“Well, don’t give her the satisfaction of having a genuine cause for complaint,” Lencia emphasised.
She had thought their stay away through very carefully and she was very certain that her father would not be suspicious if she and Alice told the same tale.
When the Earl finally arrived home, she realised that she need not have worried.
Their father was looking rather tired and seemed not to have enjoyed himself in Sweden all that much.
But their stepmother never stopped talking about it.
She told them how they had been received almost as if they were Royalty, describing in detail the palatial rooms they were given and the huge dinner parties that they had attended.
She went on to describe the ball, the presents the Prince had received and the speeches that had been made.
It all took
