CHAPTER TWOWhen she entered the room she saw her stepmother, not as she expected sitting at the writing desk, but standing in front of the fireplace.
It was almost the same way that her father stood when he had something significant to say to his family or to his friends.
Julia closed the door behind her and slowly walked towards her stepmother.
“Sit down!” the Countess ordered in a sharp and rasping voice.
It told Julia all too clearly that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.
However, she did as she was told and seated herself on one side of the sofa and then looked up expectantly at her stepmother.
She had to admit that the Countess was extremely attractive in her own way.
But, as she had noticed before, her eyes were hard and unsympathetic.
There was an expression
