He would tell Cañuela to buy several huge bottles of French perfume or a dozen long kid gloves or a satin handbag.
These she ordered from shops in Bond Street where he invariably had an account.
There was a parasol with the handle set with jewels for one lady friend. For another a pair of opera glasses made of gold and tortoiseshell.
He apparently trusted her judgment for one afternoon he called her into his room and, lying on the desk in front of him, she saw a number of glittering diamond bracelets each in a long velvet box.
“I want your advice, Miss Gray,” Ramón de Lopez said. “I am choosing a rather special present and I don’t want to make a mistake. As a woman, which do you think the most attractive?”
Cañuela looked at the bracelets and realised that they must have all cost an as
