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planning to do so.’
    â€˜Nothing like it for effecting a cure,’ he said.
    â€˜A cure for what?’ Anne asked.
    â€˜Oh, almost anything. Gout, the ague, stomach disorders, consumption, flux…’
    â€˜I do not have any of those things, Captain.’ It was said with a smile and a twinkle in the eye.
    â€˜No, naturally not. I did not mean—’
    â€˜I think you are being gammoned, Walter,’ the Major put in. ‘But taking a dip is not only a cure, Miss Hemingford, it is very invigorating.’
    â€˜Then we shall certainly attempt it,’ Mrs Bartrum said. She turned to speak to Lady Mancroft. ‘I am having an informal supper party tomorrow evening, just a small affair with a hand or two of whist afterwards. It is short notice, I know, but perhaps you and Lord Mancroft might care to come? And you, Major Mancroft and Captain Gosforth.’
    â€˜Who’s your cook?’ boomed Lord Mancroft. He was a very big man, not only in height but in breadth, and had a vast belly.
    If Mrs Bartrum was taken aback by the question, she did not show it. ‘Her name is Mrs Carter, my lord. She came highly recommended and so far I cannot fault her…’
    â€˜Mrs Carter, eh. Then you may expect us. I would give up supper with the Regent for one of her dinners. How did you manage to acquire her?’
    â€˜Our agent hired her.’
    â€˜We have a French chef,’ Lady Mancroft explained. ‘And he will brook no interference, otherwise we might have tried to add her to our staff…’
    â€˜I’ll wager Mrs Carter would not have gone,’ Anne whispered to her aunt behind her fan.
    Mrs Bartrum, prompted by Lady Mancroft, included Mrs Barry and her two daughters, Annabelle and Jeanette, Sir Gerald Sylvester, an acquaintance of Lord Mancroft, and Lieutenants Cawston and Harcourt, both officers of the 10th Hussars.
    â€˜That’s settled then,’ Mrs Bartrum said, and, after bidding goodbye to the company, she and Anne took their leave.
    â€˜We shall have to live up to Mrs Carter’s reputation now,’ Anne said as they strolled home. ‘Will the fish be enough?’
    â€˜In quantity there is no doubt of it, but we cannot feed them on fish and nothing else. We will have to have a roast or two and a chicken dish, boiled ham and several sweets.’
    â€˜You did say it was to be informal.’
    â€˜So it shall be. Small, select and exquisitely cooked. I will not have Mrs Carter compared unfavourably with a French chef. And they do say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’
    Anne stopped in mid-stride and turned to face her aunt. ‘Which man?’
    â€˜Oh, there are several possibles. Did you not find Major Mancroft very handsome?’
    â€˜He was not ill looking, but…’
    â€˜Oh, I know he is only the son of a baron, for all the superior airs Lord Mancroft assumes, but you have left it a little late to catch a true aristocrat…’
    â€˜ Too late, my dear aunt. I told you I did not want you to find me a husband.’
    â€˜I am not. But if one should appear, we should not look a gift horse in the mouth.’
    Anne laughed. ‘But Major Mancroft is not a horse.’
    â€˜No, but you know what I mean. I am simply pointing out the possibilities. And there is Captain Gosforth. He was a naval captain, you know. Widowed…’
    â€˜How do you know?’
    â€˜I made it my business to find out. His wife died some years ago while he was away at sea. They had no children. He was invalided out at the beginning of the war and is now a gentleman farmer…’
    â€˜You mean one who does not get his hands dirty or his boots muddy except on the hunting field.’
    â€˜Of course he would not. Anne, how provoking you are. You know I would never think of inviting a yokel to supper. He is related to Lord Downland, I think, though I amnot sure of the exact relationship, but he is