Gentlemen who did not work had no reason to take a holiday. They might go on a visit, but a holiday implied that their time was not their own.
“Roydon told me he had been inspecting the vineyards of France,” she explained, “and it had in fact been quite exhausting.”
It sounded plausible, but she saw that her stepfather was still suspicious.
She knew by the manner in which he squared his chin and by the look in his eyes that when Roydon arrived his reception was not going to be a pleasant one.
Suddenly Valda was afraid.
She could feel and almost see the opposition gathering against her.
The Comte could be very formidable when he wished and there was no use appealing to her mother, because whatever he did or said she invariably thought he was right.
Valda could feel her happiness slip
