Improper Advances by Margaret Evans Porter

Author:Margaret Evans Porter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction, Scotland, General, Romance, Historical, Large Type Books, Widows
ISBN: 9781587248061
Publisher: Wheeler Pub.
Published: 1999-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Promptly at eight o’clock, the conductor bobbed his wig-covered head at the other musicians. The opening bars of the concert drew Dare—and Vauxhall’s music-loving visitors—closer to the gothic-styled orchestra stand. Swags of colored lamps hung from the structure, and a multibranched chandelier threw a soft light upon the rows of powdered heads and glanced off the towering organ pipes at the back of the pavilion.

All walks of life were represented in this crowd: common prostitutes, shopgirls, prosperous merchants, members of the gentry and nobility. Like the rest of them, Dare had crossed the River Thames and paid two shillings to enter the gardens. But he felt infinitely superior, for he had been bidden there by the soloist they had come to see and hear.

His tour of the grounds earlier had taken him to the vast Rotunda, the site of masquerades and musical entertainment during inclement weather. Before tonight, he’d never imagined, much less seen, two thousand glass lamps blazing at once. They hung in festoons from the sheltering colonnades and the semicircular dining pavilions, and the effect was impressive. He’d promenaded along the stately elm-lined Grand Walk, and the Cross Walk, and the Italian Walk-spanned by three triumphal arches—and the Hermit’s Walk.

At the farthest reaches of the park was an unlit Lover’s Walk, and he hoped to stroll there later with Oriana.

This place, beloved by Londoners and greatly admired, struck him as an odd combination of the tawdry and the tasteful. He could have dispensed with the trompe l’oeil paintings, sham ruins, transparencies, and other stagecraft illusions. The beauties of nature required no such adornments; he preferred to contemplate them in solitude. He might have appreciated Vauxhall’s magnificence more if there weren’t so many people getting in his way.

A foursome nearby talked over the music, so loudly that he could hear every word of their conversation. The pair of young ladies—first-time visitors—marveled at the splendor of the orchestra pavilion. Their gentlemen, more interested in flirtation than in a concert, tried to entice them away from the throng and into the shadowy avenues of trees.

“Oh, do come along, Hetty,” said one impatient swain.

“Not till I’ve seen the gown she’s wearing.”

“Makes no matter,” said Hetty’s confidante, “for neither you nor I could afford one like it. We haven’t rich lovers like she’s got.”

Both young women cast critical glances at their escorts.

“Remember, Miss Hetty, I purchased your entrance ticket and I’ve another shilling yet to pay for your dinner.”

“All for a paltry shaving of meat,” the other gentleman complained, “and a roasted chicken no bigger than a sparrow!”

“If you think you can find a lover who’s richer than me,” Hetty’s chap said bitterly, “give it a try. I’ll be on the watch for a girl who’ll appreciate a hardworking brewery clerk.”

“Don’t be cross, Ralph,” Hetty pleaded. “We can wander through the Dark Walk after I’ve heard a few songs. I promised Aunt not to stray from the Grove, and I fear she’ll quiz me about the concert.”

“Willy and I will stay for

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