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an oath, Fenton moved away from her. ‘Regretfully, our fun will have to wait, for I can hear Mrs Grim arriving with our refreshment.’

      Weak with relief, Colenso followed him back into the parlour where Caja, having affected a hoity-toity voice, was telling the housekeeper exactly how she liked her tea.

      ‘Of course, it’s really not proper to have cake and cheese on the same plate.’

      ‘’Tis the master’s wish,’ Mrs Grim replied tersely as she handed Colenso her cup. ‘Will there be anything else, Mr Fenton?’ she asked in a martyred voice.

      ‘No, thank you,’ he replied. ‘Where I come from, Caja, a slice of fruit cake and cheese is a speciality and go together like your scones and cream, but if you’d prefer something else …?’ he left the question hanging.

      ‘That’s quite all right, Mr Fenton. It’s unusual to have savoury and sweet on the same plate, but I suppose it will take time for you to adjust to our civilized ways.’ Oblivious to the fact she’d offended her host, she took a bite of the cake. ‘Not bad,’ she conceded. ‘But our Col here makes a much moister one.’

      ‘Does she indeed?’ he asked. ‘It would appear your daughter likes to keep her talents hidden, Mrs Carne,’ he added, eyeing Colenso speculatively. She almost choked on her tea, for this time there was no mistaking his meaning. Desperate to escape his appraising look, she hurriedly put down her cup and jumped to her feet.

      ‘I’ll just go and measure up for those curtains in the dining hall,’ she muttered, wishing to get away from him.

      ‘No need, my dear,’ he said, putting out a hand to detain her. ‘My housekeeper will write down all the measurements, and the driver can deliver them to your cottage along with the requisite materials.’

      ‘Oh, Emily will be happy to provide the fabric,’ Colenso told him.

      ‘And take a cut, no doubt. Your talents clearly do not extend to financial matters, my dear. Happily mine do, so you can leave the business side to me. Now, how long do you think it will take to make my drapes and whatnots for my chamber?’ He sat eyeing her with satisfaction, as if he’d cornered his prey and was waiting to see what move it was going to try next. Determined not to be browbeaten, she stared boldly back.

      ‘Colenso’s anxious to please you, Mr Fenton, sir. She’ll sew day and night to have everything made for when you wants to entertain,’ Caja said, answering for her daughter.

      ‘That’s splendid,’ he grinned. ‘I’ll have Dobson collect the materials from my merchant in Falmouth and deliver them to you by the middle of the week at the latest, my dear. Unless you think the job too big for you to handle.’

      ‘Of course not,’ Colenso replied indignantly. Immediately that gleam sparked in his eyes, and with a sinking feeling she knew she’d played right into his hands.

Chapter 10

      On their return journey, while her mamm chattered excitedly about ‘that nice Mr Fenton and his lovely home’, Colenso silently fumed. How dare he make advances like that? How could her mamm not see what he was really like? Her hand went to the necklace at her throat. That it had saved her from the Ferret’s fumbling advances, she had no doubt, though she still couldn’t work out how it had swung loose and caught him on the cheek. Her mother, a nurse who could spot blood at a thousand paces, hadn’t even noticed. She’d been far too busy playing the happy hostess.

      How had she got herself into this situation? And how was she going to tackle all that sewing by herself? The task was far more onerous than she’d anticipated and the Ferret hadn’t even mentioned paying for her time. As soon as she got home, she’d take herself upstairs and work out a fair rate for the job. When the driver delivered the material, she’d hand him an invoice for the Ferret, then he’d see that her talents did indeed extend to financial matters. Feeling somewhat mollified, she followed her mamm into the cottage.

      ‘What the devil’s been goin’ on?’ Caja gasped. Following her gaze, Colenso stared around the living room in dismay. Furniture was overturned, one chair rocked precariously on broken legs, while the floor was strewn with shattered crockery. In the midst of all the upheaval, her father sat in his chair, puffing his pipe, an empty brandy bottle at his side.

      ‘It were the fault of that son of yours,’ he mumbled, his words slurred. ‘High and mighty upstart.’

      ‘Where is Tomas?’ Colenso asked, fearing she already knew.

      ‘Gone. Told him to sling his hook, didn’t I?’

      ‘Not Tommy as well,’ Caja cried. ‘Can’t leave you two alone for a couple of hours, can I?’

      ‘You won’t have to any longer, cos I told him not to come back – ever,’ he shouted, picking up the empty bottle and glaring at it. ‘I need a drink.’

      ‘Oh no you don’t, Peder Carne. You’ll help clear this mess up,’ Caja told him, bending to pick up the broken shards at her feet. ‘My poor dishes. And look at my table – it’s all scratched – and my best chair. How do you expect us to live now?’ she wailed, wringing her hands together.

      ‘It don’t matter, do it? Colenso here will see us right. She’ll wed Fenton and he’ll give us a decent home and all the furniture and pots you needs. You just have to make it sooner now, maid,’ he muttered. Colenso opened her mouth to protest but he sank back in his chair and closed his eyes. Moments later his snores rocked the room but there were no bowls left on the dresser to bang together. She turned to her mamm.

      ‘You know it’s Kitto I’m wedding so isn’t it about time you stopped all this nonsense?’ she demanded. To her dismay, her mamm’s eyes filled with tears.

      ‘Father’s set his mind on us all having a better life. If you refuse Fenton, I don’t know what he’ll do,’ she cried. Colenso opened her mouth to say the only thing the Ferret had asked her to do was make curtains, but her mamm was so distraught, she left the words unspoken.

      ‘Go to bed, Mamm,’ Colenso said gently. ‘Things will look better in the morning,’ she added, not knowing what else to say.

      By the time Colenso had cleared up the broken crockery and set the room to rights, it was late. Leaving her father to his snorts and snores, she snatched up the candle and took herself upstairs to bed. The door to the closet she’d shared with Tomas was hanging open, his few belongings gone. She threw herself down on her mattress, all thought of costings forgotten. Things must have been really bad for Tomas to have broken his promise. Never had she needed Kitto more, she thought, cradling the serpentine heart to her chest. She’d creep out and see him first thing in the morning when hopefully her father would still be sleeping off the effects of all the brandy he’d consumed.

      However, exhausted by the day’s events, she fell into a deep sleep and it was late by the time she rose the next morning. Her father had already left for the works and she knew Kitto would have done too.

      ‘I’ll go and help Emily this morning,’ she told Caja. ‘I still owe her some hours to make up for that material she gave me.’ To her surprise, her mamm shook her head.

      ‘Father says you’re to stay in and give this place a clean. And he expects som’at filling for his supper.’

      ‘Well, he’s not here so he won’t know if I go out, will he? On my way back I’ll pop up to Mammwynn’s and pick some Alexanders. I’m sure Father’s system could do with something cleansing after all that brandy,’ she grinned. Her mamm stared at her forlornly.

      ‘I’ve to stay in too, keep an eye on you. He were in that foul a mood, I daren’t disobey. At least we’ve got one decent pot left to make a stew in, though it’ll have to be roots again cos there’s no money to buy anything else.’

      Colenso saw her mamm wince as she lifted it from the range, and guessed her father had taken his temper out on her before he’d

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