Then slipping her arm through Sir Nicolas’s she looked up into his eyes and said confidingly,
“Take me away, Sir Nicolas, or Periquine will turn my head with his compliments. I swear he has a touch of the Irish in him, for he expends his blarney on every pretty girl he meets.”
Lord Corbury’s lips were pressed tightly together and his chin squared. Fenella saw the flash of anger in his eyes, and fearing that he would make things worse for himself, she said hastily,
“Goodbye, Hetty, you look lovely, simply lovely! I am sure that not only Periquine but every man in Sussex would vote you the most beautiful girl in the world, if they had the opportunity to do so.”
As she finished speaking she realised that Sir Nicolas was smiling at her. Not a very broad smile it was true, little more than
