“I came to see if they were making you comfortable,” he said.

“I should hardly have thought that was in your province, Sir Percy,” Carina replied.

“Hoity-toity!” he retorted. “You look very attractive when you are angry. I like angry women. It amuses me to make them smile and say they were sorry that they were cross.”

“If you will please excuse us, Sir Percy,” Carina said coldly, “we have to get ready for luncheon.”

“There is no hurry,” Sir Percy answered. “It is not until a quarter past one.”

“On the contrary, it is at twelve-thirty,” Carina said.

He smiled and she knew that he was mocking her.

“You think you are clever, don’t you?” he said. “Let me tell you that you do not know everything in your pretty little head. You forget that in the best houses the children come down to luncheon. I have just reminded his Lordship of the fact. He is not used to children, so he did not realise it. I suggested that the King of Singora might feel that his grandson was being slighted if he was not treated in the correct English manner.”

“I wish you would not interfere,” Carina said. “I would much rather give Dipa his food up here.”

“And then I should not have the pleasure of seeing you, would I?” Sir Percy said. “And, damn it all, I like looking at you. As I have told you already, you are a beautiful creature, but rather like an unbroken filly at the moment. Sooner or later a filly learns to obey her Master’s hand.”

Carina pretended not to have heard him.

As she walked across the room, she made a pretence of looking at Dipa’s hands to see if they were clean. She knew they were, because she had already washed them before she went down to the Dowager. Then, finding no excuse to wash him again, she started taking some toys unnecessarily from a table by the window and putting them in another part of the room.

“Come here,” Sir Percy said suddenly.

For a moment she almost obeyed him and then said quickly,

“I am busy, Sir Percy, as you can see. If, as you say, we are coming down to luncheon, you can talk to me then if you wish. I have no time now.”

“What I have to say cannot be said in front of other people,” Sir Percy replied. “Come along, girl, you know you are keeping me waiting.”

As she paid no attention to him, he walked across the room towards her and now Carina had the horrible feeling that he was stalking her. He came closer and yet closer and, when she moved away from him, he seemed in some way to circumvent her by being just where she intended to go.

Quite suddenly fear and indignation made her lose her temper. Instead of moving away from him, she stood still and faced him.