The hands of the clock on the chimneypiece pointed to two o’clock before she heard wheels draw up outside. Alyna peeped through the curtains and saw, as she expected, the Prince’s flamboyant coach emblazoned with his Coat-of-Arms.
There were two footmen standing on the platform at the back and the horses wore crimson feathers on the front of their bridles.
Alyna watched her mother and the Prince alight.
Then, running from the window, she went through the open door of her bedroom and onto the landing.
James had opened the front door and they were entering the hall.
“Is Miss Alyna here?”
Lady Maude’s voice was sharp.
“Yes, my Lady, she returned some time ago and asked me to tell you, my Lady, that she has retired.”
“I told you she was safe!” the Prince exclaimed.
“How could she be s
