CHAPTER TWOAs dinner ended and the footmen in their gold and claret livery and powdered wigs left the room, the Marquis pushed back his chair a little and turning to Gretna suggested,
“Now, tell me about yourself.”
The meal that they had just eaten had seemed to Gretna almost unreal. Delicacies such as she had never heard of, let alone tasted, were provided in almost bewildering succession on gold plates.
The dining table was decorated with orchids and the huge candelabra, which each held a dozen tapers, showed walls covered with valuable paintings.
It was, however, not the luxuriousness of her surroundings that made Gretna feel shy, but her host with his odd disconcerting smile and a manner of looking at her that she felt was always critical and frequently disdainful.
He looked as ma
