CHAPTER FIVEZela had a difficult morning coping with the large number of invitations that had arrived for the Comtesse.
There were some personal letters as well and her instructions were that, when she realised on the opening of an envelope that the letter was personal, she was not to read it and take it up to the Comtesse.
Zela went upstairs three times with three letters and this meant a wait while the Comtesse read them.
If Madame did not care to reply herself, Zela had to write down what she was to say.
The last envelope in the pile contained, when Zela opened it, another personal letter.
As she did not want to go upstairs for the fourth time, she read it.
She decided that, if it was not important, she would keep it until the evening when the Comtesse usually signed her letters.
