been in London when Miss Agnes Paige had made her first appearance there. But he added, more earnestly, that he was happy his wife and the cousin he had always regarded as a brother got along so well.

At the dinner table, Agnes was eager to hear all about Mr Lennox's stay in Italy, and Mr Lennox obliged her by answering all her – and Olivia's – questions.

"How long have you been in Italy, sir?" Agnes asked.

"The journey was meant to take six months," Mr Lennox replied, "but in the end I stayed for two years."

"Two years!" Olivia exclaimed. "How so?"

He gave Olivia an amused smile and said, "My original plans were to travel south, starting from Venice. I wanted to see some of the northern cities, such as Padova, Verona, Piacenza and the likes. From Genova I went to Leghorn by boat, and spent some time in Tuscany. After that, I went to Rome, and finally to Naples, from where I was to start my journey back to England. There was, however, a flaw in my plan."

"A flaw?"

"I had not planned to fall in love," Mr Lennox said and laughed as he saw the look of surprise in Olivia's face. "Not with any woman, I ought to add, but with Naples. I loved the place so much that I was reluctant to leave it."

"So you stayed." Olivia took a sip of wine and looked at Mr Lennox expectantly.

"So I stayed. Higgins, my valet, thought I was going mad, and handed in his notice. He said he was not going to stay in this fever-infested place any longer than he had to, and if I wished to remain there I had better find someone else to do his work. I paid his ticket back to England, and went in search of another servant – and found one in the person of my landlady's son. Signora Bonifacio is the most formidable female imaginable, and her sons live in constant dread of her. Even now, though he knows that he is out of her reach, Luca fears nothing more but to be sent back to Naples in disgrace and having to face his mother's wrath. I only have to mention his mamma to make him do what I want." Mr Lennox laughed. "I do not do so very often," he admitted. "I am not in favour of undue severity to servants." His eyes sparkled merrily, and Olivia could not imagine him ever to be cruel – to anyone.

"But what fascinated you so much that you wanted to stay in Naples?" Agnes asked. "I do not think it has a particular reputation for its beauty – I never thought it was an interesting place."

"Neither did I," Mr Lennox said. "One has to get there to feel its charm. Once you have seen Naples, Lady Gordon, you will know what I am talking about."

"Yet what did you do there?" Olivia asked. "Somehow I cannot help thinking that Naples is quite boring."

"That is because you have never been there," Mr Lennox said. "Naples is full of life, and there are plenty of things to do. I did not feel bored for a moment."

"Can you name a few things?" Agnes asked.

"Certainly. I went up Monte Vesuvio, for example."

"Is Vesuvius not a volcano?" Olivia asked.

"It is, Miss Paige."

"Still you went up? Were you not afraid?"

"Not in the least, although it can be a frightening place. One thing is certain – should Monte Vesuvio erupt once again, one had better be far from Naples."

"How comforting to know that I am far from Naples," Olivia said dryly. "But what else did you do? Forgive me my curiosity, sir, but I do not quite think it took you eighteen months to climb Vesuvius."

Mr Lennox laughed. "One day, I met a gentleman who told me that he was supervising some excavations not far from Naples, and asked me whether I wanted to see them. It was a place called la cività, the city, by the local people. I asked the man – a certain Signor Bottazzi – what I would see there. He only told me to ask Pliny. A bit of an unsatisfactory answer, you will admit. Anyway, nothing could have prepared me for what I was to see."

"What was it?" Agnes asked.

"The remains of an ancient Roman city, Lady Gordon. A place buried in ashes within hours when Vesuvius erupted centuries ago. Pompeii."

"I think I have heard of the place before, " Olivia said and turned to her sister. "Do you remember our history master back in school, Agnes? Mr Tate? The gentleman so obsessed with everything Roman that each of his history lessons would somehow end up in ancient Rome?"

Both Sir Felix and Mr Lennox laughed.

"Olivia, you know I never paid attention in Mr Tate's lessons," Agnes said. "History was … well, I still think it is quite useless. But you are right, Mr Tate always managed to come back to his Romans in some way."

"Julius Caesar, especially," Olivia laughed. "I distinctly remember Mr Tate mentioning Pompeii; this is what I meant to say. But I do not know much about it. Did you go to Pompeii often, Mr Lennox?"

"Very often," Mr Lennox said. "I spent a great deal of time there, I have to admit – Bottazzi and I became good friends, and he asked me to do some sketches of the place. It is fascinating – and, Lady Gordon, I wager even you would discover your interest in history if you were to see it."

"Should I ever go to Italy, I will hope for you to show me around, Mr Lennox," Agnes answered laughingly. "Did you bring those sketches to England with you, sir? I would dearly like to see them!"

"I did bring them with me," Mr Lennox said, "but I do not have them with me at the moment. They are on their way to London, along with most of my luggage. I promise I will show them to you once you are there. Be warned, Lady Gordon, you have hit on my favourite subject here. Please do not hesitate to tell me, should I bore you to death. - Felix told me you were going to London soon."

"Yes, and I am so looking forward to it," Agnes said. "I have been there only once, and everything was so new to me then. I know I ought to say how tiresome it is, having to go there for the season, but I think I am going to enjoy myself."

"Is this going to be your first visit to London, Miss Paige?" Mr Lennox turned to Olivia and gave her an expectant look.

"Yes, it is. Now you will think me dreadfully provincial, won't you, Mr Lennox?" Olivia laughed.

"Not at all. Sophistication is a state of mind, and has nothing to do with people's place of residence. I have met some very interesting people who never even got near London. I know it is a dreadful thing to say, but so it is." He laughed.

"This sounds as if you were tired of London, Mr Lennox," Olivia said.

"Let us say it does not attract me as much as it did when I was younger, Miss Paige. I have seen and done things…" He stopped. "But some occupations pall after a while," he said, with a slight smile. "And people change."

"You still have not told us why you came back to England," Sir Felix suddenly asked.

"I had a letter from William, practically begging me to come back," Mr Lennox said.

"Begging you?" Sir Felix frowned. "Somehow the words Burnhope and begging do not fit."

"You might also say he demanded my presence here," Mr Lennox said, laughingly. "He made his demand sound like a request, however. A pretty urgent one."

"Burnhope can be quite imperious when he chooses," Sir Felix said. "But why did he decide to use his power as the head of the family to summon you? Has it something to do with Bernie?"

Now it was Mr Lennox's turn to frown. "What is wrong with Bernie?" he asked.

"Nothing, but I have heard he has come back to England, too."

Mr Lennox sighed. "Then something will soon be wrong with Bernie," he said. "No, I have no idea why William wanted me here or why Bernie has returned when he ought to be staying with his regiment in Gibraltar. I have yet to fathom my brother's mysterious ways – for mysterious he is, you must admit that."

"True. It takes a greater mind than mine to understand Lord Burnhope." Sir Felix grinned. "But I am ready to thank h