Chapter 11Nerina sat on the edge of the goldfish pond and dangled her fingers in the cool water. She could see the fish gleaming beneath the dark green leaves of the water lilies whose pink-tipped blossoms opened their waxen beauty towards the sunshine.
It was very quiet and peaceful and the only sounds were the songs of the birds and the splash of the water from the carved stone fountain that fed the pond.
How long she sat there she did not know for her mind was not on her surroundings. She was hardly conscious of the beauty of the gardens or the fragrance of the flowers.
She was wondering, as she had wondered not once but a hundred times during the last two or three days, what was the secret that was to be revealed to her this very afternoon.
She was sure it was something unpleasant.
