He put his fingers up to his lips and, looking at the Duke, sighed,
“I am sorry, John.”
“I thought that it was women who could not keep a secret,” the Duke said. “But I feel that we can trust Miss Lester, so we will let her into the plan.”
“Oh, please do!” Alnina begged. “You told me that there was a special reason for your going to Georgia, but not what it was.”
“The trouble with William has always been that he talks too much, but our secret, now that you know at least a quarter of it, shall be yours and I will tell you that, ever since I last visited Georgia and saw the fantastic Caucasus mountains, I wanted to own one.”
Alnina stared at him.
“To own a mountain! But how exciting! And how thrilling! Of course it would be something really precious to have, all of one’s own.”
“That i
