It had been a clever way of eliciting information and his Lordship could hardly blame his groom for having fallen into a trap that had been very craftily set.

At the same time Lord Dorrington felt an anxiety and an apprehension for Alyna that made him wonder how he could have been so foolish as not to have covered his tracks more successfully.

There was, however, now nothing to be done but try and race the Prince to Shenley Manor, hoping that the fact that His Highness did not know the road would delay him.

Lord Dorrington’s hopes were, however, disappointed. As he drove at breakneck speed up the drive of the Manor House, his horses sweating and his groom gripping the sides of the phaeton, he saw the Prince’s curricle standing empty in front of the house.

He started to jump down from the phaeton and as he did so his groom said,

“I brought the whip that your Lordship asked me to purchase for the young gentleman. I have it here on the hood.”

He handed to Lord Dorrington as he spoke a small wiry riding whip with a silver handle.

Lord Dorrington took it almost automatically and then hurried up the steps to the front door.

The old butler was standing in the hall.

“I saw you arriving, my Lord,” he said. “The Mistress is in the nursery. I will tell her you are here.”

“Where is Miss Alyna?” Lord Dorrington asked sharply.

“She’s gone for a walk with Master Rupert, my Lord. There was another gentleman enquiring for her and I sent him down by the stream. There’s a path there, your Lordship, that leads to the wood.”

Lord Dorrington waited no longer, but ran across the hall, through the salon and out into the garden.

He was moving quickly across the lawn when he saw Rupert running towards him.

“Uncle Ulric! Uncle Ulric!” Rupert cried breathlessly, “I’ve come to get my sword. There’s a bad ogre frightening Aunt Alyna! He pushed me in my back and hurt me.”

Lord Dorrington stopped for only a moment.

“Go to Mama, Rupert,” he said quickly.

Then he started to run towards the path that Rupert had just come down.

He heard the small boy call after him but did not stop to hear what he said. He only hurried on until he saw in the distance Prince Ahmadi carrying Alyna under the branches of a tree.

He heard Alyna scream twice before finally he reached them.

Then, as Lord Dorrington saw the Prince lying on top of her, his hand tearing at her gown, he took hold of his cravat at the back of his neck and pulled him to his feet.

“Get up, you swine!” Lord Dorrington exclaimed.

Before the Prince had time to be aware of what was happening, Lord Dorrington smashed his fist into his face so that he staggered and nearly fell to the ground.