Rakehell's Widow by Sandra Heath

Author:Sandra Heath [Heath, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House/Regency Reads
Published: 1984-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The immense Gothic conservatory was perhaps Carlton House’s crowning glory. Designed like a cathedral, it had a nave and two aisles, and in daytime was very airy and light because of its glazed tracery ceiling, but now it was lighted artificially and the shadows beyond the light were curving and elegant. Lanterns had been placed on the outside to illuminate the stained-glass windows with their heraldic arms of the sovereigns of England, the Princes of Wales, and the Electoral Princes of the House of Brunswick. Inside, innumerable colored lights had been placed in niches and there were hexagonal lanterns suspended from the points of the arches.

A table two hundred feet long and covered with snowy-white cloths had been laid out; it was so long that it extended the length of the conservatory and into the house itself. In front of the raised seats where the Prince and his guests of honor would sit there was a silver fountain surrounded by perfume-burning vases, and from it flowed a stream of water which passed along a little canal raised about six inches above the cloths. The banks of this stream were decorated with green moss and flowers and there were silver and gold fish darting in the water. The murmur of the water was soothing, a welcome relief after the noise of the ballroom.

The Prince led the way, obviously gratified at the admiration the dining arrangements were receiving from all sides, and when everyone was seated, it was toward the dais that every eye was inexorably drawn by the succession of blazing candelabra. There the Prince sat in splendor, his large figure standing out against a background of crimson velvet on which was embroidered a golden crown and the initials OR.

Alabeth found the place marked with her name on a little card, and a footman drew the chair out for her. As she sat down, she saw Octavia making mental notes concerning the decorations. Their eyes met for a moment and Octavia gave her a rueful smile, unable to remain in a miff with her for very long.

Glancing around, Alabeth saw Piers entering the conservatory, and on his arm was Adelina Carver, smiling very brightly indeed as she kept her eyes averted from Harry Ponsonby, who was accompanied by a daring French lady whose gown was even more revealing and shameless than Adelina’s. Piers leaned toward her, whispering something in her ear, and Adelina’s tinkling laughter rang out audibly. Harry scowled as they passed him, Adelina not even seeming to notice his presence.

Piers was very attentive indeed, drawing out Adelina’s chair for her himself and then deliberately replacing the card placed next to her with his own. Only once in those moments did Adelina glance at Harry, whose back was firmly turned toward her, and for a second Alabeth thought she saw the former unhappiness on her face, but then it had gone as Piers murmured something to her, smiling as he raised her gloved hand to his lips. She smiled too, her eyes very warm, and after that Alabeth did not see her look once in Harry’s direction.

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.