Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Okange Court was filled to its utmost capacity on the Friday of Lady Gertrude's diplomatic dance. For, after the manner of such entertainments, it had grown till its organiser had declared inexorably her list was full. Some most unexpected additions had accrued to the party meanwhile. Not the least unexpected being the Dowager Lady Enniscorthy herself. A letter from Lady Florence to her sister had arrived by first post two days before the event. It ran thus: "Jane tells us, dearest Gertrude, that you are giving a balL Dear mamma is a little hurt that she should not have been informed of the matter. She begs me to tell you that, though she knows she is too old to receive an invitation, you need not have kept the event tecret from her. We suppose the festivity is to ftttr dear Reginald's return home, Norah not having yet been presented; and now, of course, we understand why you were so anxious that Coralie and my Ernest should go to youl Do you think it is quite worthy of you, my dearest Gertrude, or quite kind to make this mystery? For me, yon know how completely untouched all these wordly things leave me since my great sorrow; but when I see dear mamma's pained countenance I cannot help feeling sad. We may not have her so long with us." Lady Gertrude's eyebrows went up in rueful amusement as she perused this document. It had certainly m never occurred to her to inform the Dowager of the impromptu dance, which was to be confined to the youth of her acquaintance, and was not intended to count otherwise than as the most informal boy and girl affair, since Norah was still in the schoolroom. Now it seemed the news of her " ball "—Lady Gertrude Esdale's ball for her debutante daughter—was bruited far and wide. There was nothing for that but to allow facts to speak for the...