“What was wrong with your father,” he asked after a moment’s silence, “that made the Earl dislike him?”
“My mother – who was his sister – was very beautiful – and she ran away with Papa the night before she was to be married to the Duke of Avon.”
“And who was your father?”
“He was a Curate – the Curate of the village Church of Chessington. Afterwards he became Vicar of a little village in Worcestershire – where I was born.”
“I can understand if your mother ran away the night before her marriage, it must have annoyed the family.”
“They none of them ever spoke to Mama again – but she was so happy with Papa that it did not matter and, although we were very poor and often had very little to eat – we used to laugh and everything was wonderful – until they were – both k-killed last year in
