دانلود رمان انگلیسی “یک شب لندن” – یک عاشقانه ویکتوریایی

Mr. Thornton watched his London hosts lead their partners to the dance floor. The straight black forms of the stronger sex stood in rigid contrast to the voluminous effusion of ruffles, lace, and ribbons of delicate colors that adorned the shapely figures of the fairer sex. Never were the lines of distinction between the great divide of humanity more apparent than on such occasions when men and women assumed the elegant costumes and postures designated for their particular roles, assigned to them from the aggregate social traditions of their progenitors since the days of their birth. Crimson drapes covered the windows of the long ballroom, preventing the feebler light of man’s making from seeping out into the darkness that covered the city and providing a theatrical backdrop to the movements of all the human players captured within this gilded scene. Mirrored walls reflected glittering chandeliers and gold-embossed panels in the private ballroom of one of London’s elite families. Left in solitude for a moment, Mr. Thornton slid a gloved finger under his stiff collar and tugged at the white cravat binding his throat on this warm June evening. He expelled a silent sigh. It would be a relief to return to the privacy of his hotel room where he could dispense with the obtrusive layers of formal attire.