But how could they be any guide to her attempt to learn about Lord Dorrington?

There was no answer to this and finally Alyna pulled at the bell so that her maid came hurrying at the sound.

She had her breakfast and then dressed in a pretty muslin gown in a pale shade of green and went downstairs to await the return of Lord Dorrington.

He had, as she suspected, gone riding and she wandered a little forlornly into the library hoping that he would not be away for long.

She had been thrilled to see so many books when he had first shown her the room and yet now they held little significance beside the feeling inside her that all she wanted was to see their owner again.

Then she thought that perhaps a book, if she could find the right one, would teach her something about love. Something that would explain this new sensation that lay within her, which was quite unlike anything she had known before.

She felt as if she was a flower and her petals were gradually opening towards the light.

She moved along the bookshelves striving to focus her attention upon the volumes that only a week ago would have aroused within her an ecstasy of delight.

But now all the time she was listening for the sound of Lord Dorrington returning from his ride.

There was something about his footsteps that she thought she would recognise anywhere.

One could read people by the way they walked – by the firmness with which their feet met the ground and yet with a lightness that said they were alert and their brains were active.

It seemed to Alyna a long time later when finally she heard Lord Dorrington’s voice and felt her heart leap in her breast.

She was so elated at the thought of seeing him that she had to check herself severely so as not to run from the library into the hall.

‘Be calm! Be sensible!’ she chided herself. ‘This ridiculous emotion would be an embarrassment to him.’

She therefore pretended to be surprised when finally Lord Dorrington came in the hall.

“You are early, Alyna,” he said.

“Did you enjoy your ride?”

“Tomorrow you must come with me.”

“I would like to do that.”

“I have sent to London for a habit. It should arrive today.”

“Thank you, you think of everything.”

“I try to,” he replied, “but it’s not always possible.”

There was a look in his eyes that made her imagine that he was remembering the unexpected events of the night before and she felt the colour rise in her cheeks.

“I have made enquiries,” Lord Dorrington said, “but no one has seen a strange man wandering about the garden or the estate.”

“Perhaps I imagined he was there,” Alyna replied in a low voice.