The Glittering Lights (Bantam Series No. 12) by Barbara Cartland

and she thought it would be difficult for them to remain unnoticed however large or important the party might be.
    Mrs. Langtry’s grey gown from the front made her look like a Greek goddess and at the back she had a huge bustle supported by a satin bow which formed the small train.
    Despite the wealth of diamonds around her neck and glittering in her hair and on her bodice, she looked both dignified and a lady.
    Cassandra could not think the same about herself.
    Her dress from Chasemore was lovely in its own way, but she knew she would never have dared to wear it as Cassandra Sherburn.
    Of vivid green, almost as deep as an emerald, it was fashioned of tulle, ruched round the extremely low neck and over her shoulders.
    The colour made her skin look strikingly white, whilst the very tight bodice revealed the curves of her young figure and her very small waist.
    Tulle fashioned the enormous bustle even bigger than Mrs. Langtry’s—which billowed out behind her, cascading down in frill upon frill to the floor.
    But what made the dress different from the type of gown Cassandra would have worn as herself was the fact that the tulle was strewn with tiny silver and green sequins which glittered and shimmered with every move she made.
    It was also caught up at one side with an enormous bunch of artificial water lilies, and these too were speckled with sequins which looked at a distance as if they were dew-drops glistening in the light.
    It was a gown that a leading lady could have worn for her entrance in the first Act, and would undoubtedly have stimulated a round of applause.
    Cassandra had with some difficulty persuaded Hannah to arrange her hair in innumerable curls on top of her head, and amongst them she wore three diamond combs.
    She also wore diamond ear-rings which she had been left by her Grandmother, but which on a young girl Sir James had thought too sophisticated.
    There was the sound of music and then, just before they reached the Reception-Room, Cassandra had a last glimpse of herself in the mirror and smiled.
    Her red lips certainly contributed to the flamboyance of her appearance. She had applied a little more salve to them in the dressing-room while she was waiting for Mrs. Langtry to change after the performance.
    Her eyes did not need any additional artifice since her lashes were naturally so long and dark, and because she was excited at what was happening her eyes shone even more brightly than the sequins on her dress or the diamonds in her hair.
    “Lily! Shall I say how overjoyed I am to see your beautiful face?” a deep voice exclaimed.
    A man of about forty, rather large and overpowering, was raising Mrs. Langtry’s hand to his lips.
    “I have brought a little friend with me,” Mrs. Langtry said. “I hope you do not mind?”
    Cassandra felt the man’s eyes take in every detail of her face and her sensational gown.
    “But of course, I am delighted,” Lord Carwen said. “Will you introduce me?”
    “Miss Sandra Standish,” Mrs. Langtry said. “And this, dear, is your very land and generous host—Lord Carwen!”
    Cassandra made a graceful curtsey.
    “I hope Your Lordship will forgive me for coming uninvited to your party,” she said with a smile.
    “I am prepared to forgive you anything, if you will dance with me later,” Lord Carwen replied.
    He held out his hand to Freddy Gebhard.
    “Delighted to see you, Freddy. I hope my party measures up to some of those which I hear you gave in America.”
    Cassandra did not listen for Mr. Gebhard’s reply.
    She was staring round the Ball-Room, her eyes alight with curiosity.
    It was a beautiful room with huge chandeliers and decorated with fabulous pictures and very valuable mirrors.
    It was in fact the type of room Cassandra had seen often enough in the homes of her father’s friends, but it was the occupants on this occasion who were unusual.
    The men were all gentlemen, the majority of them of Lord Carwen’s age.
    Many of them were obviously