Lovers in London by Barbara Cartland Page A

not simply denied what he had invented on the spur of the moment. She might easily have told both him and the Conté to leave her sitting room at once.
    Because he really was extremely grateful, he raised her hand to his lips.
    â€œYou have been so wonderful already,” he told her, “and I am asking you to be even more wonderful tonight. I will try not to be more of a nuisance than I can help.”
    â€œI cannot believe this is really happening,” Lanthia sighed.
    He knew from the way she spoke that it really did seem to her like something out of a book or a scene from a play.
    â€œI am so very fortunate, Lanthia, to have found you. Now I must hurry as I need to write a note to the Duke and leave it on the way to my house.”
    He picked up his hat and walked towards the door.
    â€œUntil ten minutes to eight,” he bowed, “and try to look even more beautiful than you do at the moment.”
    It was a compliment he would have made to any of the beauties with whom he was usually associated.
    He saw Lanthia’s eyes widen in surprise and then a faint colour came into her cheeks.
    â€˜She is very young,’ he told himself as he walked down the stairs. ‘At the same time few young girls would have shown such self-control or would have behaved so well. I do believe we have really got the Conté guessing, even if he is not yet entirely convinced.’
    He was pondering that he had contrived so many harrowing escapes in his life, but this was easily one of the nearest.
    In the writing room on the ground floor of the hotel he wrote a quick note to the Duke of Sutherland.
    He told him that a young lady to whom he owed a great debt of gratitude had arrived in London unexpectedly and he would be eternally grateful if he might bring her to the party tonight.
    â€œ I will explain more about it, ” he ended, “ the next time we are alone and I know the story will amuse you.
    Please grant me this favour.
    Yours,
    Rake. ”
    He had known the Duke for many years and knew that the Duke was very fond of him. Consequently every autumn he stayed at Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland to shoot grouse.
    The Duke and his wife Anne were almost totally estranged from each other. Since the Duchess, as Mistress of the Robes to the Queen, joined the Court at Windsor Castle, he had become infatuated with various pretty women.
    The Duke was frequently part of the ‘fast set’ the Prince of Wales was so openly attached to, along with the very beautiful German born Duchess of Manchester who, it was said, had a number of distinguished lovers.
    The Duke of Sutherland owned four stately homes, a number of smaller houses and a million and a half acres of land.
    His London home, Stafford House, was well known as one of the most attractive houses in the city and was currently undergoing refurbishment and redecoration in several of the largest reception rooms.
    It was so impressive that Queen Victoria had once said to the Duke’s mother, Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland,
    â€œI come from my house to your Palace!”
    Tonight’s party at The Langham should have been held at Stafford House and the Marquis was well aware how unusual it was for the Duke to entertain anywhere other than under his own roof.
    The party in honour of an American the Duke had stayed with in New York came under threat when it became clear that the workmen would not have finished the magnificent new dining room in time for guests.
    As his visitor was only staying for two days in London, the Duke eventually abandoned the Stafford House plans and a dinner party for over fifty guests was arranged at The Langham .
    The Marquis’s chaise was waiting for him outside and he drove as fast as possible to Stafford House, where the groom handed in his note.
    Without waiting for an answer he drove on to his house in Park Lane and by the time he arrived it was after seven o’clock.
    It was with a sense of relief that the Marquis