‘Don’t do it again. You should know better. Follow me.’

Daisy scowled when they had left. When she and Becket were married, they could do what they wanted and see each other as much as they wanted, and no amount of expensive meals and pretty clothes could compete with that.

They arrived in Paris at the Gare du Nord the next day and got into carriages to bear them and their mountain of luggage to the Hotel de Crillon. The hotel had originally been the home of the Comte de Crillon and was built by the most famous architect of the day, commissioned by Louis XV. The hotel was seized during the French Revolution and the statue of Louis XV on the Place de la Concorde outside the hotel was pulled down and later replaced by a 3300 BC obelisk presented by Sultan Mehmet Ali in 1831.

As they were led up to their suite, Rose glanced in at the salons on the first floor and began to feel like a country cousin for the first time in her life. The ladies were so beautifully gowned and elegant.

Rose was tired after the train journey from Calais and Daisy was feeling exhausted after her adventures. They were both dismayed when the duchess visited them to say she had employed a maid for them and they were to be in their finest, for they were going to dine at Maxim’s.

‘Why Maxim’s?’ asked Rose plaintively. ‘We are tired and hoped to have a simple supper in the rooms.’

‘Nonsense. Captain Cathcart says that the French lawyer won’t give us the direction of this Madame de Peurey. All the famous belles coquettes go to Maxim’s. Someone is bound to have heard of her.’ She stood aside and ushered a petite little woman into the room. ‘This is your lady’s maid, Odette. We shall all meet in Le Salon des Aigles on the first floor in two hours. But not you, Miss Levine. After your recent adventures, I feel sure that you would be better remaining quietly here.’

‘She means I’m not good enough,’ said Daisy when the duchess had retired. ‘I may as well tell you, Rose, that I have spoken to Becket and we’re going to set up that dress salon with Miss Friendly. We’re going to get married and we’ll be our own bosses.’

Rose was dismayed. She realized in that moment how much she relied on Daisy’s chirpy company. ‘I shall miss you,’ she said. Then she rallied. ‘Of course I shall buy all my gowns from you.’

Odette turned out to have some words of English and Rose had learned enough French from her governess to communicate with her. She felt lowered by the look of dismay on the maid’s face as she pulled out gown after gown. ‘What about the Worth gown?’ she asked.

‘Too, how you say, out of fashion. But I work quickly.’ She pulled out a long white satin gown and then a blue one. She opened a large sewing box and got busily to work, cutting and pinning and sewing.