Love by the Lake by Barbara Cartland

Author:Barbara Cartland
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-908303-46-2
Publisher: Barbara Cartland.com

CHAPTER FIVE

Lolita recalled that she had been attending a luncheon party in London and when the meal was over a number of the young people present moved into the garden.

She had stayed behind for a moment talking to the hostess about her mother as they had been great friends.

Then the door had opened and the hostess’s eldest son came in.

“Hallo, Harry!” she exclaimed. “I did not expect you until later.”

“I got away early,” he replied.

“Have you had luncheon?” his mother asked.

“Yes, I have, thank you, but I have told a servant to bring me a drink. I need one as I am in such a rage.”

“A rage! What has happened?”

“You will hardly believe it,” he continued, “and I myself find it very difficult to comprehend.”

“Tell me,” his mother implored.

The young man sat down in the nearest chair.

“You know Captain Michael Duncan, who is in the Regiment with me.”

“Yes of course. Such a nice young gentleman! I am always glad to see him.”

“I did not tell you,” Harry went on, “that he became secretly engaged to Catherine Cressington.”

“The great beauty?”

“Yes, and she has been dangling him about for some time in a way which I thought was most unkind.”

Lolita noticed that her hostess pursed her lips together and it was obvious that she disapproved of Catherine Cressington.

“Because they are engaged,” Harry resumed, “and she is very fond of jewellery, Michael lent her a magnificent necklace which his father had brought back from India. The General was very proud of it.”

“Why particularly?”

“Because he had received it as a gift from a Maharajah whose life he had saved and it is absolutely fantastic.

“I think I have heard people talking about it,” replied his mother.

“I am not surprised. It is an arrangement of enormous emeralds, rubies, sapphires and of course diamonds. It is worth a fortune.”

“And I suppose it will be Michael’s one day.”

“It would have been, except that it has disappeared from around the neck of Catherine Cressington!”

His mother stared at him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what I say,” answered Harry. “Michael lent it to her to wear for one particular party she was attending. Then on their way home she told him she no longer wished to marry him and that, as you can imagine, upset him very much.”

“Of course it did and I am very sorry for Michael. I can only hope it does not break his heart. “What has broken his heart,” added Harry, “is that Catherine Cressington has disappeared and so has the necklace.”

“Do you mean she has taken it with her?”

“She has stolen it if you want the truth,” asserted Harry. “The General is furious and there is nothing poor Michael can do as she cannot be found.”

“But she is such a success,” exclaimed his mother. “Everyone in London is talking about her beauty.”

“I know that, but Michael thinks she now has some other man she wants to marry who has a title. Apparently she always resented the fact that he would have to wait a long time to inherit his father’s title as the General is in very good health.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.