The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 27: what you’re looking at

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THE MYSTERIES “ Withall my heart,” exclaimed the Prince. “ The Marquis of Leveson will act as treasurer; and by twelve o’clock to-morrow we must each send our cheque to his lordship for the amount. I will remit Sackville’s along with my own, as I have some money of his in my hands just at present.” Horace threw a look of gratitude upon the Prince in acknowledgment ‘of this delicate man- ner of paying for him—the truth being, as a mat- ter of course, that His Royal Highness held no funds belonging to his youthful favourite. “ Now, then,” said the baronet, “ we thoroughly understand ourselves thus far. Six thousand gui- neas are to be subscribed as a sweepstakes to be given to the fortunate individual who shall make Venetia Trelawney his mistress. But the proof of the conquest ?” he added inquiringly. “Oh! some proof satisfactory to the rest must be afforded by the victor, as a matter of course,” observed the Prince. “ But that will depend upon circumstances. At all events, whenever the siege is at an end, and the citadel has surrendered, the happy conqueror should hold himself bound to communicate the fact to the rest——” “ He must give a banquet,” suggested the Earl of Curzon, “at which the proofs of his victory will be adduced—be they letters, or whatever they may: and then the six thousand guineas will be duly handed over to him.” “The compact is now as perfect as six clever fellows can possibly make it,” said the baronet. * Pass the bottle, Sackville.” And the bottle was passed and re-passed again and again, until all present, with the exception of Horace, were in such a happy condition that if asked whether they stood upon their heads or their heels, they could not have very easily responded to the query. CHAPTER II. VENETIA. Ir was the Monday following the banquet given at the Marquis of Leveson’s house; and at about nine o'clock in the morning Venetia Trelawney was breakfasting in an elegantly-furnished boudoir at Acacia Cottage. She was alone, and in the most charming desha- billée: or, to speak more correctly, having just stepped forth from the bed-chamber adjoining, and fearful of no intrusive gaze, she was in the most negligent undress. As her splendid form lounged half reclining upon a sofa, the downy cushions%of which softly yielded to her pressure, an undefinable air of voluptuous languor seemed to characterise her whole person. The bright shoulders were completely bare; and the superb bust was every now and then as fully exposed, when the slightest movement displaced the muslin wrapper which she had so loosely thrown on. On rising from her couch she had taken a bath : and her skin shone with a healthy animation that rendered her complexion absoluteiy dazzling in its transparent brightness. Upon her cheeks was that rich bloom which, far from deepening into ruddiness, was still sufficiently glowing to resem- ble the tint of the carnation gently combined with — OF THE COURT. 13 the vermeil of the peach. Nothing could be more exquisite than the transition with which that na- tural hue softened into roseate delicacy, which in its turn blended imperceptibly with the whiteness of the lily:—and on the forehead, the neck, and the bosom, the meandering veins delineated all those shades of azure which the enraptured eye loves to follow beneath the polished surface of the skin. Venetia’s countenance was a perfect oval: but notwithstanding its shape was thus fitted for a beauty of the highest order of intellectuality, it had that expression which, without being positively sleepy—much less heavy, was still full of the soft langour that steals upon the senses like the per- fume of flowers ona sultry day. This effect, too, was enhanced by the slow and languishing motion of the eyes, which were not particularly large, but of the deepest, tenderest, most melting blue. And those eyes,—as they looked forth from be- neath their softly drooping lids, fringed with dark brown lashes slightly curling,—how full of love did their depths appear to be,—as if young Cupid had made his home there even before he had asserted his empire over Venetia’s heart! Yet those looks were not absolutely wanton—much less did they flash with the fires of passion: but they beamed softly with a seductiveness all their own—and there was the sub- dued lustre of a nascent voluptousness in their deep languid gaze. The brows that arched above those eyes were finely pencilled and well divided: and above them rose the handsome forehead which was polished as marble, without the marble’s cold and settled in- animation. Her hair was of that superb auburn which in the sunshine resembles burnished gold, and in the shade wears upon its darkened surface the rich gloss that gives it the appearance of velvet smoothness. Of exceeding thickness in its luxu- riant copiousness, but of exquisite fineness in the myriad filaments that made up the gorgeous mass, it was arranged in bands deepening lower than the ears, and was then gathered in a knot at the back of the well-shaped head. But we have not yet terminated the description of Venetia’s countenance. Her profile was of faultless regularity: the nose was straight and united with the forehead in that classic outline which leaves only a slight inflection to be seen. Her mouth was small and beautifully chiselled : the curve of the upper lip resembled that of Cu- pid’s bow—while the lower lip was fuller, and slightly pouting, so that it left between its ripe richness and the chin that gentle hollow which im- parts to the latter a more perfect roundness. These lips were of a delicious redness, moist as a dewy flower and luscious as a fruit of the tropics: and remaining habitually the least thing apart, they not only revealed glimpses of the brilliant teeth, but likewise added to the softly sensuous expression of the countenance. Venetia was tall in stature—above the middle height of woman. To say that she was finely formed, would be but to convey a poor idea of the actual grandeur of her proportions. Though retaining all the first freshness of youth, and with the virgin roundness and plumpness of the contours perfectly unmarred, her shape had expanded into the glowing luxuriance of womanhood. Still was its symmetry so just—so admirable, that the sternest critic could not have desired any one chaaroy ay) (a ovovs) inc