A Night of Gaiety by Barbara Cartland Read Free Book Online Page B

is a silly little fool, but one day I will see that Vange gets his just deserts. Then we will see who has the last laugh!”
    Davita knew by the expression on Violet’s face that she was about to make some mischievous reply, when there was a knock on the door and the call-boy’s voice chanting:
    “Ten minutes, lidies! Ten minutes!”
    There were cries from all the women, and the men moved towards the door.
    Before they had even reached it, the dressers were undoing the elaborate gowns at the back and a change of clothing had begun.
    Davita gave Violet a smile before she hurriedly followed Lord Mundesley out of the dressing-room and into the corridor, and only as they reached the Box again did she say to him:
    “Please ... Lord Mundesley ... let me go back to my lodgings afterwards ... I do not want to be a ... nuisance.”
    “You are certainly not that,” Lord Mundesley said, bending towards her, “and quite frankly, Davita—and I hope I may call you that—I find it entrancing to watch you experience for the first time the delights of London.”
    He paused before he added softly:
    “And there are many more delights I want to show you! ”
    There was something in the way he spoke which made Davita feel shy.
    She was not quite certain why, but she thought perhaps it was because he seemed so old, experienced, and worldly-wise, while she was exactly the opposite.
    He was obviously Violet’s “young man,” if that was the right term, and because she had no wish to talk about herself, she asked:
    “Who is the gentleman who has made you so cross?”
    “ The Marquis of Vange!” Lord Mundesley answered. “A most unpleasant character, and a man you must studiously avoid.”
    “In what way is he so wicked?” Davita asked.
    Lord Mundesley smiled.
    “That is the right adjective to describe him, and make no mistake, Davita, he is the villain in a plot which is unfolding before your young, innocent eyes! There is, of course, also a hero, and I hope you will realise, my pretty little Scot, that that is the part I wish to play.” Davita stared at Lord Mundesley incredulously, feeling she must have misunderstood what he said.
    T hen as once again the expression in his eyes made her feel extremely embarrassed, it was a relief when the lights went down and the curtain rose.
    Chapter Three
    Da vita looked about her with a feeling of excitement.
    ‘So this,’ she thought, ‘is Romano’s!’
    It was not very far from the Theatre, and, as she had expected from all her father and Katie had told her, the moment they were bowed into the Restaurant by a dark, suave little man who was Romano himself, the atmosphere seemed to be filled with laughter.
    It was an oblong room with dark red draped curtains and plush sofas, and most of the tables were already filled with women who, like Violet, appeared overwhelmingly beautiful.
    The décolletages of their gowns were extremely low, their waists so small that a man’s two hands could easily meet round them, and they were as colourful as the flowers that decked their tables.
    Suspended over some tables were blossoms fashioned like bells which bore the names of famous actresses.
    Lord Mundesley was shown to a table for four, and Davita and Violet sat on the comfortable sofa while the two men sat opposite them.
    Davita realised that Violet was not important enough to have her name on a flower-bell, but she could see one on which was emblazoned “Lottie Collins,” and two others with “Linda Verner” and “Ethel Blenheim,” who were also stars in Cinder-Ellen Up-Too-Late.
    E verything was so glamorous that Davita told herself she looked a positive country mouse beside the other women, and a Scottish one at that.
    At the same time, she was thrilled at the chance of seeing Romano’s and was glad that after so much anticipation she was not disappointed.
    People were arriving all the time, and while Lord Mundesley ordered supper, a bottle of champagne in an ice-bucket was brought to