“I will go and fetch the girl,” he said as if anxious for action.
“I will wait in the Chinese Room.”
Lord Niall opened the door and Beatrice swept across the landing, her silk skirts rustling as she moved, her long earrings of pearls and diamonds swinging against her white neck. Lord Niall watched her until the door of the Chinese Room closed behind her, then he drew in a deep breath.
The fire in his eyes had not entirely died away since his outburst in the Crimson Salon. His fingers clenched themselves slowly and cruelly and his mouth was brutal. He seemed to be thinking of the future so with an effort he remembered the present. He glanced round as if wondering in which direction he should go in search of Iona, but at that moment she appeared at the top of the staircase leading from th
