It was almost impossible not to stare, however well bred, however disinterested in strangers one might be, for the two women were a very arresting sight.
The elder, obviously the chaperone of the one that followed, was tall and distinguished in appearance. She held herself superbly and moved as if she was alone in her own drawing room and no one else were present. In a dress of deep purple velvet with an almost regal appearance, she wore a cap of velvet ribbon and real lace over her grey hair.
But no one wasted a second glance on the older women, it was the younger at whom everyone looked and continued to look until she had reached her table.
Thin, slender and very young, there was something extraordinarily arresting in her exquisite oval face and huge dark eyes. But perhaps it was not
