The Prince would never give up, he would never rest and he could never feel that the insult to his pride was wiped out until Lord Dorrington was dead.

Alyna was sure of this with an inner conviction that could not be ignored.

Yet she knew if she told even a little of what she was thinking to Lord Dorrington, he would not only think her over-imaginative, but he also might guess how deeply perturbed she was at the idea of his life being in danger.

‘He was safe until I came into his life,’ she thought despairingly and wondered how she could ever make reparation for the wrong she had done him.

She felt helplessly, however, that there was nothing she could say and went up to her bedroom.

All the way up the carved oak staircase, she was praying that one day they might return to Dorrington Park.

She was terror-struck with the thought that long before Lord Dorrington was ready to leave London, the Prince would have his revenge and, if she came back at all, it would be as a widow.

‘A widow who has never been a wife!’ she thought bitterly and fought against the tears that seemed to burn at the back of her eyes.

“You’re lookin’ very pale, my Lady,” one of the maids remarked.

She had helped Alyna change into a travelling gown and she now set on her head a very elegant hat that was tied beneath her chin with silk ribbons.

“It must be the heat,” Alyna said lightly.

“You haven’t heard of the accident, my Lady?”

“What accident?” Alyna asked.

“There was a lunatic who shot at his Lordship when he was in the garden. Fortunately his Lordship had his pistol with him and he killed the man.”

Alyna did not speak and the maid said enthusiastically,

“But there, his Lordship be a fine sportsman. The gamekeepers say there’s never been a gentleman with a better eye.”

“His Lordship does a lot of shooting then?” Alyna managed to remark.

“Yes, indeed, my Lady. We have big parties here in the autumn. So it wasn’t likely that a crazy footpad would get the better of his Lordship.”

“No, of course not,” Alyna answered,

At the same time she thought despairingly that however good a shot a man was, he could not be permanently on his guard against creatures who would creep up on him in the dark or try to strike him down on his own land.

‘I love him, God,’ she whispered in her heart. ‘Save him! I beg of You to save him from the Prince!’

In her anxiety for Lord Dorrington her own personal fear of the Prince had vanished.

As they drove towards London, she thought over in her mind whether it would be wise for her to see the Prince and beg him to spare his Lordship’s life.