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gentlemen who rode towards her on sleek thoroughbreds were complete strangers.
    “It’s her! Isn’t it?” she heard the younger of the two say in a loud whisper. He had curly black hair and a round cheerful face.
    “I hardly think so,” the other gentleman replied. He was taller with a long tanned face and short brown hair that was turning grey at the sides.
    The younger man put his hand up to his mouth and spoke behind it, but Chiara still heard him say,
    “It has to be, she’s pretty enough and look at her dark hair! Did they not say that Lady Fairfax came from Italy before she married?”
    “Look again, my Lord,” the other man whispered. “She’s far too young to be a widow. This one is hardly out of school.”
    And then he smiled and raised his hat to Chiara.
    “Good morning!” he called across to her. “Forgive us, we were not expecting to see a young lady out so bright and early. Mervyn Hunter at your service.”
    His teeth looked very white in his tanned face and his eyes were pale and sharp under his thin brows.
    Chiara felt herself blushing. Before she could say anything, the younger man spoke,
    “Lord Thomas Darley! Delighted to meet you,” he said, sweeping his hat from his head. “We have been staying with Lord and Lady Duckett for the shooting.”
    “Good morning, my Lord,” Chiara replied. “I hope your stay has been enjoyable.”
    “Absolutely!” Lord Darley said. “We’ve had great sport and now the season is over we thought we would stay on a while and have some gallops over your wonderful flat countryside.”
    He slapped his big brown horse on the shoulder and it tossed its head as if it was impatient to be off.
    “But who are you?” he continued. “We have come past Rensham Hall several times to pay our respects to her Ladyship, but she never seems to be at home.”
    “I am her daughter. My name is Chiara.”
    “Oh, how very charming!” Lord Darley gave a little bow. “An Italian name, isn’t it?”
    “Yes.”
    Chiara felt rather uncomfortable as she stood by the archway, looking up at the two gentlemen. They seemed a long way above her as they sat on their tall thoroughbreds gazing down at her.
    She did not know what she should do.
    It seemed impolite not to invite them into The Hall for some refreshment, yet she was not sure how her Mama might feel about that.
    Mervyn Hunter must have noticed that she was ill at ease, as he swung out of the saddle and dismounted.
    “Do give our condolences to your dear mother,” he said, pulling a calling card from out of his pocket. “Such a tragedy to lose her husband in that way.”
    Chiara wanted to back away from him, as he was standing very close, his pale eyes fixed on hers.
    “Come on, Mervyn,” Lord Darley urged, as his tall horse spun round. “Moonraker needs to stretch his legs.”
    Then to Chiara’s relief, Mervyn Hunter leapt onto his mount and the two of them cantered away, their horses’ hooves throwing up the gravel from the drive.
    She made her way into the stable yard and found Erebus’s white head peering over one of the stable doors.
    She gave him his sugar and he pushed at her hand with his velvet nose, rolling his soft brown eyes, as if to tell her that he was pleased she had come back.
    “He’s missed you, Lady Chiara,” a lilting Norfolk voice spoke. It was Jonah, the young groom who looked after Erebus. “Will you be ridin’ out this mornin’?”
    “Oh, I should love to, Jonah. But I must go in and tell Mama that we have had visitors.”
    Jonah looked at her, his blue eyes anxious under his thatch of thick fair hair.
    “Those two, my Lady, they come a-ridin’ by almost every day. What be they after?”
    “They are staying with our friends, Lord and Lady Duckett,” Chiara explained, “and they wished to pay their respects to Mama.”
    “Then why be they always a-snoopin’ around the stable yard?” Jonah asked. “They’ve no business here and I’ve offered to put up their horses for ’em,