Alyna gave a little sigh and it seemed to come from the very depths of her being.
“I have been afraid for so long. Afraid after Papa died because I was not certain what Mama would wish to do. Afraid when she took me to Bath last winter and I realised that she wished me to marry as soon as possible. Afraid when I came to London last month and knew what she had – planned for me.”
“That is all in the past,” Lord Dorrington said firmly. “It is like a chapter of a book that has been written and therefore cannot be undone or altered. But a new chapter is beginning now.”
Alyna did not answer and after a moment he said,
“Think of it as an adventure. If we never had adventures in our lives, if everything always went smoothly would it not be peculiarly monotonous and after a time extremely dull?
