rest of her life.
Lorelei’s favourite part was easily the evening Lady Hurst took the girls to a ballet, which Lorelei had always enjoyed most profoundly and which had her smiling and wiping her eyes by turns. Things were certainly turning out splendidly, she decided, the Earl of Winbourne, for a moment, far from her mind.
It was also not long before Lorelei was firmly on the way to being good friends with Lady Julia Kinsey, since the young ladies often found themselves thrown together at social gatherings, and had soon discovered many common interests. The two of them could often be glimpsed sitting on a park bench together, their parasols held charmingly aloft as they exchanged confidences.
Though she was herself completely unaware of it, Lorelei had also caught the attention of the ton . Her mischievous smile and golden ringlets could not but earn her a loyal following of admirers. The interest in her was bolstered by the marked friendship of Lady Julia, the most eligible heiress of the Season, and of the fashionable Lord Winbourne himself. Gentlemen widely agreed that the luminosity and liveliness of her green eyes was quite incomparable and that her laugh was enough to melt anyone’s heart. Her dress was deemed suitably modest by the sharp eyes of Society matrons and her discreet use of jewellery drew admiration of her fine throat and hands.
She was supposed, quite mistakenly , to be a young woman of modest means, which had earned her an initial snubbing by some of the more high-nosed young debutantes out on the Season. Far from upsetting Lorelei, or making her feel out of place in the glittering company, this mistaken supposition caused her endless amusement.
Lord Ledley, a sensible military man and a widower, had no taste for frivolity, and while his daughters had never wanted for anything, he had always been of the lowest opinion regarding the blatant display of wealth. He was well-received in Society because of his handsome appearance, sound good sense and excellent humour, though he dressed with the modest practicality of a military man.
Though Lorelei was not quite an heiress, her mama had left her and Constance with healthy independences and her papa would provide a respectable wedding portion when such became necessary. Miss Lindon, whatever the other girls may have whispered about her single string of pearls, could look forward to slightly more than four thousand a year.
It had not taken her long to notice the snubbing. When she confided her suspicions to Julia at Mrs Roland’s card party, her eyes sparkling with dark merriment, her friend seemed suitably appalled.
“Oh, no, Lorelei, how can you!” Lady Julia exclaimed, looking anxious. “That cannot be at all right! Why, it would make no difference to me if you hadn’t a guinea to your name in all the world.”
Lorelei smiled at her friend. “But of course not, Julia, for you are the sweetest creature in the world, but the same can hardly be said for Maria Dunn.”
“ You are exaggerating, because you are so kind. But I would much rather be elegant and haunted than sweet – one never reads of sweet heroines.” Julia’s pretty round face looked momentarily wistful.
“ I am sure many young ladies feel that way. I often do! Miss Fallon, my former governess, was always very strict with such notions, you know. She believes novels rot common sense and destroy character. And I never meant to read them in her lessons – only, one can never quite help it. You might know how it is, when one only means to dip one’s eyes in for a minute and the next thing it is dark out and one cannot stop until the whole mystery has been thoroughly unravelled.”
She was met with nothing but understanding from Julia, whose significant vice at school had been reading novels which her Aunt Eloise had been kind enough to keep sending, despite her mother’s disapproval.
Another personage that could commonly be found lingering somewhere
Lorelei’s favourite part was easily the evening Lady Hurst took the girls to a ballet, which Lorelei had always enjoyed most profoundly and which had her smiling and wiping her eyes by turns. Things were certainly turning out splendidly, she decided, the Earl of Winbourne, for a moment, far from her mind.
It was also not long before Lorelei was firmly on the way to being good friends with Lady Julia Kinsey, since the young ladies often found themselves thrown together at social gatherings, and had soon discovered many common interests. The two of them could often be glimpsed sitting on a park bench together, their parasols held charmingly aloft as they exchanged confidences.
Though she was herself completely unaware of it, Lorelei had also caught the attention of the ton . Her mischievous smile and golden ringlets could not but earn her a loyal following of admirers. The interest in her was bolstered by the marked friendship of Lady Julia, the most eligible heiress of the Season, and of the fashionable Lord Winbourne himself. Gentlemen widely agreed that the luminosity and liveliness of her green eyes was quite incomparable and that her laugh was enough to melt anyone’s heart. Her dress was deemed suitably modest by the sharp eyes of Society matrons and her discreet use of jewellery drew admiration of her fine throat and hands.
She was supposed, quite mistakenly , to be a young woman of modest means, which had earned her an initial snubbing by some of the more high-nosed young debutantes out on the Season. Far from upsetting Lorelei, or making her feel out of place in the glittering company, this mistaken supposition caused her endless amusement.
Lord Ledley, a sensible military man and a widower, had no taste for frivolity, and while his daughters had never wanted for anything, he had always been of the lowest opinion regarding the blatant display of wealth. He was well-received in Society because of his handsome appearance, sound good sense and excellent humour, though he dressed with the modest practicality of a military man.
Though Lorelei was not quite an heiress, her mama had left her and Constance with healthy independences and her papa would provide a respectable wedding portion when such became necessary. Miss Lindon, whatever the other girls may have whispered about her single string of pearls, could look forward to slightly more than four thousand a year.
It had not taken her long to notice the snubbing. When she confided her suspicions to Julia at Mrs Roland’s card party, her eyes sparkling with dark merriment, her friend seemed suitably appalled.
“Oh, no, Lorelei, how can you!” Lady Julia exclaimed, looking anxious. “That cannot be at all right! Why, it would make no difference to me if you hadn’t a guinea to your name in all the world.”
Lorelei smiled at her friend. “But of course not, Julia, for you are the sweetest creature in the world, but the same can hardly be said for Maria Dunn.”
“ You are exaggerating, because you are so kind. But I would much rather be elegant and haunted than sweet – one never reads of sweet heroines.” Julia’s pretty round face looked momentarily wistful.
“ I am sure many young ladies feel that way. I often do! Miss Fallon, my former governess, was always very strict with such notions, you know. She believes novels rot common sense and destroy character. And I never meant to read them in her lessons – only, one can never quite help it. You might know how it is, when one only means to dip one’s eyes in for a minute and the next thing it is dark out and one cannot stop until the whole mystery has been thoroughly unravelled.”
She was met with nothing but understanding from Julia, whose significant vice at school had been reading novels which her Aunt Eloise had been kind enough to keep sending, despite her mother’s disapproval.
Another personage that could commonly be found lingering somewhere
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