“You rang, madame?” he asked.
“This young woman is engaged as my secretary,” the Comtesse said. “Her name – ”
She looked down at the two references that she was still holding in her hand.
“ – is Mary Lane. And she will be known in the household as ‘Miss Lane’ and she will take her meals in the housekeeper’s room.”
The butler gave a little bow.
“Very good, madame.”
“Now I have to leave,” the Comtesse said. “I am already late for my next engagement. Don’t forget who is coming to dinner tonight and make sure that we have the vintage champagne and the best brandy.”
“It’s all been seen to, madame,” the butler intoned.
Without a single word to Zela the Comtesse then swept out of the room.
She left behind her an exotic and what Zela knew to be a very expensive perfume.
The butler di
