Read Online Lovers in London by Barbara Cartland - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Barbara Cartland
Tags: General Fiction
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â, who has taken London by storm.â
âYes, I have indeed heard about her and how she came to London with only one black dress.â
The Marquis laughed.
âEveryone 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!â
Lanthia was looking at her intently.
âShe is extremely beautiful and even lovelier than I expected her to be.â
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 Walesâs 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 Maximâs!
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 âfallen womenâ, 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
âYes, I have indeed heard about her and how she came to London with only one black dress.â
The Marquis laughed.
âEveryone 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!â
Lanthia was looking at her intently.
âShe is extremely beautiful and even lovelier than I expected her to be.â
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 Walesâs 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 Maximâs!
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 âfallen womenâ, 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
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