exclaimed. “I thought that you had forgotten all about me.”
“No, of course not,” Denise Sedgewick replied, “but I have come to ask for your help.”
“My help?” Alina repeated in surprise.
She just could not imagine how Denise Sedgewick could possibly want her help.
Her mother had been a distant cousin of the Sedgewick family and had been devoted to Denise’s mother before she had died in childbirth.
As Alina and Denise were almost the same age, with Denise just a few months older, it was arranged that they should take lessons together.
Every Monday Alina would ride over to their house, which was only two miles away across the fields and stay there until the Friday, when she returned home to be with her father and mother.
It had been a very satisfactory arrangement from Lady Langley’s point of view.
Because Denise’s father was wealthy, he could afford the best-educated Governesses and they also had a number of Tutors for various additional subjects that he wanted his daughter to be well educated in.
Alina very much enjoyed her lessons and especially loved being with Denise.
She was very lovely and in fact both girls were outstandingly beautiful.
Perhaps Denise was the more sensational of the two, having perfect features and hair that seemed to be gold-tipped with little flames of red.
Her eyes were the green of a forest stream.
It was no surprise when, just before her eighteenth birthday, Denise went to London to be presented at Court by her grandmother.
She had been an outstanding success in London Society.
In fact she was such a sensation that Alina had lost touch with her.
At first the two girls had corresponded with each other frequently, but soon Alina found that she was writing three letters to one hurried note in reply from Denise.
She therefore thought that perhaps she was imposing on their friendship and wrote only occasionally and sometimes at Christmas.
Lately she had not written to her at all.
Now Denise was saying,
“Dearest, you must forgive me for not having come to see you sooner. I have not been at home or with my grandmother, but staying in all sorts of exciting houses for house parties which I am longing to tell you about.”
“You look lovely, Denise!” Alina exclaimed.
She was looking as she spoke at the very elegant travelling coat that Denise was wearing and her hat trimmed with feathers.
She noted too the elegance of her gloves, her shoes and her handbag, in fact everything about her was the height of fashion.
They went into the drawing room and Denise gave a cry of surprise.
“What has happened?” she exclaimed. “What have you done? Where are all the lovely mirrors and the pictures I remember so well?”
“I have so much to tell you,” Alina replied quietly.
Denise waited and then Alina went on,
“After Papa died, we found that we were very poor.”
“I was so upset to hear about his accident,” Denise murmured sympathetically. “But I had always imagined that you were very comfortably off.”
“We thought we were,” Alina answered her, “but there were a great many debts and Papa’s investments did not pay any dividends.”
Denise clasped her hands together.
“Oh, dearest, how terrible! I wish I had known. Of course I would have wanted to help you.”
Alina drew in her breath.
“I don’t think you know,” she murmured, “that Mama – died three weeks ago.”
Denise gave a little cry of horror and flung her arms round Alina.
“I had no idea, oh, Alina, I am so sorry. I know how much you loved her and I loved her too.”
“Everybody loved Mama,” Alina sighed, “but she found that she could not go on living without Papa at her side.”
Denise sat down on a sofa that was clearly in considerable need of repair.
“You must tell me all about it,” she suggested. “I had no idea that anything like this had happened. When I decided to come to you for help, I expected, of course, to find your mother here with everything in the house as beautiful as I have always thought it to be.”
“We have had to sell everything that was saleable,” Alina admitted in a low voice.
There was a little pause before she added,
“We will talk about that later. I want to hear about you and the success you have been in London and, of course, why you have come to me for help.”
She saw by the expression in her friend’s eyes that something was really wrong.
After a moment Denise exclaimed,
“Oh, Alina, I have been such a fool! You will not believe how stupid I have been.”
Alina sat down beside her.
“Tell me all about it, dearest.”
“That is what I decided to do and why I came here,” Denise replied, “and I was sure that you would help me.”
Alina reached out and took Denise’s hand in hers.
“Start at the beginning,” she urged.
“Well, as you have heard, I was a success in London. I really was a great success, Alina, and it would be silly of me to deny it.”
“How could you be anything else?” Alina asked her fondly. “You are so lovely and you have all those beautiful clothes that you wrote and told me about.”
“My grandmother was very generous,” Denise said, “and naturally Papa was prepared to pay for anything I wanted.”
There was a smile on her lips as she added,
“I really was the belle of every ball I went to!”
“Of course you were,” Alina supported her loyally.
“It is not only your looks that count in London,” Denise added. “There are plenty of sophisticated beauties who fascinate the Prince of Wales and all the smart gentlemen who frequent the Marlborough House parties.”
“I am sure that none of them could be as beautiful as you,” Alina smiled.
“They
