“You were a great success last night, dear,” the Honourable Mrs. Warren said to Petula in her gentle voice.
Petula smiled and was about to reply when her uncle demanded sharply,
“What did Lord Crowhurst say to you?”
“He paid me a lot of silly compliments,” she answered him lightly.
Then, as she saw her uncle frown, she realised that she had said the wrong thing.
“Crowhurst is a very rich man,” he retorted.
Petula wanted to add that he was also old, ugly and frightening.
But she had learnt by this time that it was a mistake to criticise and her uncle expected her to be amenable and submissive to everything he suggested.
She had in point of fact felt since she left Yorkshire as if she was being swept along by a typhoon, which left her breathless and at times unable to think clearly.
