Sandy turned away from them and muttered to me, ‘C’mon, s’get another drink. Be all right.’

Faria clicked her tongue. ‘No it won’t. I’m taking Iris home. Can’t you see she’s hurt?’

The band started playing again and the other dancers turned away, losing interest.

The next minute I was hobbling into the hallway, supported on one side by Faria and with Sandy weaving on the other. A huge crystal chandelier dripped diamonds of light over our heads. I felt rather than saw Xan and Jessie at the back of our ungainly procession as Lady Gibson Pasha came surging towards us, both hands outstretched as if to catch me. Our hostess wore a gold turban and a collar of egg-sized emeralds.

‘My dear, my dear girl, you poor thing. You must put your foot up, we need an ice pack.’

She was clapping her hands, calling at a passing servant to bring ice. I wanted to stay near Xan and to get as far away from Sandy as possible. I was also longing to get home and lie in a dark room to disentangle the chaos and amazement of the evening.

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About the Author

Rosie Thomas is the author of a number of celebrated novels, including The Kashmir Shawl, Constance and Lovers and Newcomers. A keen adventurer, she has climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas, competed in the Peking to Paris car rally, spent time on a tiny Bulgarian research station in Antarctica and travelled to Ladakh and Kashmir. She lives in London.

Also by Rosie Thomas

Celebration

Sunrise

The White Dove

Strangers

Bad Girls, Good Women

A Woman of Our Times

All My Sins Remembered

Other People’s Marriages

A Simple Life

Every Woman Knows a Secret

Moon Island

White

The Potter’s House

If My Father Loved Me

Sun at Midnight

Iris and Ruby

Constance

Lovers and Newcomers

The Kashmir Shawl

The Illusionists

Daughter of the House

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