There was a little smile now at the corner of his lips and she felt that there was an insult in the look in his eyes although she could not name it.

“You will not see me alone?” she asked, her voice quiet and steady, despite the rising colour that gave a pale glow to her cheeks.

“No, he answered,” holding out the five-pound note in what was obviously intended to be a tantalising way.

“Very well,” Carina replied. “I have done my best to be discreet about this, but I have come here – because your wife asked me to.”

“My wife! God damn it! What do you mean by that?”

“I mean – ” Carina faltered, finding it hard to choose the right word, “that your wife has sent you your child. She is dying, so she could not come herself – but this is your son and I have papers in my bag to prove it.”

For a moment Lord Lynche stared at Carina as though she had taken leave of her senses and then, in a strangled voice, he managed to ejaculate,

“My son!”

“Yes, Carina answered, opening her handbag. “I have here his Birth Certificate. He was born in Java seven months after you left there, but you will see both his mother’s name and yours are recorded on the Certificate.

She held it out to him and he took the piece of paper, staring at it incredulously.

“My son!” he repeated to himself.

And then, suddenly, he threw back his head and began to laugh.

His laughter echoed horribly round the hall, peal upon peal of it, while Carina stared at him wide-eyed and Dipa, not understanding what it was all about, began to laugh too!

Chapter 3

Carina gazed at Lord Lynche as if she thought that he had gone mad.

And then, sharply, because she was shocked, she said,

“I don’t think you understand that your wife is dying!”

The tone of her voice wiped the laughter from his lips and he stared back at her, an expression on his face that she could not fathom.

“Come upstairs,” he said.

It was such a strange request that Carina was for the moment speechless, merely looking up at him with wondering eyes, conscious as she did so that he was taking in her appearance, detail by detail.

And then, before she could speak, the door through which Lord Lynche had entered the hall opened and a man’s voice called,

“Justin, what the devil are you doing? We are waiting for you!”

The newcomer had spoken before he saw that Lord Lynche was actually in the hall.

Now, with his hand still on the handle of the door, he ejaculated,

“Oh, there you are! What’s keeping you?”

“There are visitors, Percy,” Lord Lynche answered, and then, after a pause, added, “for my mother.”

“At this time of night!”