Very gently he released her.
As he did so, he was desperately afraid that she might be frightened of him.
He knew that her first kiss had been a wonderful emotional experience.
Yet because he was able to read her thoughts, she was still in Fairyland and not yet aware that she was human.
They stood looking at each other for what seemed a long time, but was really only a few seconds.
Then the Marquis in a voice that seemed strange even to himself said,
“Goodnight, Valessa.”
He walked away.
She watched him go, but he did not look back.
Then, with a murmur that was a sound of sheer joy, she left the deck.
She lay in bed feeling that the Marquis’s arms were still around her, his lips still on hers.
Never had she believed that anything could be so wonderful.
“I love – him! I – love h
