“I can assure you, madame, that I am not a gossip,” Zela replied. “Anything you tell me is safe, I will promise you.”
“I hope that’s true,” the Comtesse muttered.
There was a pause and then she carried on,
“Because Lord Grandon is a close friend of mine he is lending me to wear tonight what is left of the necklace once owned by Queen Marie Antoinette of France.”
Before Zela could make any remark the Comtesse said sharply,
“I suppose you are educated enough to remember the story of the diamond necklace which did so much harm to poor Queen Marie Antoinette?”
“Yes, indeed I know the story well, madame.”
“But then do you know that what was left of the necklace eventually came to England,” the Comtesse said, “and is now in the possession of Lord Grandon?”
“I did not know that,” Zela an
