Now it seemed to her as if he could no longer reach her. She was free of him and mentally her chains fell away from her as, with her chin held high, she faced him across the hearthrug.
“Is this your doing?” he enquired.
Nerina did not pretend to misunderstand him.
“I returned here only yesterday, as you know,” she replied.
“How long has it been going on?” Lord Cardon enquired and, as Nerina hesitated, he added. “You had best tell me or I will get it out of Elizabeth quickly enough.”
Nerina made up her mind to save her cousin all she could.
“I understand that Elizabeth has been in love for some time.”
“And she has been meeting this bounder like a servant girl, sneaking out when it is dark, behaving like a wanton with some stray ne’er-do-well who has caught her fancy.”
“That is only
