Ilouka looked at him to see if he was angry, but his eyes were twinkling and there was a smile on his lips.
“I love you! I love you!” she cried. “I will do exactly what you want me to do and I promise you that I will be very – very good for ever – and ever.”
The Earl laughed.
“I very much doubt it. At the same time, my darling one, we have a great deal to discover about ourselves and, although our hearts know already that we belong to each other, there are other things I want to learn about you.”
“As I want to know everything about you and, of course, to meet Apollo.”
The Earl laughed again.
He held her close to him and kissed her fiercely and passionately until the arbour and the garden vanished and the vibrant music they could hear was not from the band in the distance but from the
