With that she poured dangerous amounts from any number of bottles into a shaker, finished them off with something bright green, then poured the shaken result into a glass and dropped in a couple of maraschino cherries. “Get that down you and you’ll feel wonderful,” she said. She took a seat opposite me and crossed her legs, revealing a long expanse of silk stocking and just a hint of gray silk petticoat.

The first sip took my breath away. I tried not to cough as I looked up and smiled. “Very interesting,” I said. “I don’t have much opportunity to drink cocktails.”

“Do you remember those awful experiments creating cocktails in the dorm at Les Oiseaux?” Belinda laughed as she took a long drink from her own glass. “It’s a wonder we didn’t knock ourselves out.”

“We almost did. Remember that French girl, Monique? She was sick all night.”

“So she was.” Belinda’s smile faded. “It already seems so long ago, like a dream, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does,” I agreed. “A beautiful dream.”

She looked at me sharply. “So do I gather that life isn’t too wonderful for you at the moment?”

“Life is pretty bloody, if you really want to know,” I said.

The cocktail was obviously already having an effect. “Bloody” wasn’t a word I habitually used. “If I don’t come up with something to do with myself soon, I’ll be shipped out to a stately home in the country until the royal kin come up with some awful foreign prince for me to marry.”

“Could be worse. There are some frightfully good-looking foreign princes. And it might be nice to be a queen someday. Think of all those lovely tiaras.”

I scowled. “In case you haven’t remembered, there are precious few kingdoms left in Europe. And royal families seem to be a disposable commodity. What’s more, the suitable young men I have met have been so dull that assassination actually seems preferable than a long life with them.”

“Dear me,” Belinda said. “We are in a blue mood, aren’t we? So your sex life must be pretty dismal at the moment.”

“Belinda!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve shocked you. The set I mix with now has no qualms about discussing their sex lives. And why not? It’s healthy to talk about sex.”

“I don’t mind talking about it really,” I said, although in truth I found myself squirming with embarrassment. “God knows we used to talk about it all the time at school.”

“But doing is so much better than talking, don’t you agree?” She smiled like a cat with cream. Then she looked horrified. “You’re not still a virgin?”

“Afraid so.”

“It’s no longer required of a potential princess, is it? Don’t tell me they still send an archbishop and the lord chancellor to check personally before the marriage can be consummated.”

I started to laugh. “I assure you I’m not saving myself from choice. I’d be perfectly happy to rip my clothes off and roll in the hay just as soon as I find the right man.”