CHAPTER TENThe clamour of voices hushed to a low murmur as Elissa entered the ballroom at the Piccadilly Hotel where Lord Hartwell was hosting a party to celebrate his return to London and his engagement to her.
She could hear the whispers of the people standing close by,
“Why, it’s her! His new fiancée! They say she has won him a fortune at the races!”
Elissa’s heart shrank with misery.
She knew that she had never looked as impressive as she did tonight, her ice blue gown was sparkling with diamonds and her golden hair was dressed in a magnificent cascade of curls.
But there was no kindness in Lord Hartwell’s eyes as he approached and took her hand in a cruelly tight clasp.
She remembered how all afternoon he had paced up and down in the elegant suite of rooms he had rented for her
