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formidable grandmother, but how long would it last? Even if the Countess Tania had been banished - and how in the world had Frau Gunter contrived that? - there were plenty of other women in Vienna looking for the excitement of an illicit liaison.
    * * * *
    Frau Gunter’s power was greater than Julia had imagined, she admitted to herself a few days later. Frederick did his best to appear pleasant, and even took the girls to see the Christmas tree one of the bankers had imported, the first, he said, to be seen in Vienna.
    Christmas was happy for Fanny and the girls, and Julia rejoiced to see this harmony. She didn’t want to hazard a guess as to how long it would last, but allowed herself to enjoy the peace.
    Fanny was blooming again, with colour in her cheeks and brightness in her eyes. Even the news that the Russian embassy, full of wonderful treasures, had burnt down and been completely destroyed on the last day of the year did not dim her happiness.
    ‘It had been given by a wealthy Russian Count, and they regularly had suppers there for over three hundred people,’ Mrs Pryce told them. ‘It even had a heating system, something like the Romans used to have during their empire,’ she added. ‘I don’t have any idea how it worked, but Mr Pryce could tell you. He’s fascinated by all these new scientific machines.’
    In January there was snow, which delighted the girls, especially when Sir Carey took them on a sleigh ride into the Wienerwald. The Polish question had, he told Julia, been finally settled,
    ‘But Lord Castlereagh is to go home, he is needed to defend the settlement in Parliament.’
    ‘Then who will negotiate for us here?’
    He smiled. ‘The Duke himself.’
    ‘Wellington?’ Julia gasped.
    ‘The very one. His reputation is such I feel confident he can get them all to agree on the remaining matters.’
    ‘Will you be going home with Lord Castlereagh?’ Julia asked, suddenly aware that their time here might be coming to an end.
    ‘I promised Angelica I would be home for our wedding in spring, and I can hardly miss that. I will probably be travelling with Castlereagh, but he won’t be going until the Duke arrives and they have had a chance to confer.’
    And I will not see you again, Julia thought to herself. She’d known they would one day part, and she had no cause to complain. She wondered when Frederick would decide he’d had enough of Vienna and set off home. Not until the snow had gone, she suspected. Then she would have to begin looking for another position herself.
    * * * *
    The Duke arrived at the beginning of February, and Sir Frederick departed.
    Julia came in one day with the girls, all of them rosy-cheeked from having been playing in the snow, to find Fanny in floods of tears, and Maggie desperate.
    ‘I can’t get her to stop, Miss,’ Maggie gasped. ‘I found her like this when I came back from marketing. She won’t tell me what’s the matter, but she’ll make herself ill if she goes on like this.’
    ‘There must be some smelling salts in her room. Fetch me those, and then take the children away and keep them amused. Don’t look so frightened, Alice. Your Mama will soon be better. Be a good girl and play with Paula until I come to you.’
    Maggie took the children away, and Julia sat beside Fanny and took her hand.
    ‘Fanny, dear, what is the matter? Are you ill? Have you had bad news? Tell me what it is, and we can share it.’
    Fanny gulped and handed Julia a crumpled sheet of paper. As Maggie came back with the smelling salts at that moment she left the paper while persuading Fanny to sit up properly and try to be calm. When Fanny’s sobs had dwindled into the occasional hiccup Julia spread out the sheet of paper, smoothing it down on her knee.
    It was short and to the point.
    ‘I find I cannot endure life without Tania. We have gone away together to her home. When the roads are in better condition, hire another coach and go back to England. I will arrange matters