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but they always tell me they have just come to leave their cards and will be gone. So what do they mean by lookin’ about the place?”
    “I don’t know, Jonah. Perhaps they like to see the horses.”
    Jonah shook his head.
    “Neither of ’em cares one little bit for horseflesh,” he said, “as they thinks nothin’ of ridin’ their beasts into the ground, just for the sake of speed.”
    “Well – don’t you worry,” Chiara said. “I will tell Mama about them and I am sure all will be well.”
    Jonah was clearly worried by the behaviour of these two gentlemen and Chiara too felt a little uneasy when she recalled the way that Mervyn Hunter had looked at her.
    His lean face was indeed handsome enough, but he had stared at her so intently that she did not feel quite comfortable under his cold gaze.
    She wished that her Papa was still alive as he would know exactly how to handle the situation, but he was not and no amount of wishing would bring him back.
    Chiara promised Jonah that she would ride the next day and, with a swift kiss for Erebus on his soft nose, she ran back to The Hall.
    “So that is a mystery solved!” Lady Fairfax cried, when Chiara told her about the visitors. “Those two very handsome gentlemen I spied from the window are Lord Darley and Mr. Hunter, who have left their cards for us.”
    “Mama – did you see them?”
    “I did indeed,” Lady Fairfax replied and a pretty dimple appeared in her cheek as she smiled. “I was about to come out and meet them, but then I saw that you were there first and I did not want to spoil your fun!”
    “Oh, Mama! You should have come.”
    “Not at all, my darling. The tall distinguished one Lord Darley, I presume, has quite fallen for you, I think – I saw him leap from the saddle to speak to you.”
    Chiara explained that this was Mr. Hunter and that his companion was in fact Lord Darley.
    “Is that so?” Lady Fairfax’s eyes were now shining. “Well, my darling, then it’s Mr. Hunter who is smitten with you and what a striking man! Though Lord Darley is very good-looking too. I am going straight to my writing desk to compose an invitation to dinner. Let’s have Lord and Lady Duckett and their very handsome guests to dine with us at the first possible opportunity.”
    Chiara could not remember seeing her Mama so excited and happy before and she found herself wondering if sometimes she had found being married to a man much older than herself a little dull, even though she loved him very much.
    At the same time the thought was a rather upsetting one and Chiara pushed it into the back of her mind as she went up to her bedroom to wash and tidy her hair.
    The first thing she noticed, as she entered the room, was a brown paper parcel lying on the sofa.
    “Elizabeth’s present! How could I have forgotten it?”
    Somehow in the excitement of arriving at Rensham Hall last night, it had completely slipped Chiara’s mind. Her maid must have found the parcel among her things and laid it on the sofa for her to open.
    She picked it up and weighed it in her hands. It felt light and soft. When she tore open the brown paper, Chiara caught her breath in delight. Inside was the white dress with the blue sash she had tried on in the shop in Ely.
    Elizabeth must have gone back and bought it for her. Tears of joy and gratitude sprang into Chiara’s eyes.
    ‘It’s the loveliest dress ever,’ she sighed to herself. ‘Now all I need is a ball to go to!’
    And then she tenderly folded the cloudy white silk, touching the filmy lace of the neckline and the sleeves and took it to hang up in her wardrobe.
    A note had come with the parcel and she picked it up to read,
    “ Dearest Chiara ,
    I will never forget how lovely you looked when you tried this dress in that shop – so here it is! I told Papa about it and he completely agreed that you should have it. Which is quite something from dear Papa, who normally does not bother about things like that .
    I wanted you to