and against the orchids and azaleas which the young man recognised as tributes from the Beaufort hot-houses, Madame Olenska sat half-reclined, her head propped on a hand and her wide sleeve leaving the arm bare to the elbow.
It was usual for ladies who received in the evenings to wear what were called \"simple dinner dresses\": a close-fitting armour of whale-boned silk, slightly open in the neck, with lace ruffles filling in the crack,
and against the orchids and azaleas which the young man recognised as tributes from the Beaufort hot-houses, Madame Olenska sat half-reclined, her head propped on a hand and her wide sleeve leaving the arm bare to the elbow.
It was usual for ladies who received in the evenings to wear what were called \"simple dinner dresses\": a close-fitting armour of whale-boned silk, slightly open in the neck, with lace ruffles filling in the crack,
