CHAPTER ONE
1895Dorina Radford eyed the tennis net, then concentrated on the ball as she prepared to serve.
The mixed doubles match had been very finely balanced. The first set had gone to Dorina and her partner, Pierre Laforge. The second set had gone to their opponents.
Now Dorina was serving for the match.
She paused a long time, until she was sure she had the stroke exactly right.
It might only be a private match in the grounds of the Laforge mansion, just north of Paris. Her opponents and audience might only be guests of the house party arranged by Monsieur and Madame Laforge, and her partner might only be their son.
But none of this would deter her from giving the serve everything she had. It was Dorina's way to throw her whole self into whatever she did. Even the most inconseq
