As they arrived, there seemed to be an army of liveried footmen to greet them in a huge marble hall with a curved oak staircase.
As they were shown into a salon that was as large as a ballroom, Bettina suddenly felt afraid.
It was one thing to think of being married to the Duke when they were in the confines of the yacht, large though it was by other people’s expectations.
But it was quite another to imagine for one moment that she could be the Mistress of this colossal edifice with its hordes of servants, its vast estate and all the other ramifications of wealth.
‘I shall be lost – smothered,’ Bettina thought in a sudden panic.
Then she felt the Duke take her hand and say quietly in his deep voice,
“Welcome to my home, Bettina. I hope you will learn to love it as I do.”
Bettina fel
