She felt that his mouth took possession of her and she was no longer herself and it was almost as if her body melted into his and they became one person, which they had been once long ago at the beginning of time.

His arms tightened and his lips became more insistent and demanding and she felt that strange streak that was both pleasure and pain flash through her, moving from her lips to her breast until she knew that it touched her heart and again it became part of his heart and there was no escape.

She knew what she was feeling was love – love, not as she had imagined it would be, but far more poignant, more wonderful and more glorious.

It was not a question of fighting against anything, because she now belonged to it and she was no longer herself but his.

She felt as if he annihilated and captured completely the last semblance of herself alone.

This was the mystery of love, the wonder to which she could only surrender completely and absolutely.

Then at last, when she felt as if she was no longer human but part of the Divine, the Earl raised his head.

“My darling, my sweet! How can you fight against this?” he asked. “You are mine, mine as you were always meant to be.”

It was then that Thalia came back to reality, as if she fell from the sky down to the roughness of the earth beneath.

“Please – ” she whispered.

As if he knew what she was feeling, he said,

“I will take you home. We will talk about what we shall do tomorrow. It is late now and you are very tired.”

With his arm around her he drew her across the salon and into the hall.

The footman on duty hurried to fetch her cloak and, when the front door was open, she saw that the Earl’s carriage was waiting outside.

She stepped into it too bemused for the moment even to think and, as if he understood what she was feeling, the Earl put his arm around her and her head turned naturally against his shoulder, but he merely pressed his lips against her forehead.

They drove in silence towards Shepherd’s Market.

Then, as they walked through the quiet streets towards Number 82, the Earl said,

“Don’t worry about anything. Leave everything to me. When we meet tomorrow night, I shall have a plan for you that will make everything easy and you will never have to worry again.”

He stopped at the same place they had parted the night before.

The Earl looked down at her.

“Goodnight, my precious darling,” he said tenderly. “I shall be thinking of you. Just trust me, that is all you have to do.”

Thalia looked up at him.

She could see his eyes and she felt as if she was still held captive by them.