Prince softly to Carmelita while Hindu servants were regaling the guests with the promised wine.
There was something in the Prince's voice that seemed to imply to Carmelita's private ear that he had arranged this all for her. She was ill at ease.
"Yes, it seems impossible to believe that we are in the heart of Paris," she said as matter-of-fact as possible to reassure herself. He had drawn her aloof from the others.
"You are like a beautiful jewel—who belongs here," he said softly; regarding her intently. She glanced around and noticed uneasily that Lucy had captured Dudley and pinned him into a conversational cul de sac. "It is all very exotic and lovely," she said.
"I have another room which you will like. May I show it to you?" He seemed to be leading her, almost against her will, toward a door of inlaid mahogany. In a moment they were alone in a smaller and stranger, more luxurious edition of the reception hall. They stopped in front of a heavy, flat, intricately carved table. The rest of the party seemed miles away.
"Here is where I dream of romance," Rao-Singh said intensely, moving very close to her. "You are the first woman who has ever entered here."
