CHAPTER TWOMagnolia closed the door and hastily thrust the note she had been reading down inside her gown.
Then she stood with a tense and wary expression in her eyes as her mother came into the room.
Mrs. Vandevilt, who privately was known as ‘The Dragon of Fifth Avenue’, was an extremely handsome woman.
She carried herself like an Empress and the ropes of perfect pearls she wore round her long neck and the huge diamonds in her ears made one think of some Eastern Potentate.
But her eyes were hard and there was no smile on her lips as she regarded her daughter with a steely glance.
Magnolia felt herself tremble and there was a long uncomfortable silence before her mother said,
“I understand some flowers were delivered here to you an hour ago. Who are they from?”
“I-I don’t – know.”
