Chapter 191

"Ralapur reminds me of Jaipur," Orla told him.

"No," Chatura told her vehemently, immediately shaking his head. "Ralapur is better than Jaipur. Much better.’ He was laughing now, inviting her to share in his joke and his loyalty to his home.

Orla waited until Chatura had gone before exploring her new quarters. The bedroom had a hugely ornate French empire-style bed, which looked as though it had been built and decorated specifically for the room, and the bathroom, reached via a door to one side of the bed, was virtually the same size as the whole of her open-plan living space in her London apartment, decadently opulent with a sunken bath and mirrored walls.

Orla decided that these rooms had been created for a sexually active and sensual woman—a woman who had been a courtesan, surely, rather than a consort. Was that why he had given her this suite? as a reminder of what he considered her to be?

She washed and changed quickly into a cotton top with short sleeves and a softly pleated ski