Her gown was so lovely that she had to stand on tiptoe to peer at herself in the mirror. A copy from Paris of one worn by the Empress Eugenie, it was of white atlas with one hundred and three tulle flounces. Under it she wore a Eugénie hooped petticoat and on her hair a wreath of white roses spangled with diamond dewdrops.
Sir Rupert made no comment on her appearance, but she saw that he glanced a little ironically at the wrap of white ermine trimmed with sable that she wore over her dress.
She had chosen it because it was so expensive and also because it was by far the most beautiful fur in the shop. Even though she had been intent on revenge, Nerina had been shocked at the price of this particular wrap and it had taken all her resolution to say firmly, “I will have it” when the vendeus
