Lovers in London Read Online Free PDF Page A

rest.”
    Mrs. Blossom agreed with her at once, but Lanthia could not help feeling the prospect sounded rather dull.
    She therefore insisted that they went downstairs for dinner, certain it would be more fun than having it brought up to the sitting room.
    Lanthia changed into one of her simplest evening frocks and once downstairs she was very delighted with the elegance of everything she saw.
    There were impressive marble pillars, fine silk hangings, hand-printed wallpapers and Persian tapestry carpets, all of which her mother had told her were outstanding for a London hotel.
    It was all very grand.
    She felt as if it was a stage-set designed particularly for all the important people who stayed there.
    It seemed as if everything had come straight out of a storybook.
    As Mrs. Blossom was tired after the journey, they went back upstairs as soon as they had finished dinner.
    Having said goodnight to Lanthia, she hurried to her own bedroom.
    Lanthia walked to the window in her comfortable bedroom and stood for a long time looking down at Portland Place.
    It was not a very busy street, but there were smart carriages drawn by well-bred horses passing down it.
    She started imagining that they were all taking glamorous ladies out to dinner.
    It was so long since she had last been to London and now she was here she felt she had just stepped into a different world.
    It was all more dreamlike than reality.
    â€˜I wish Papa was with me,’ mused Lanthia. ‘I am sure he would have new stories to tell me about everything I see.’
    It was consoling that in a month all three of them would be coming to London and then it would be really exciting with all the balls, parties and the racing at Ascot.
    â€˜I am lucky, so very lucky,’ she told herself.
    At the same time she could not help wishing that tonight she was being taken to a ball in one of the carriages passing below her window.
    And that there would be plenty of young men there anxious to dance with her!
    This was what she might have been doing last year, but by being in mourning a whole year had been wasted.
    â€˜I suppose I should not think of it like that. I have learned so much this past year from Papa and all his books, and of course the woods have told me things which I would never have learned in the noise and hurry of a big City.’
    She undressed and climbed into her bed, but it was a long time before she fell fast asleep.
    *
    The next morning she and Mrs. Blossom had their breakfast at eight o’clock and before the clock had struck nine they had left the hotel.
    The many shops in Bond Street were as alluring as her mother had said they would be, but she was determined not to rush into buying anything too quickly as she might easily find something more attractive a bit later and regret her first purchase.
    They decided to inspect the gowns in several shops and then make a decision as to which was the prettiest and most becoming.
    Lanthia had no idea that every dress she would try on seemed as if it had been specially designed for her, making her look even more beautiful than ever.
    Up to now she had received very few compliments and she was very unselfconscious.
    She seldom thought about her own appearance, but she did love bright colours and beauty wherever she found them.
    She was entranced with the amusing little hats that were now the fashion. Trimmed with flowers or a single feather they made her look very smart and up-to-date.
    â€œWhich shall I buy?” she asked Mrs. Blossom.
    â€œYou look very charming in each of them, dearest. Personally I myself should purchase the one which is the most comfortable.”
    Lanthia considered this to be good advice, so she was extravagant enough to buy three of the prettiest hats on offer and was still considering another one.
    Even more exciting than the lovely hats were the evening gowns, which they had left until the afternoon.
    Her mother had given her the name of a particular shop, explaining