only picked at the tempting cold chicken and salad Ellen brought for her. She knew she should eat before an occasion like the ball, but her appetite seemed to have deserted her.
Afterward, she sat at the dressing table for the maid to apply the face lotion she always prepared before balls and other such tiring assemblies. It was a mixture of cream, crushed grapes, and lemon, and it smoothed and refreshed, leaving the skin perfect for the subtle application of cosmetics. Opening the elegant japanned box of Chinese papers, the maid took out theones she required. It was considered very vulgar to apply heavy rouge to the cheeks and lips, but a little shading was very necessary if one was to look well under the harsh glare of many chandeliers. The papers were applied very sparingly, leaving a soft pink on Jane’s lips and cheeks, and the merest hint of pearly white on her nose, to prevent it from shining in the heat of the ballroom. The touching of a little of Yardley’s excellent lavender water to her throat and wrists and behind her ears completed this part of her toilet, leaving only the pinning up of her hair and the donning of her clothes and jewels.
At last she was ready, her hair put up into an intricate knot from which fell a single long curl, while her face was framed by a froth of little curls. Around her forehead she wore a plain golden circlet graced by a large, bright amethyst surrounded by diamonds, while more amethysts and diamonds shimmered from her ears and at her throat, making her eyes seemed even larger and more violet than usual. The gown was exquisite now that the bead decorations were complete, for they caught the light so softly that they resembled the sparkle of frost. Silk stockings, satin slippers, a delicate lilac-and-cream shawl, and a spangled reticule put the final touches to her appearance, leaving only the bringing of the painted fan from the silver casket on the dressing table.
Outside, above the continuing clamor of the crowds, she heard her carriage arriving. It was time to go. She glanced at her reflection in the cheval glass. What lay ahead tonight? Would Henry do the right thing and turn up after all? She lowered her eyes. And would she be able to conduct herself as if she was completely indifferent when she saw Lewis and Alicia together? Had she enough of the actress in her for that?
Taking a deep breath, she accepted the fan from Ellen and then, accompanied by the maid, she went down to the vestibule and emerged into the noisy evening to get into the waiting carriage.
SEVEN
Mr James Lyndon was a very important man of finance, acting for several members of the royal family and also for a great many aristocrats and other wealthy persons, so even had it not been for his wife’s enviable reputation as one of the finest hostesses in London, the annual ball celebrating their daughter Blanche’s birthday would have been a dazzling highlight of every season. Mrs Lyndon could be relied upon to make any occasion brilliant, and tonight was no exception, for both the decorations and the ambiencewere quite outstandingly pleasing.
Lyndon House was set in its own grounds in a corner of Berkeley Square, and was approached through two pedimented gateways set in the tall wall fronting the great courtyard. There was already a crush of fashionable carriages as Jane arrived, and as she drove beneath one of the gateways, she saw that the courtyard, usually rather plain, had been transformed with tiny fountains, each one surrounded by beautiful flower arrangements in the three colors comprising Blanche’s name – white, yellow, and green, for Blanche Xanthe Lyndon. The guests exclaimed in admiration as they alighted, pausing for a moment on the herb-strewn steps to gaze around at the magical scene. Then they went up the steps to the porticoed entrance, where the columns were garlanded with still more white, yellow, and green, a mixture of laburnum, white rhododendrons, and leaves. At the doors, two
Afterward, she sat at the dressing table for the maid to apply the face lotion she always prepared before balls and other such tiring assemblies. It was a mixture of cream, crushed grapes, and lemon, and it smoothed and refreshed, leaving the skin perfect for the subtle application of cosmetics. Opening the elegant japanned box of Chinese papers, the maid took out theones she required. It was considered very vulgar to apply heavy rouge to the cheeks and lips, but a little shading was very necessary if one was to look well under the harsh glare of many chandeliers. The papers were applied very sparingly, leaving a soft pink on Jane’s lips and cheeks, and the merest hint of pearly white on her nose, to prevent it from shining in the heat of the ballroom. The touching of a little of Yardley’s excellent lavender water to her throat and wrists and behind her ears completed this part of her toilet, leaving only the pinning up of her hair and the donning of her clothes and jewels.
At last she was ready, her hair put up into an intricate knot from which fell a single long curl, while her face was framed by a froth of little curls. Around her forehead she wore a plain golden circlet graced by a large, bright amethyst surrounded by diamonds, while more amethysts and diamonds shimmered from her ears and at her throat, making her eyes seemed even larger and more violet than usual. The gown was exquisite now that the bead decorations were complete, for they caught the light so softly that they resembled the sparkle of frost. Silk stockings, satin slippers, a delicate lilac-and-cream shawl, and a spangled reticule put the final touches to her appearance, leaving only the bringing of the painted fan from the silver casket on the dressing table.
Outside, above the continuing clamor of the crowds, she heard her carriage arriving. It was time to go. She glanced at her reflection in the cheval glass. What lay ahead tonight? Would Henry do the right thing and turn up after all? She lowered her eyes. And would she be able to conduct herself as if she was completely indifferent when she saw Lewis and Alicia together? Had she enough of the actress in her for that?
Taking a deep breath, she accepted the fan from Ellen and then, accompanied by the maid, she went down to the vestibule and emerged into the noisy evening to get into the waiting carriage.
SEVEN
Mr James Lyndon was a very important man of finance, acting for several members of the royal family and also for a great many aristocrats and other wealthy persons, so even had it not been for his wife’s enviable reputation as one of the finest hostesses in London, the annual ball celebrating their daughter Blanche’s birthday would have been a dazzling highlight of every season. Mrs Lyndon could be relied upon to make any occasion brilliant, and tonight was no exception, for both the decorations and the ambiencewere quite outstandingly pleasing.
Lyndon House was set in its own grounds in a corner of Berkeley Square, and was approached through two pedimented gateways set in the tall wall fronting the great courtyard. There was already a crush of fashionable carriages as Jane arrived, and as she drove beneath one of the gateways, she saw that the courtyard, usually rather plain, had been transformed with tiny fountains, each one surrounded by beautiful flower arrangements in the three colors comprising Blanche’s name – white, yellow, and green, for Blanche Xanthe Lyndon. The guests exclaimed in admiration as they alighted, pausing for a moment on the herb-strewn steps to gaze around at the magical scene. Then they went up the steps to the porticoed entrance, where the columns were garlanded with still more white, yellow, and green, a mixture of laburnum, white rhododendrons, and leaves. At the doors, two
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