Lovers in London (8 page)

He held out his hand to the Marquis.

“I am delighted to see you, Rake, and of course to meet your friend you wanted to bring with you.”

“May I introduce her?” asked the Marquis. “Miss Lanthia Grenville – the Duke of Sutherland.”

“I am so delighted to welcome you, Miss Grenville, and I do hope you will enjoy yourself tonight,” the Duke greeted her.

“It is very kind of you to invite me,” she replied.

The Duke was looking at the Marquis.

“The hatching is going well,” he said, “and we shall have plenty of grouse for you at Dunrobin in the autumn.”

“I am much looking forward to the beginning of the shooting Season.”

They moved on because there were so many other guests behind them.

The Marquis located the seating plan and noted that the party was arranged in tables of ten, except for the one in the centre at which twenty people were seated.

As he expected that was where he was placed.

Lanthia's name had clearly been written in at the last moment and was seated on his left.

He realised that he must have caused a great deal of trouble in upsetting the seating plan at the last moment and he could only be very grateful to the Duke for acceding to his request.

He was most relieved to find that the Conté and the Contessa were seated at another table.

It was then, as they were studying the seating plan, that Lanthia gave a little gasp and the Marquis noticed whom she was pointing at, placed at the top of their table.

It was the Prince of Wales.

And beside him and this came as no surprise at all – Mrs. Lillie Langtry.

“You did not tell me,” murmured Lanthia, “that the Prince of Wales would be present.”

“I did not know either,” admitted the Marquis, “and if you have never met him you will find him very charming and easy to talk to.”

Lanthia did not answer and the Marquis realised with slight amusement that she did not look frightened or upset, merely what he could only describe as enchanted.

‘She is certainly most unusual for a young girl,' he thought.

There were many guests whom he knew and who called out his name.

It was the gentlemen, who said,

“Hello, Rake, and what are you up to now?” or words to that effect.

The ladies looked at him in a way that seemed a little familiar, which informed him all too clearly what they wanted but could not put into words.

There were several waiters circulating and offering everyone a glass of champagne.

Lanthia took a glass and sipped it carefully.

At home her parents opened a bottle of champagne only on very special occasions and she knew it would be a mistake to drink too much.

It might make her say something she might regret later.

The Prince of Wales and Lillie Langtry were almost the last of the guests to arrive.

As he entered the
Salle à manger
, the ladies nearest to them sank into deep curtsies as the gentlemen bowed.

Lanthia and the Marquis were standing at the other end of the room and she asked him in a whisper,

“Who is that lady with the Prince of Wales? She does not look like Princess Alexandra.”

“That is Mrs. Langtry. Surely you must have heard of ‘
the Jersey Lily
', who has taken London by storm.”

“Yes, I have indeed heard about her and how she came to London with only one black dress.”

The Marquis laughed.

“Everyone remembers that part of the story. Now she boasts a great number of gorgeous gowns and each one is as beautiful as she is herself!”

Lanthia was looking at her intently.

“She is extremely beautiful and even lovelier than I expected her to be.”

The Marquis was smiling to himself and wondering what more he could tell her about Lillie Langtry.

He was quite certain that as Lanthia was so young and unsophisticated she would have no idea that she had been the Prince of Wales's mistress for a long time.

He also knew Lillie Langtry quite intimately, and it would be rather difficult to explain to someone as young as Lanthia how much the beautiful actress had changed Social attitudes since she came to London from Jersey.

It was Lord Ranelagh, whom Lillie had met on a few occasions in Jersey where he owned a house, who had first introduced her to the Social world.

The daughter of a clergyman, the Dean of Jersey, Lillie had been twenty-one and married for three years when she persuaded her husband Edward Langtry to take her to London.

From the moment she first appeared in Society she caused a sensation, which was to have a more far-reaching result than anyone ever anticipated.

As soon as her intimate friendship with the Prince of Wales became common knowledge, large crowds came to look at her wherever she went.

Her photograph was on sale in many shops and if she went for a walk people ran after her. They would stare at her and even raise her sunshade to inspect her more closely.

The Prince of Wales had first encountered her when Princess Alexandra had been on an official visit to Greece. Totally infatuated, the Prince had taken no trouble to disguise his feelings, quickly taking Lillie to Paris.

There, gossips said, his fascination for her was so great that he had even kissed her on the dance floor at Maxim's!

What was even more amazing was that the Prince had arranged for Lillie and her husband to be presented to the Queen.

This completely astonished the Social world.

They had always been very strict in their behaviour towards ‘fallen women', excluding them from polite Society. However, now they were forced to change and practically every fashionable hostess in London accepted the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Langtry.

It was inevitable that the Marquis should have become interested in Lillie Langtry.

He had been warned, before the Prince became her lover, that she had developed a special way of seducing a man who was a little nervous of succumbing to her charms.

She would just wait until they were alone and then, having hypnotised him with her huge blue eyes, she gave the appearance of fainting.

He would immediately support her on the sofa and she would be beautiful, helpless and limp in his arms.

He would do his best to revive her until her eyelids were flickering and it was clear that she was not actually going to die.

She had not had to pretend to faint to attract either the Prince of Wales or the Marquis, who now watched her moving gracefully through the room with the Prince.

He was thinking with a cynical smile that, however enchanting a woman might be, sooner or later she became a bore.

When they sat down at the table, Lanthia found she had an elderly Earl on her other side.

He was mainly interested in horses and although he paid her fulsome compliments, she found it easier to talk to him about the horses he would be running at Ascot than about herself.

The Marquis had a very alluring lady sitting on his other side and they were obviously old friends.

The first thing she wanted to know was who was Lanthia and why was she with him?

The Marquis told her casually that she was a good friend of his, who had just arrived from the West Country and as he was somewhat indebted to her father, he had contrived to bring her to the party.

It was only an attempt, he said, to pay back what he owed for a kindness in the past.

“She is
very
pretty,” remarked his companion. “At the same time, dear Rake, you have surely not yet taken to cradle-snatching!”

“I can most definitely assure you,” responded the Marquis nonchalantly, “I am not snatching anyone at the moment!”

“Then that makes me definitely even more worried about you,” she retorted, “unless of course you are growing blind in your old age!”

The Marquis chortled.

“I can still see you and that, as you well know, is a sight I have always enjoyed.”

He noticed a little flicker in her eyes and recognised that he must be most careful not to rekindle a fire that had already burned down.

He had learnt of old that this tactic was never a success and in fact could turn into a disaster.

When he turned again to talk to Lanthia, she said,

“I think this is a most glamorous and fascinating party and I still think I am in a dream.”

“Then do not wake up, because it would definitely be a mistake!” he smiled.

He pondered as he spoke that it was decidedly charming to see her so entranced with everything around her.

At the same time he considered she looked exactly as if she belonged.

Only he knew she had been pushed into the dinner party at the last moment to save him from a very dangerous situation.

He was not at that particular time aware of what would happen later on in the evening.

CHAPTER FOUR

Dinner was a rather long and drawn out affair.

Looking around the room the Marquis recognised that most of the guests were older than him and, of course, very much older than Lanthia.

Whilst they were eating an orchestra was playing quietly in the courtyard, which made everything seem very romantic.

There was, however, obviously not going to be any dancing afterwards and when dinner was over, the guests moved about from one table to another talking to friends.

Some ambled into the courtyard to appreciate the orchestra, while the majority remained in the dining room and naturally clustered round the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Lillie Langtry.

The Marquis was wise enough to attempt to avoid the Prince of Wales, because they were old friends and he felt quite certain that the Prince would ask him who he was escorting. That would only complicate matters even more than they were already.

He thought anyway it would soon be time for His Royal Highness to leave the party.

The Marquis was talking to a friend at the other end of the room when the Prince's Equerry came up to him.

“His Royal Highness wishes to speak with you, my Lord,” he announced, “and asks if you will bring with you the young lady you brought to the dinner party.”

The Marquis stiffened.

He considered it most unlikely that the Duke had said anything to the Prince about his companion and there was only one person who could have done so, deliberately intending to make trouble.

There was nothing he could possibly do but to obey the summons.

He whispered quietly to Lanthia, who was talking to an elderly lady,

“Please come with me.”

She promptly excused herself to follow the Marquis and they walked over to where the Prince of Wales was holding court at the far end of the room.

As the Marquis approached the Prince turned away from the friends he was talking to and asked him,

“Are you neglecting me, Rake?”

“No, indeed not, sir,” he replied. “But I felt you were very busy and I did not wish to interrupt you.”

“I am always delighted to be interrupted by you, Rake!” said the Prince.

As he was talking to the Marquis he was looking directly at Lanthia.

She had curtsied when the Marquis had bowed to the Prince and was now standing a little way behind him.

He turned round to bring her forward.

“Please may I present, sir, Miss Lanthia Grenville.”

The Prince put out his hand to her and she swept to the ground in another deep curtsy.

Then the Prince exclaimed,

“Enchanting! But I hear you have a secret you are keeping from me, Rake.”

“You are quite right, sir, in saying it is a secret.”

“Not to
me
,” asserted the Prince of Wales firmly. “After all, as one of your oldest friends, Rake, I think that you might have told me what was happening before you told anyone else!”

There was a distinctly hurt note in his voice.

The Marquis realised only too well that the Prince suffered from severe frustration because his mother would not allow him to take any part in political affairs.

He therefore always wanted to be the first to know any secrets concerning his friends and acquaintances.

The Marquis lowered his voice to speak directly into the Prince's ear.

“What you have heard, sir only happened today. It is unfortunate that the person who spoke to you became prematurely aware of the story.”

“Well, if it is indeed true,” the Prince glowed, “I am absolutely delighted! It is just what we all hoped would happen sooner rather than later!”

Before the Marquis could say anything the Prince continued,

“I would like to take a closer look at the young lady who has succeeded where so many have failed!”

The Prince turned towards Lanthia and once again she curtsied to him.

“She is lovely, just perfectly lovely and of course I congratulate you, my dear Rake. Your taste has always been unerring and I am delighted that you are no longer the elusive Marquis!”

The Marquis laughed, but at the same time he was hoping that no one could overhear their conversation.

“You must tell me,” the Prince addressed Lanthia, “where my friend the Marquis met you and why I have not seen you before.”

“I live in the country, Your Royal Highness,”

The Marquis noticed that unusually Lanthia was not in the least shy at speaking to the Prince of Wales.

In similar circumstances so many would be almost paralysed with embarrassment, but she was just looking at him admiringly.

“Whereabouts in the country is your family home?” the Prince enquired.

“In Huntingdonshire, sir.”

“A very attractive County. As I was saying to your Lord Lieutenant only a few weeks ago – I expect you know him?”

“Yes, indeed, sir. He is a friend of my parents and we are all attending the ball he is giving next month for Her Majesty the Empress of Austria.”

“That is certainly something to greatly look forward to. As I shall doubtless be a guest on that occasion, I shall look forward to seeing you again.”