A Hundred Thousand Dragons Read Online Free

it.’
    â€˜A really clever girl wouldn’t point them out,’ said Jack. ‘Or perhaps the man hasn’t got any faults.’
    Lady Stuckley gave a crack of laughter. ‘I’ve never met a man yet who didn’t.’ She looked at Isabelle once more. ‘Being clever’s all very well but since she took up with Arthur Stanton I’ve had a far greater opinion of her sense. She suits that mediaeval dress. Marjorie and Phyllis told me she was going to come as some sort of Greek goddess. She doesn’t look very Greek.’
    â€˜No, that notion went by the board. She went for Camelot in the end. He’s Lancelot and she’s Guinevere.’
    â€˜And very pretty she looks, too. I can’t think the chain mail young Stanton’s wearing is particularly suitable for dancing in, though.’
    â€˜No, I don’t suppose they had jazz at the court of King Arthur.’
    â€˜Good for them. All these modern dances are far too energetic.’ Lady Stuckley raised her lorgnettes and peered across the ballroom with aged but sharp eyes. ‘Goodness knows why young Vaughan chose to dress up as Rasputin. He cannot be comfortable, smothered by that beard.’
    Jack felt his knuckles tighten. ‘Young Vaughan?’ he repeated.
    She glanced at him. ‘Do you know him?’
    â€˜I met him the other day,’ said Jack in what he hoped was a casual manner.
    â€˜Young Vaughan,’ she said reflectively. ‘He was in the Diplomatic Service for a time. He never sits still. He’s always rowing round something or shooting animals or climbing up a mountain somewhere.’
    It was obviously expected of him to make some sort of comment. ‘Isn’t he a bit old for that sort of thing? He must be at least fifty.’
    Lady Stuckley laughed. ‘At my age, that’s not old. Since his wife died he’s only had himself to please, not that that ever mattered. He’s always done exactly as he liked. I suppose everyone’s got to have their amusements, but I find some of the things he does very odd.’
    â€˜There’s nothing odd about climbing mountains, is there?
    Lady Stuckley sniffed. ‘When he was up at Cambridge, he started digging up dead people.’
    â€˜Digging up dead people?’ repeated Jack in surprise. It seemed a peculiar sort of pastime, even for the most wayward student.
    â€˜Dead people and pots,’ said Lady Stuckley with a sniff. ‘Treasure hunting, you know? He calls it archaeology but it boils down to dead people and pots. I believe his house is full of things he’s dug up. I asked him once if he’d found any treasure and he told me he’d found a gold pin from a brooch. It’d be much easier to go and buy a gold pin, surely – and a brooch as well, if he wanted one – than try and dig them up. It seems a very haphazard way of obtaining jewellery.’
    Despite his tension, Jack couldn’t help laughing. He could quite see that the practical Lady Stuckley would find little point in merely academic pursuits. He finished his champagne and stood up. She stretched her hand out to him in a queenly gesture that went well with her costume and, much to her pleasure, he bowed gallantly and kissed her hand. ‘Your Majesty,’ he murmured.
    â€˜Don’t forget you promised me a waltz,’ said Lady Stuckley, highly gratified. ‘I don’t know what the matter is but your manners haven’t suffered.’
    After that rather wearing session, all he really wanted to do was join Mark Stuckley on the terrace for a breather, but he was stopped by Isabelle. ‘There you are, Jack. I saw Lady Stuckley had nabbed you. She’s a holy terror, isn’t she?’
    â€˜She thinks you’re clever,’ he said. ‘And she’s got a good opinion of your sense.’
    â€˜Has she?’ Isabelle looked remarkably pleased. ‘That’s quite something coming from