FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155  
156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   >>   >|  
d Hubert takes me in to supper. Poor me!" She made an extravagant face of self-pity and swept on. Lord Hubert was one of the sons of the house, a stupid and inarticulate guardsman, Kitty's butt and detestation. Ashe smiled to himself over her fate, and went back to the ballroom in search of his own lady. Meanwhile Kitty paused in the next drawing-room, and dismissed her following. "I promised to wait here for Lord Hubert," she said. "You go on, or you'll get no tables." And she waved them peremptorily away. The drawing-room, one of a suite which looked on the garden, thinned temporarily. In a happy fatigue, Kitty leaned dreamily over the ledge of one of the open windows, looking at the illuminated space below her. Amid the colored lights, figures of dream and fantasy walked up and down. In the midst flashed a flame-colored fountain. The sounds of a Strauss waltz floated in the air. And beyond the garden and its trees rose the dull roar of London. A silk curtain floated out into the room under the westerly breeze, then, returning, sheathed Kitty in its folds. She stood there hidden, amusing herself like a child with the thought of startling that great heavy goose, Lord Hubert. Suddenly a pair of voices that she knew caught her ear. Two persons, passing through, lingered, without perceiving her. Kitty, after a first movement of self-disclosure, caught her own name and stood motionless. "Well, of course you've heard that we got through," said Lady Parham. "For once Lady Kitty behaved herself!" "You were lucky!" said Mary Lyster. "Lady Tranmore was dreadfully anxious--" "Lest she should cut us at the last?" cried Lady Parham. "Well, of course, Lady Kitty is 'capable de tout.'" She laughed. "But perhaps as you are a cousin I oughtn't to say these things." "Oh, say what you like," said Mary. "I am no friend of Kitty's, and never pretended to be." Lady Parham came closer, apparently, and said, confidentially: "What on earth made that man marry her? He might have married anybody. She had no money, and worse than no position." "She worked upon his pity, of course, a good deal. I saw them in the early days at Grosville Park. She played her cards very cleverly. And then, it was just the right moment. Lady Tranmore had been urging him to marry." "Well, of course," said Lady Parham, "there's no denying the beauty." "You think so?" said Mary, as though in wonder. "Well, I never could see it. And now she
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155  
156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Hubert
 

Parham

 

garden

 

colored

 

Tranmore

 
caught
 
floated
 

drawing

 
capable
 

laughed


cousin

 

oughtn

 
things
 

motionless

 
disclosure
 

perceiving

 
movement
 
Lyster
 

dreadfully

 

anxious


extravagant

 

behaved

 

pretended

 

cleverly

 

played

 

Grosville

 

moment

 

urging

 

denying

 

beauty


confidentially

 
apparently
 

closer

 

supper

 

position

 
worked
 

married

 
friend
 

passing

 
dreamily

windows
 

leaned

 
fatigue
 
thinned
 

temporarily

 

illuminated

 
walked
 

fantasy

 
figures
 

lights