“You know I am! But I have nothing – to give up. There are no long years of hard work behind me, nor the spur of ambition which you have and which you cannot deny.”

“I admit in the past that ambition drove me hard,” Lord Castleford agreed. “I was glad when I received Lord Palmerston’s letter sending me to Greece simply because it was another step up the ladder. But now I am not interested in Greece or Paris or the Court of St. James’s. I only want you!”

“Do you think that I would be enough? How could one woman fill your mind to the exclusion of all else – even if she could satisfy your body?”

Lord Castleford smiled.

“You are very eloquent, my darling, but I assure you that I am not a lovesick boy acting on the impulse of the moment. I have calculated exactly what this will mean. I have weighed up the consequences of my action and I know irrefutably that I shall be doing the right thing, the only thing that matters to me, when I become your husband.”

Yamina did not reply, but her eyes were on his face and he saw them suddenly fill with tears.

“My sweet!” he said and stepping across the space that divided them he took her into his arms.

She hid her face against his shoulder and he felt her quiver.

After a moment she said in a broken voice,

“I did not – know that any man could be so – wonderful! So utterly and – completely – magnificent!”

“You have never known a man who has loved you like I do,” Lord Castleford said, “and you will never know another!”

His arms tightened.

“I shall be a very jealous husband!”

“I have not yet said – that I will marry you,” Yamina breathed. “After all, we know so little about each other. You may be disappointed when you know me better!”

“I know everything that matters,” Lord Castleford said. “Perhaps anyone listening to us would think it strange that I do not even know your name. It is of little consequence, but perhaps it is something I should have made a note of.”

He was smiling as he spoke, but Yamina was still and did not move her face from against his shoulder.

“One Russian name is very like another,” she said. “What really matters is the fact that I am Russian – and to marry me, an enemy of your country – would be to throw away your diplomatic career.”

“There are other things to do in the world,” Lord Castleford said. “I have an estate in England, a house where, when the war is over, I think you will be very happy, but in the meantime we shall be together. We can go to any neutral country we please and get to know each other. There is so much I want to know about you, my beautiful one!”