Then, as she felt rather shy and at the same time strangely excited, the Earl rose to his feet.
“And I have a present for you, Syringa,” he said.
He walked to his desk, opened a drawer and drew out a velvet-covered box.
“Tomorrow we dine at Carlton House,” he said, “and I think you will find that this will embellish the beautiful gown that Grandmama tells me she has chosen for you.”
He put the box into Syringa’s hands. She opened it and then gave an exclamation.
Lying on the black velvet was a spray of flowers. Fashioned with diamonds they glittered and shimmered and the blossoms even moved at the touch of Syringa’s fingers.
She stood looking down at it and then, as she did not speak, the Earl looking at her bent head asked,
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s beautiful – very beautiful,” s
