|был как будто бы| miles away. At night sometimes one might go out. But during the hot day one |человек, постоялец этогоотеля| remained in the cool shade of the Lotus.
Madame was alone in the Hotel Lotus. She was alone as a queen is alone, because of her high position. She rose from bed late in the morning. She was then a sweet, soft person who seemed to shine quietly.
But at dinner she was different. She would wear a beautiful dress. I cannot find words fine enough to tell about it. Always there were red flowers at her shoulder. When the head waiter |главный официант| saw a dress like this, he met it at the door. You thought of Paris when you saw it, and of the theater and of old romances.
A story about Madame Beaumont was told |история рассказывалась| among the guests in the Hotel Lotus. It was said |Поговаривали… Стандартная фраза в английском, когда надо сказать, что что-то обсуждалось, но неважно кем именно| that she was a woman who had traveled |объездила . Had traveled – это время значит, что миронаобъездила к моменту, когда заселилась в отель| all over the world. It was said that she knew the most important people everywhere. It was said that in her white hands she held the future of certain |некоторых| nations.
It was no surprise, they said, that such a lady should choose the Hotel Lotus. It was the most desirable and the most restful place in America during the heat of summer.
On the third day of Madame Beaumont’s stay in the hotel, a young man entered as a guest. His clothes were quiet |здесь – скромная| but good. His face was pleasant. His expression was that of a man who had traveled and could understand the world. He said that he would remain three or four days. He asked about the sailing of certain ships |отплытии некоторых кораблей|. He seemed to like this hotel the best of all he had known.
The young man put his name on the list of hotel guests: Harold Farrington. It was a name with a fine sound. And the young man belonged perfectly in the quiet life of the Lotus. In one day he became like all the other guests. Like them he had his table and his waiter. He also had the same fear that the wrong people might suddenly discover this hotel and destroy its peace.
After dinner on the next day, Madame Beaumont dropped something