She had often thought that if it was not for the potatoes, which because Williams’s arthritis was so bad she herself had planted, they would all have starved.
In which case when the Duke had come to inspect his inheritance, he would have found the house peopled with skeletons.
“What is worrying you?” the Duke asked suddenly.
“Do I look – worried?”
“You have looked worried ever since we met,” he replied. “Is it because I don’t agree with you on the inestimable importance of my ancestors?”
“Surely what I have said makes you realise your own importance?” Ilina said, anxious to get away from the subject of herself.
The Duke laughed.
“I doubt if living here would make me feel important. Certainly not as things are at the moment.”
“Once you have established yourself and people realise th
