Chapter 8

A nna blinked and raised a gloved hand to shield her eyes while they adjusted to her surroundings once she entered the prince of Schwarzenberg’s residence in Paris. The hall was large and spacious, with marble floors and arched ceilings that seemed to rise to the heavens. It seemed appropriate to Anna, as they were painted to look like the sky, with golden clouds and birds winging upward and large chandeliers that shone brightly and made the room feel as though it were noonday rather than evening.

It was the most elegant dwelling in which Anna had ever set foot. Clifton Hall, while lovely, didn’t compare, and what few stately homes Anna had visited previously had been lovely, of course, but not like Prince Karl Philipp’s residence. Exquisite , fashionable , grand , luxurious were all words that had sprung instantly into Anna’s thoughts upon stepping inside.

Mr. Osbourne and Mr. Jennings had taken her to a well-respected dress shop and had spoken to the modiste in rapid French, who had then barked instructions to her seamstresses and shop girls in more rapid French, while Anna and Mary had stood by in awe, watching the commotion that had spun around them. After a final flurry of French words that had ended with Mr. Jennings handing the modiste a packet of money—which Anna was determined to address at a later time—the two gentleman had returned to Anna’s side and informed her that they would be back to collect her and her packages in precisely three hours. Fortunately, that three hours—during which a few French words, a few English words, and a lot of gesturing had taken place until all parties had seemed satisfied with the results and the purchases had been boxed up—had flown by.

The jewelry Anna had chosen to wear this evening was the strand of pearls she’d inherited from Mama, along with the earrings that accompanied them. She had wanted at least one keepsake from the people she had loved most in the world with her this evening.

A footman assisted her with her cloak while she gazed about and marveled. The hall itself was breathtaking enough, but the guests ...

Anna had never seen so many gentlemen in colorful military uniforms covered in ribbons and sashes and medals, nor ladies in such ornate gowns and feathers and jewels. Footmen wove through the throng, bearing trays of champagne and somehow managing not to spill a drop. Couples waltzed to the music soaring from the orchestra on the dais at the end of the room. And even with all this whirling about, the hall itself had room to spare for the additional guests entering behind Anna and the others.

“It is because of you that we are able to be in attendance this evening,” Osbourne said quietly to her while they waited in the queue to greet their host. “There are people here who need a gentle touch, as they say, to smooth their entrance into the Coalition. You have proven to be pivotal in that and will no doubt prove it further.”

“Enough, Osbourne,” James whispered.

“Ah, Lady Anna,” Prince Karl Philipp said with a bow over her gloved hand. “I am so glad you were able to join us this evening—you and your excellent companions. And I am pleased that you would choose to set aside your mourning attire for this evening—your lavender gown is stunning, and you are even more beautiful than I recalled.”

“Thank you, Your Serene Highness,” Anna said with a deep curtsy.

“I’m confident your father would agree that the end of the war is a good thing and worthy of celebration,” he replied.

Anna simply smiled in response.

Then the prince turned to Mr. Jennings and Mr. Osbourne. “Gentlemen,” he said.

That was all he said to her “excellent companions,” who each bowed to the prince in return.

“Come, I will introduce you to some of my guests, Lady Anna,” Prince Karl Philipp said and took her by the elbow—not forcefully but certainly in a manner that suggested he got his way most of the time. He then proceeded to introduce Anna to several of the people in the colorful uniforms and gowns and with titles such as count and duke and countess . When names such as Auguste, Wilhelm, Frederick, Leopold, Gertrude, and Sophia began flying about Anna in a conversational mix of German, French, and English—the latter spoken with such heavy accents that Anna could barely tell that it was English—she felt certain she would succumb to her confusion. Thankfully, Mr. Jennings had followed behind her and the prince and had assisted her with translation.

She smiled and curtsied and offered her hand to be bowed over and to receive indulgent kisses as the prince introduced her as “his special friend,” which was rather generous of him, considering they’d met only the evening before.

Mr. Osbourne had deserted them and was currently off chatting with an older gentleman with impressive sideburns who was wearing a grand, red uniform covered in medals.

“Ah, Mr. Jennings, I’m pleased to see that you are in Paris once again.”

Anna and James both turned their attention to the gentleman who’d spoken—a rather tall, blond gentleman wearing formal evening attire rather than a uniform.

“Herr von Oberhausen,” Mr. Jennings said with a polite bow in greeting, although Anna noted that his tone wasn’t overly welcoming.

“As you see,” the gentleman replied. He immediately turned his attention to Anna and smiled beguilingly at her, which made Anna shift a bit uncomfortably, although she couldn’t say precisely why. Herr von Oberhausen was an attractive gentleman with a pleasant disposition, so her reaction confused her other than having noted Mr. Jennings’s slightly cool tone. “And what a lovely lady you have with you,” he said to Mr. Jennings, nodding in her direction. “We haven’t had the pleasure of an introduction. Do we understand correctly that she is Schwarzenberg’s particular friend?”

“Allow me to introduce Lady Anna Clifton,” Mr. Jennings replied rather unenthusiastically. “Lady Anna, Herr Gunter von Oberhausen.”

That the prince had referred to her as his “special” friend when introducing her had already taken her by surprise. “Particular friend” had a rather indecent ring to it, and she didn’t want any gossip following her. She could barely imagine anyone here referring to her in such a manner, so absurd it was. “I only had the pleasure of meeting the prince yesterday. He was very kind to offer invitations to me and my friends for this evening despite our recent acquaintance.”

“Ah, yes, so I see,” Herr von Oberhausen said, although he didn’t act convinced by her explanation. “I imagine he was as charmed by your beauty as any gentleman would be, myself included.” He extended his hand toward her. “Will you permit me to invite you to dance, especially as Mr. Jennings here has failed to do so? The waltzes this evening are delightful, and I do not think they allow such a dance so frequently in London as they do here in Paris.”

Mr. Jennings made a noise in his throat but said nothing. Anna doubted Herr von Oberhausen heard it, but she was exceedingly aware of the nuances of Mr. Jennings’s utterances by now.

She was at a loss as to what to do. Dancing wasn’t something she had expected at the soiree, and it certainly wasn’t something she’d considered doing while in mourning, although it wasn’t quite as frowned upon during half-mourning, which was conveyed by the color of her gown. Besides, she wasn’t entirely sure she wished to dance with someone who was so obviously flirting with her; it felt oddly dangerous.

And yet Mr. Osbourne had impressed upon her the fact that there would be people here this evening whose position within the Sixth Coalition needed smoothing. Was Herr von Oberhausen one of those people?

She straightened her spine and inhaled deeply. “Thank you, Herr von Oberhausen,” she said, hoping the smile on her face looked genuine. “I would be honored.”

Mr. Jennings made another small sound in his throat.

She smiled the same smile at Mr. Jennings that she’d just given Herr von Oberhausen.

“Excellent,” Herr von Oberhausen purred. “And you must call me Gunter.” He offered her his arm and led her out onto the floor, where others were dancing.

Anna couldn’t help but glance back at Mr. Jennings as Herr von Oberhausen—she would not refer to him as Gunter—took her in his arms ... and then pulled her in far too closely for her liking.

James turned on his heel and stalked to a side of the hall where there were fewer people with whom to engage in conversation but where it still allowed him to keep an eye on Lady Anna and von Oberhausen. James tried not to appear to be pacing, and he did manage brief conversations with a few people. He also tried not to be too obvious in following Lady Anna’s actions, despite himself.

He already distrusted von Oberhausen from their previous encounters, few though they had been, and his instincts were telling him that the man was up to something. That von Oberhausen would also refer to Lady Anna as Schwarzenberg’s “particular friend,” as in the prince’s mistress, was extremely unsettling.

Herr Gunter von Oberhausen was from the Grand Duchy of Berg, which had been poorly ruled for the past decade: first passed as a concession from the kingdom of Prussia to the French Empire and impoverished for the past decade due to Bonaparte’s failed economic plans. The kingdom of Prussia had just reclaimed the duchy, and James wondered if von Oberhausen might be planning to use Lady Anna as a pawn somehow, especially if he truly thought Lady Anna was a “particular friend” of the powerful prince, who, besides being generalissimo , was also ambassador to France and highly regarded among the Coalition members.

If this was von Oberhausen’s plan, it would be of no use to him, since Lady Anna was definitely not Schwarzenberg’s “particular friend,” so to speak. And while James recognized several highly regarded mistresses of some of the elite in attendance this evening—along with countesses and duchesses and wives—he was unsure whether Schwarzenberg indulged in such abhorrent but socially acceptable behavior.

Lady Anna finished the waltz with von Oberhausen, but then another gentleman, one of von Oberhausen’s associates, claimed her for the next dance. James doubted Lady Anna would have preferred to dance at all this evening and had only agreed in order to comply with the prince’s wishes that she relax her state of mourning for the evening.

If von Oberhausen thought to apply pressure to Schwarzenberg by seducing the prince’s supposed “particular friend” ...

James would not allow it.

Thus resolved, he made his way through the crowds and stood near where Lady Anna was dancing. He had met her dance partner only once and couldn’t recall his name at present. James hadn’t exerted himself when it had come to von Oberhausen’s friends.

The music drew to a conclusion, and James immediately walked out onto the dance floor toward Lady Anna, but unfortunately, von Oberhausen must have noticed James’s movements and arrived at Anna’s side right before James did.

“It is a pleasure indeed to watch you dance, Lady Anna—nearly as much as actually dancing with you,” von Oberhausen said.

“Lady Anna,” James interjected.

Lady Anna turned and looked at him, her eyes large. He wished he could discern what her eyes were telling him, but no matter. He was on a mission now.

“And yet I dare not invite you to dance again,” von Oberhausen continued, his voice low and inviting, “for I know we must maintain appearances, no? But a stroll around the room would not be forbidden, surely. And I will enjoy introducing you to so many of the prince’s esteemed guests.”

“The prince took care of that himself,” James said, trying to maintain his composure. “Come, Lady Anna, I believe I see—”

“Surely you cannot begrudge me a stroll with such a beautiful woman as Lady Anna,” von Oberhausen interrupted with a smug smile that James wanted to wipe from the man’s face. “I only wish to have my turn to enjoy Lady Anna’s charms before Schwarzenberg takes his opportunity to spend time with her. And you , of course, have undoubtedly enjoyed much of Lady Anna’s attention and time already; is this not fair to say?”

Von Oberhausen’s last statement held enough innuendo that James felt his muscles tense.

“I believe you are under a misapprehension, Herr von Oberhausen,” James said, stepping closer to the couple. He glanced at Lady Anna, at her beautiful, anxious face and her large, worried—yes, worried—eyes. “I cannot speak for Lady Anna as to whether I have taken too much of her time.” He stared at her, hoping she would read his thoughts, somehow, and politely decline von Oberhausen’s invitation. “And it is certainly Lady Anna’s choice with whom she wishes to stroll or dance or engage in conversation.”

“Lady Anna?” von Oberhausen asked with just a hint of challenge in his tone.

She smiled brightly—too brightly for James’s liking—at von Oberhausen. “I should be delighted to stroll with you and meet more of the prince’s guests. Thank you,” she said.

Von Oberhausen offered Lady Anna his arm. “Excellent. I am the most fortunate of gentlemen, my lady.” He shot a triumphant glance at James.

Lady Anna looked at James with those dazzling blue eyes of hers, still smiling, yet her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

James needed to assure her of his protection from von Oberhausen, whom James mistrusted completely now. “I should enjoy taking a turn with you around the room myself, Lady Anna, and perhaps even sharing a dance, if that pleases you, after your stroll with this gentleman.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jennings,” Anna said in return, and James thought he caught the merest sign of relief in her expression.

“I shall ardently await your return to my side,” he added. He spoke to Lady Anna, but the words were directed at von Oberhausen.

Von Oberhausen merely nodded, and the two of them strolled away from James and disappeared into the crowd.

“Here you are!” Osbourne’s too-cheery voice exclaimed behind James. “I’ve been looking for you and Lady Anna.”

“I’m sure you have been,” James growled.

“Someone is in a foul mood,” Osbourne said, stating the obvious.

“In a word, von Oberhausen,” James replied.

“Ah,” Osbourne said.

“The man implied that Anna was Schwarzenberg’s mistress, and I believe he wishes to ingratiate himself with her to get in the prince’s good graces—or, at least, to manipulate the prince in some way. I doubt she is enjoying herself.”

“Hmm,” was all Osbourne said in return.

Osbourne’s reply confirmed at least part of James’s suspicions: his friend was involved with this particular scheme in some fashion.

And James intended to get to the bottom of it.

How dare he!

First, Mr. Jennings did nothing while Herr von Oberhausen took her onto the floor to dance and whisper unseemly things to her while holding her too closely for propriety’s sake.

And then he simply stood aside and let her decide whether to stroll with Herr von Oberhausen— she , who only knew that being amiable was important for diplomatic reasons but nothing else. Surely, Mr. Jennings should have realized that she was ill-equipped to deal with the likes of Herr von Oberhausen. This stranger was no fool, and despite his handsome outward appearance and smooth charm, it had only taken an introduction to him for her to realize that he was a rogue and not to be trusted.

She wished she’d had a decent response to keep him in his place, but while her upbringing had taught her how to behave in polite society, it hadn’t precisely taught her how to deal with rakes or rogues. And the circumstances this evening were far removed from London gatherings and especially distant from simple life at Clifton Cross.

She chided herself as she strolled next to Herr von Oberhausen and smiled and nodded greetings at the people—mostly gentlemen—to whom she was being introduced. She should be grateful to Mr. Jennings for crossing the dance floor to check on her at all, she supposed.

“May I introduce Herr Schreiber ... Herr Franck ... Herr Schmidt and Fraulein Vogel ... Baron Eric von Klein ... Herr Müller ... Monsieur Fontaine ...” The names he said seemed to drone on endlessly.

She did her best to act normally, smile, curtsy, offer her hand to be bowed over and respond properly as Herr von Oberhausen introduced her to the people with whom it was obvious he was most acquainted. It was also obvious that those people had heard a rumor about her being the prince’s “particular friend,” if their hidden smirks and the wanton glances from the gentlemen were anything to go by.

Because she’d been urged by Mr. Osbourne to be cordial for diplomacy’s sake, she did her best, but inside, she was seething.

It had only gotten worse when Herr von Oberhausen had leaned close to her ear as they’d finally strolled back toward Mr. Jennings. “You are a tempting morsel, my dear,” he whispered, making her shudder. “The prince is the most fortunate of men; I envy him. Perhaps you will tell him of my restraint. It was most difficult, I assure you.”

By the time he returned her to Mr. Jennings’s side, Anna had had enough. She was being used as a pawn; she could feel it. She wanted to leave, and the sooner the better.

“Thank you for the stroll, Herr von Oberhausen, and for introducing me to so many fascinating people,” she said flatly, even while doing her best to appear truthful.

He bowed to Anna but not without shooting a victorious glance at Mr. Jennings. “My dear Lady Anna, our time together draws to a conclusion. Auf wiedersehen , lovely lady. It has been a pleasure—a brief, perhaps unfulfilled pleasure, but a pleasure, nonetheless. Perhaps we shall see each other again soon. That is my hope.”

She responded with a slight curtsy and then watched with relief as he sauntered off.

Mr. Jennings offered her his arm, which she chose to ignore.

“You’re upset,” he whispered.

“Upset does not even begin to cover what I am feeling at present,” she replied, glancing at a footman standing nearby, pretending not to listen. She could only pray the man didn’t speak much English.

“We are in unusual circumstances here, even more so than I realized,” he said softly, also glancing at the footman. “Come, dance with me. Most of these people will ignore us if we’re dancing, but they will surely remember a contretemps they witnessed at Schwarzenberg’s soiree.”

He made a good argument, Anna thought begrudgingly. Of course he had; he was a lawyer. “Very well,” she said.

Once again, Mr. Jennings offered Anna his arm, which she took this time. He led the way back to the area set aside for dancing, deliberately adjusting their steps so they appeared to be strolling in a leisurely manner. When they were among the other dancers, he turned and offered her his arms for the slow waltz currently in progress.

Anna held up her arms and allowed him to take her in his ... and the moment he did, she felt as though she were on fire, and her reaction to him only made her angrier.

“What’s the matter now?” he whispered against her ear.

“It’s rather hot in here,” she said. She wasn’t about to confess her attraction to him when she was so upset.

He had the good sense to remain silent.

And then he pulled her in more closely, and she thought she truly might burst into flames. It was the complete opposite of how she’d felt when Herr von Oberhausen had done the same thing.

“Then, why has your heart sped up so?” he asked. “We are not dancing so quickly that you should be ... breathless ...” He had the masculine audacity to whisper that last word near her ear.

She shivered—entirely against her will.

He gracefully spun her, and they danced, now in silence, thank goodness, while she continued to fight the urge to touch his face and breathe in his masculine scent and draw him closer to her and relish the strength of his shoulders.

She was in trouble.

“Ah! Here you both are,” someone said behind them. “I’ve been trying to find you.”

It was Mr. Osbourne, and the smirk on his face said much more than his words did.

Anna told herself to stop blushing even as she felt her cheeks heating up.

“I invited Lady Anna to enjoy a waltz with me,” Mr. Jennings said smoothly. He wasn’t blushing in the least, which was entirely unfair.

“I thought von Oberhausen had claimed her ...” Mr. Osbourne let his words linger in the air.

“So he had,” Mr. Jennings said. “And yet, here we are, Lady Anna and I, dancing together until we were unfortunately interrupted.”

Mr. Osbourne glanced at Anna. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and she dearly wished she could—or maybe not—and then he smiled what seemed to her a knowing smile at Mr. Jennings. This was becoming unbearable. Perhaps she’d been in safer hands with Herr von Oberhausen; at least with him, she’d had some clarity about his actions and intentions.

“My apologies for the interruption,” Mr. Osbourne said. “I shall leave you to your waltz.” He chuckled and sauntered off.

“Mr. Osbourne seems pleased with himself,” Anna said as they began dancing again.

“Indeed,” Mr. Jennings said.

“I couldn’t bear the way Herr von Oberhausen and his friends were looking at me,” Anna said candidly to him. “A man may do as he pleases, but a lady ... Even the smallest hint of scandal can follow her for years. You and Mr. Osbourne needn’t worry about such things; being gentlemen and sons of noblemen, you are allowed certain indiscretions. But I cannot bear to let these circumstances bring dishonor to my family. My honor may be all I have left in the world if I don’t find Avery.”

“I understand better than you may think,” he replied. “But for now, we must play the part, so to speak, so we shall smile and dance and be congenial toward anyone with whom we converse while we remain. We shall sort everything else tomorrow. And I promise you, all will be well.”

And then he twirled her, bringing her even closer to him, their bodies nearly touching, and she felt unable to push him away, even though she was confused and embarrassed and ... and her soul dearly wished she could believe what he had just promised her.

The waltz was drawing to a close, and James reluctantly adjusted his hold on Lady Anna to allow more space between them. Oh, but she felt soft and warm and smelled of jasmine and vanilla, the commingled scents both strong and light, just as Lady Anna herself was.

He looked at her face, directly into her sapphire eyes, unable to let go of her hand or draw his other hand from her slender waist. They danced this way until the waltz ended ... and then her gaze went to something or someone behind him, and he immediately felt a tap on his shoulder. He broke his dance hold with Lady Anna and turned.

“Mr. Jennings,” a footman, who’d apparently been the person to tap his shoulder, said. “Prince Karl Philipp requests the company of you and your dance partner. Please, follow me.”

James offered Lady Anna his arm, and they followed the footman to an area arranged with chairs for people who wished to sit and take refreshments. James spied Schwarzenberg in conversation with men whose lands had been part of the Confederation of the Rhine under Napoleon. James didn’t know everyone gathered around the prince, but he recognized a few: Prince Johann, the prince regent of Liechtenstein, and envoys from Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands, who represented only a few of the sovereignties scrambling to find their footing now that Napoleon had abdicated.

“Ah, Mr. Jennings and Lady Anna,” Schwarzenberg said in a cheerful tone after he and the others rose to their feet in greeting. “Have you met the other members of my group here?” He then proceeded to make all the introductions. “There! Now we are all acquainted. My friends, Mr. Jennings, along with Mr. Osbourne, whom you met earlier, serve with Lord Castlereagh and, therefore, deserve not only your acquaintance but your respect, for we are indebted to our English friends, are we not?”

“Yes,” a couple of them said. “ Ja ” and “ Oui ” were also commingled with the English, as were “ Merci ” and “ Danke .” But James also noticed a few raised eyebrows among those to whom they’d been introduced. Rumors appeared to have spread even here, it seemed.

“And while I would enjoy nothing more than to have you become further acquainted with Mr. Jennings and the lovely Lady Anna, I’m afraid I must take them from you for a few minutes so I may converse with them. Please excuse us.”

The others nodded politely in farewell as the prince gestured toward a nearby corridor. “Shall we?” he said, addressing James and Lady Anna, and then he led the way down the corridor until they were at a door, which a footman opened.

“Please,” the prince said, gesturing for them to enter the room first.

It was an elegant study, James noticed, decorated in deep velvet and dark woods, but he was more concerned about the private conversation that was about to occur. Lady Anna’s eyes couldn’t get any larger. He laid his free hand reassuringly atop her hand, which was gripping his arm now rather than resting on it.

“You may not be able to tell,” the prince began once they had all seated themselves, “but I am exceedingly angry at present. Only years of serving diplomatically and militarily and the self-discipline I have developed as a result have kept my other guests from seeing my displeasure.”

James glanced sideways at Lady Anna, who sat next to him on a settee. She had visibly paled.

“I enjoyed our time together yesterday evening, Lady Anna, over the finer points of chess and thought you an honorable English lady with whom I could share a congenial friendship. I even bestowed a distinct honor upon you by personally inviting you here this evening, extending the invitation to your two friends as well. I confess I would have felt more comfortable had their associate Lord Castlereagh been in Paris. And now my intuition tells me I was correct to have concerns.”

“Your Serene Highness—” James began to interject.

The prince held up his hand to silence him without so much as looking his way.

“I am grieved, Lady Anna,” Schwarzenberg said, shaking his head in feigned sorrow.

James remained quiet since he’d been silenced once already by the prince. He was rarely at a loss, but this occasion required delicate maneuvering, for it was easy now to see just how angry Schwarzenberg was.

No one spoke. Anna sat rigidly next to James, her full lips quivering. James wanted to take her hand in his own but didn’t dare move.

It dawned on him then that they were very much in their own chess match at the moment, he and Lady Anna, facing down the prince. James felt like a pawn. He imagined Lady Anna did too. Whose move was it?

“What have you to say for yourself?” the prince asked after a tense pause.

Lady Anna straightened her back and took a deep breath. “I accepted your invitation to attend this celebration in good faith,” she said. “My only intent on traveling to Paris was to locate my brother, the last of my immediate family, who was wounded in battle and is missing. What is it I’m supposed to have done?” she asked. “I have but danced two dances and was invited to stroll briefly.”

Well done, Lady Anna , James thought. She was acting with dignity and had not recoiled under the prince’s surprising anger.

“And apparently thought it to your benefit to suggest to your partners that you had a, shall we say, intimate relationship with a certain prince,” the prince said. “Me, in fact.”

Anna shook her head in denial. “I would never presume such a thing on our brief acquaintance and your kindness in such a manner as I have been accused, Your Highness,” she said. “In fact, I would never agree to be someone’s mistress at all and am offended at the damage such an implication would make to my family’s and my reputation.”

“Your Serene Highness,” James said again. “Allow me to speak on Lady Anna’s behalf. I am of the opinion that Gunter von Oberhausen is the source of the rumor.”

“Von Oberhausen?” the prince asked, not replying to Lady Anna.

“Yes, Your Highness,” James replied. “While I might be willing to suggest that my colleague Mr. Osbourne hoped that introducing you to our beautiful new friend here would gain us an invitation to tonight’s soiree, owing to your generous nature, it was never our intent to do anything rather than further Lord Castlereagh’s diplomatic work. Von Oberhausen, on the other hand, seems willing to dishonor not only Lady Anna but you yourself also by his actions and choice of words.”

“Von Oberhausen,” the prince repeated. He rose to his feet and assisted Anna to hers. “My deepest apologies, Lady Anna, Mr. Jennings, for putting you through this questioning. But instead, you have succeeded in confirming long-held suspicions regarding von Oberhausen. Please excuse me.” He bowed and then left the room abruptly.

“‘My apologies for suggesting you are telling people you’re my mistress,’” James muttered as he stood, pretending he was Schwarzenberg. “And then he leaves, just like that.” He shook his head. “Were he not a prince, I would challenge him to a duel on your behalf. I have half a mind to do so anyway.”

“It would accomplish nothing,” Anna said, looking heartbreakingly crestfallen. “Prince Karl Philipp is a better chess player than we thought. But thank you, Mr. Jennings. If you’d be so kind, I should like to leave now.”

“Yes, we should probably join the other guests,” James said.

“You misunderstand,” Lady Anna said. “I wish to leave this place.”