She sat down at the piano and Lord Brookland swept Nathlia onto the floor.
It was the other guest, Henry Thornton, who asked,
“Who am I to dance with, since you have made yourself the orchestra?”
“I never thought of that,” Meta replied. “You will have to take it in turns.”
The Prince, who had been talking to Richard, came to the piano.
“I will play,” he proposed. “You go and dance.”
“Are you quite sure you don’t mind?” Meta asked.
“I can assure you,” the Prince replied, “that I am very competent.”
Henry Thornton put his arm round Meta’s waist.
As he did so, the Prince played two loud chords on the piano and promptly broke into a spirited dance.
It was obvious from the first note that he was an extremely experienced piano player.
As Meta moved round the room to his music, she kne
