Chapter SevenThe Duke opened the door and Vina passed into his sitting room.
He closed the door and turned round to see her standing looking at him, her eyes apprehensive and, he thought, still frightened.
He smiled as he moved towards her.
Then, and he was not quite certain how it happened, she was holding onto him and her face was hidden against his shoulder.
He could feel that she was trembling and he said reassuringly,
“It’s all right, you are quite safe.”
“H-he – frightened me,” Vina murmured in a small voice. “He spoke to me on the – train and I was – afraid if I left my cabin he – would be waiting for me.”
“You were very foolish to think that you could travel alone.”
She did not answer, her face was still hidden.
The sunshine streaming in through the porthole seemed to enve
