Yes, that was how he would see it. That Beatrice, who had been loved by so many men, had at last been forced to surrender her heart, her soul and her whole being into the keeping of one.
Yet even the Marquis would not understand that she gloried in her humility.
“How could I have lived so long and not known that love was like this?” Beatrice asked herself.
She rose from the dressing table. The room was almost dark, a crimson glow in the sky the last glimpse of the dying day. She rang her bell imperiously. Her maid, who had been waiting for some time for the summons, came hurrying to the room.
“Pull the curtains,” Beatrice commanded. “Light the candles and bring me a fresh night robe from the closet.”
“Your Ladyship will not be going downstairs to dinner?” the maid asked.
“No, I shall
