After the waltz had finished and the guests were beginning to move towards the supper room, he whispered, ‘Come out onto the terrace with me. I have a present for you.’

Rose hesitated. But he had said nothing about a proposal. ‘Very well,’ she said, ‘but just for a few moments. I am quite hungry. An unfashionable thing to say.’

They walked to the long French windows at the end of the ballroom and he ushered her out onto the terrace.

To Rose’s alarm, Roger got down on one knee and took her hand. ‘Rose,’ he said earnestly, gazing up into her eyes. ‘I –’

The terrace windows opened and a masked devil stepped out. Roger looked round in irritation. To Roger’s horror, a gun appeared in the devil’s hand and a female voice said. ‘Get up, you, and the pair of you walk down into the garden.’

Roger got to his feet and stared in terror at the masked woman. ‘Is this a joke?’

‘No joke. Move.’

For a moment Roger stood paralysed with fear and then his bladder gave.

‘Move,’ ordered the woman.

They walked down the steps into the darkness of the garden.

When they were deep in the darkness, the woman removed her mask. In the dim moonlight filtering through the trees, Rose recognized the maid who had been dragged out of the tea party.

‘Why are you doing this?’ she asked.

‘Does it matter?’jeered Thomson. ‘Well, I’ll tell you. You and that captain of yours have ruined all my plans. I kill you, he suffers. You flounce around London society without a care in the world. Now you know what it is like to be frightened.’

‘I’ve got nothing to do with this,’ gasped Roger. ‘This is between you and Rose.’

‘What a coward you are! What do you think of your precious beau now, Lady Rose? Cringing and pissing himself. Well, he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

‘Thomson,’ said Rose. ‘You were Dolores Duval’s lady’s maid. You murdered her.’

‘Why not? The trollop would have come to a bad end anyway.’

Harry had been scouring the supper room for Rose. At last, a debutante said with a giggle, ‘If you are looking for Lady Rose, she went out on the terrace with Mr Sinclair.’

Harry ran to the French windows and let himself out. He stared around.

Then, from down in the garden, he heard a man’s voice pleading, ‘Please let me go.’

Harry seized his stick and moved silently and quickly down into the garden.

‘It’s no use begging,’ he heard a cold female voice say. ‘You’re first.’

Roger fell to his knees and burst into tears.

Rose gazed coldly at Thomson. If she had to die, then she would do so with dignity.

Thomson raised the gun. Then an arm brandishing a stick with a gold knob came out of the darkness and struck her a vicious blow on the head. Thomson collapsed on the ground.

Harry gathered Rose in his arms. ‘There now, my sweet,’ he said. ‘It’s all over now.’