Chapter SixThe Marquis was overwhelming.
He was standing at the end of the Saloon as Valessa entered and she thought that he was even larger and more menacing than she had expected.
She stood looking at him, holding onto the frame of the door for support.
It seemed to her as if he grew larger and larger until he became the ogre.
“Come and sit down!” he said sharply.
She could no longer look at him as she moved across the Saloon to sit down on a chair opposite him.
He crossed his legs and sat back in the chair and she thought that he looked like a Judge who was about to pass sentence on her for being a criminal.
As she waited, she was aware that her heart was beating tempestuously and her hands were trembling.
“Well, let’s get it over!” he said. “How much do you want?”
Valessa look
