“It is traditional that Lord Lieutenants are married!”
There was silence.
Then to his astonishment, Rosetta laughed.
“That will surely be no problem for you,” she said. “According to newspaper reports, you are talked about as being seen with every beautiful woman in London. Surely one of them would make you a very suitable wife.”
“Do you really think,” the Marquis replied, “that I would marry anyone just to be Lord Lieutenant? If I do marry, I want to do so for love.”
Because there was an angry note in his voice, she looked at him in amazement and then enquired,
“Despite everything they say about you, have you never really been in love?”
“No,” the Marquis answered positively. “I don’t want to talk about it, but as you have asked me, the answer is – no, never!”
He thought, as h
