“The sea was rough?” the Countess enquired.
“It was indeed,” the Marquis replied untruthfully, “and I always find a train journey exhausting.”
“So do I,” the Countess agreed, “which is something else we have in common.”
She gave a little sigh.
“I can understand, my dear Marquis, that tonight you need your beauty sleep. But tomorrow is another day, when I shall have so much to say to you and so much to learn from you.”
The Marquis thought he had pulled that one off rather successfully, but at the same time he disliked the way the Countess was looking at him.
He was quite certain that she regarded him as a fish that had taken the bait and could not escape.
A quarter of an hour before midnight the young officers left for their barracks and this was an excuse for the others to leave as
