I'm not sure what "steady" means either, but if you have to be reminded to wash your hands after an assignation, particularly by the woman who serves as the mother figure in your life, then you're probably not "steady".

In any case, it seems a little odd that Ralph would be on the short list to be the next Viceroy. Looking through the list of the Viceroys, most them were in their mid 40s or older and most of them were members of the House of Lords who had a political career back in the UK. A few others were more like career diplomats in that they'd serve as Governor General or Viceroy of one British colony or dominion after another. Some of the younger Viceroys such as Curzon and Irwin were made Lords upon their appointment as Viceroy, but they had both served as Members of Parliament for 10 or 15 years beforehand, something which Ralph couldn't have done since he never went back to England. I couldn't find any instance of a Viceroy's secretary, which I gather is more like chief of staff, becoming the next Viceroy.
 

The status conscious woman from the train is both a Lady Somebody AND a missionary wife?

 
 

I don't think so.  I believe Constantinople was using the sisters from Downton Abbey to illustrate the personalities of the various English women on this show, not to indicate that any of them were necessarily 'Lady Something or Other".

Sorry for any confusion. As Proserpina65 indicated, I was just comparing three of the characters in Indian Summers to those in Downton Abbey.  Since Sarah Raworth, the missionary's wife, has red hair, is in a permanent snit and apparently feels that everyone else gets more attention than her, she's the Lady Edith character from Downton Abbey (or at least Downton Abbey's Season 1 version of Lady Edith).  Or, to put it in Brady Bunch terms, Sarah is the Jan Brady.

ncG1vNJzZmien6fCrr%2BNqamipZWptq6x0WeaqKVfqbyxtcJoamtqZGl6qrrDopinZaOquq6x0axkoJ2emr%2BiuIydoKybpajAqrvNaA%3D%3D