At the same time Napoleon had altered the whole social make-up of France and it was a very different country now from all that it had been in the past.
The staff had all had their dinner earlier, in fact at six o’clock, which was the usual time for them.
Manella therefore had nothing to do now except wait for the Marquis to summon her.
She sat down at the kitchen table and started to read a book.
It was over three-quarters-of-an-hour later that Dobbins came into the kitchen.
“’His Lordship wishes to see you in his study, Miss Chinon,” he said, “and you’ve never heard such goin’s on!”
“What has happened?” Manella asked him.
“His Lordship’s had the phaeton that Monsieur Grave came in brought round to the front of the house. They was all three pushed into it. Sound asleep, they all was
