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trying for fairness. Phil didn’t need his defence. She would not leave such criticism unchallenged.
    ‘Let me clarify the situation, Mr… Will. Up until a week ago , I did not know my father had survived the Crimea. My mother raised me on a war widow’s pension until she died, in poverty. The only saving grace in all this, to my mind, is that she never had to know that the husband she had loved so dearly was really a wealthy man who had abandoned her.’ Phil let her disapproval be carried by tone, as much as by words, not caring which of her father’s friends she offended.
    Will’s expression changed swiftly, closing down completely, so that his face could have been carved in stone. ‘I apologize for jumping to the wrong conclusion. It is easily done here. Your father did what he thought was best.’
    ‘For himself…’ she shot back angrily.
    ‘For you and your mother. He was protecting you.’
    ‘From what? Answer me that!’
    ‘Phil, let it go. There is time for…’
    ‘No. I am tired of the secrets and the mystery. Tell me what kind of asylum my father is running here, that made him a wealthy man. You all look perfectly sane to me. Even you,’ she nodded toward the woman called Charlotte, who was staring at her with barely concealed distain.
    ‘Lass , you don’t want an answer to that question. Make yourself at home here for a few months, and then get away from this hell hole as fast as you can. And don’t look back.’ Will’s words were cold and expressionless.
    ‘Don’t tell me what I want , or what I should do. Byron tried that last night, and he soon realised I am not some whimpering ninny to go running at the first sign of a threat.’
    She watched as Will and Byron exchange d a look, which was then shared with Jasper and the middle-aged man sitting at his side.
    ‘She deserves to know. Her father wouldn’t have brought her here , if he hadn’t wanted her to know.’ Jasper met her gaze for a moment, and the raw pain she saw in his eyes filled her with fear. What was going on here?
    The air in the room changed abruptly , as one by one, the residents began to leave, their meals unfinished. It would seem that they had less courage than she had, when it came right down to it. The last ones to rise were Jasper and Will.
    ‘You will understand why we do not want to be present when you get the answers you are looking for. We have all seen the look yo u will have in your eyes before,’ Jasper said, as a way of excuse, just before he followed Will from the room.
    ‘I certainly have the ability to clear a room quickly, don’t I?’ She couldn’t help laughing mirthlessly at her own joke. Byron put his flatware on the table, and pulled out a chair for her. Then he sat at her side in stony silence, playing with the fruit on his plate.
    It was hard to believe that only a short time ago this man had kissed her in a way that had turned her world upside down. That kiss had made her feel alive and excited, vulnerable and needy, all at the same time. And she hadn’t wanted him to stop.
    But now he seemed like a stranger, a stony-faced stranger, with the weight of the world on his shoulders. She realised that she didn’t know him at all.
    Suddenly there was a crash , and they both jerked around to see the door swing violently back on its hinges, and a young lad dash into the room. He was no more than fourteen, his light brown hair too long and unkempt for a gentleman. His blue eyes were wide with distress.
    ‘ Thar’s been an attack. The constable from ‘Arrogate jus’ brought someun…’ The boy’s accent was broad and rough. Phil wasn’t sure she understood some of his words.
    Byron was on his feet and heading toward the doorway where Will and Jasper were now standing. He didn’t spare her a glance or an explanation.
    ‘With me,’ Byron said , as he passed the two men. Phil watched in utter bemusement as everyone, including the lad, raced toward the large entrance hall. She followed along