She remembered now reading about the Kings of France, who always had both a wife and a mistress and that such a situation was accepted not only by the Court but by the French nation as a whole.
She felt, however, that she might cry out that she just could not bear it and that it was something she could not endure.
To control herself she clasped her fingers together with such intensity that they hurt and she forced herself not to move as Lord Orsett went on,
“Because Dakar, like the many other French outposts, is isolated from Europe and even news of their relatives is much delayed in reaching those who live here and that is why the Government and the Companies the men work for recommend marriage to local women.”
He paused.
“Those who do not marry have, of course, mistresses and the ar
