It was a gift for which she was always extremely grateful and, because she was so beautiful, she was sure she could hold the affection of any man for just as long as she wanted him.

With, of course, the exception of the Duke.

She always had the uncomfortable feeling when he left her even after hours of passionate lovemaking that she might never see him again.

It made her want to hold onto him with both hands and make him swear that what he felt for her was a love that was eternal and would never fade.

But she was astute enough to know that this was the last way of holding him and only by letting him think he was free would she keep him her prisoner.

Her long experience of men should, Aline thought, have made her know exactly how to handle the Duke.

Yet, because he was unlike any other man who had ever been her lover, she knew that if he wished to leave her he would do so and no amount of pleading or tears would persuade him to stay.

“Of course he loves me, I know he loves me,” she told her reflection.

But while her voice spoke positively, there was a question in her eyes to which she had no answer.

Suddenly the door behind her opened and she turned sharply as the butler announced,

“His Grace the Duke of Tynemouth, my Lady!”

“What a lovely surprise!” Aline managed to exclaim as she moved towards the Duke holding out her hand.

“We will not wait for my other guests, Dalton,” she said to the butler. “They may be late, so bring the tea now please.”

“Very good, my Lady.”

As the door closed, the Duke raised Aline’s hand to his lips to ask with a twinkle in his eyes,

“Who else is expected?”

“Oh, quite a number of friends,” she replied airily.

“You are a liar, but a very beautiful one,” he retorted, “and, of course, I am waiting to hear why it was so necessary for me to come to see you this afternoon.”

“Come and sit down.”

Aline seated herself on a brocade sofa with flowers arranged behind it so that they made a perfect background for her beauty while he took a chair opposite her.

He waited until the servants had brought in a large and elaborate tea and, as the door closed, Aline, making no pretence of touching the teapot, bent forward to say in a low voice,

“I had to see you and there was no other way I could do so.”

“Why is it so urgent?” the Duke asked. “We are meeting each other at the weekend.”

“I know,” Aline replied, “and I am looking forward to it more than I can possibly say. But, darling, something terrible has happened that you must know now – at once!”

Because there was such a note of urgency in her voice, he said sharply,

“Then tell me what it is!”