She pulled herself up with a start, and turned away. She mustn’t be caught staring at him. Juliet would be angry with her if she gave anything away.

But later, once all the bells had chimed for midnight and the party broke up, she would do what she had come here for. Her heart thumped in trepidation, and she quickly swallowed back her anxiety. Nothing would go wrong, she reassured herself. They’d planned it all out – Juliet, Jasper and herself. And Jasper, like his twin, was so clever. They’d gone over and over it, until they were sure that Patsy knew it all off by heart. And she did – she really did! She knew just what she had to do … And it was so exciting and wonderful and very daring. Even maybe a little dangerous …

For a moment, eighteen-year-old Patsy Arles felt a frisson of fear snake through her, and a small voice at the back somewhere far away hissed at her that she was in way over her head.

But then she caught Juliet’s eye, and saw her nod at her with a small secret smile, and her heart swelled with pride. She pushed the small voice away. It would probably turn out to be easy as anything after all, and she was worrying for nothing.

Besides, Grace Kelly wouldn’t be such a rabbit, would she?

*

Just before eleven o’clock a gate-crasher made an unobtrusive entrance and ate some canapés happily, enjoyed a very nice glass of expensive French wine, and circulated amiably, earning friends here, there and everywhere.

Millie Vander was perhaps the only one, at first, to be puzzled by the newcomer, for she had no idea exactly who the stranger was. But she was, naturally, far too polite to enquire. No doubt one of her guests had invited someone to come along and had simply forgotten – or been too embarrassed or tipsy – to admit it to their hostess.

Besides, it would be utterly déclassé to make a scene about a mere gate-crasher, Millie knew. In this modern new age, weren’t parties deemed to be something of a failure if they didn’t attract some scandalous behaviour?

*

If Patsy Arles was suffering from nerves and a surfeit of hot blood, the other woman who watched Terry Parker so thoughtfully that night was as cold as the snow that was falling outside, and felt perfectly calm.

She felt only slight distaste as their clearly enamoured hostess laid a hand possessively on his arm, and carefully sipped from her champagne cocktail before whispering something into his attentive ear.

She thought that Terry Parker seemed to be enjoying himself. So alive, and contemplating a happy future, spending the silly woman’s fortune …

Her mind drifted to other, darker, things … and brooded.

*