FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146  
147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   >>  
y felt they deserved, was intense. Lenox suddenly burst into a flood of gentlemanly apologies. He explained rapidly that his name was Clifford, that he had seen his father's coat of arms in the church, and had been tempted to trespass in order to secure some photographs of the house that was probably the old home of their family. Mrs. Elliot listened till he had finished. "I'd have given you permission if you had asked," she replied calmly. "Now it's time that your sister--cousin, is she?--took off those wet clothes, or she'll catch cold." Diana marvelled at Mrs. Elliot's goodness. She was taken indoors, and lent some garments while her own were dried. The household was an earlier one than they had supposed, and in answer to the mistress's bell came servants who were too well trained to express surprise in their faces at the sight of a dripping visitor. An elderly maid showed Diana to a bedroom, rubbed her hair for her with a towel, helped her into a pink silk kimono dressing-gown, and brought her a cup of hot tea. These precautions against cold having been taken, Mrs. Elliot most kindly volunteered to show the young people over the house. It was a funny little procession: the elderly lady with her cane; Lenox, in his khaki, still blurting out apologies; and Diana trailing the pink kimono, which was much too long, and shuffling in bronze-beaded shoes that were two sizes too large. The glories of the old Manor left them gasping: the big banqueting hall with its armour and tapestries, the panelled oak boudoir, the library with its family portraits, the wide staircase, the drawing-room with its cabinets and priceless china, the state bedroom with the carved four-post bed where Queen Anne had slept, the courtyard and dove-cote where pigeons were strutting and preening their feathers, and the little chapel with its coats of arms in the stained glass, and chained Bible. Through a window they could see the garden, with clipped yew hedges and smooth lawn, and a peacock spreading its gorgeous tail to the morning sun. "If your great-grandfather went to America a hundred years ago you are probably descended from either Guy, Charles, or Humphrey Clifford," said Mrs. Elliot, showing Lenox a family genealogical tree that hung in the hall. "I know my great-grandfather's name was Humphrey," answered Lenox, "and the dates would seem to correspond." Diana's clothes were dried at last, and brushed. Even her hat, by the aid of a
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146  
147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   >>  



Top keywords:
Elliot
 

family

 

bedroom

 

elderly

 

kimono

 
grandfather
 
clothes
 

apologies

 
Humphrey
 

Clifford


portraits

 

library

 
cabinets
 

staircase

 
drawing
 

priceless

 
brushed
 
carved
 

correspond

 

panelled


beaded

 

bronze

 

trailing

 

shuffling

 

glories

 

tapestries

 

armour

 

courtyard

 

gasping

 

banqueting


boudoir

 
preening
 

morning

 

genealogical

 

gorgeous

 
smooth
 

peacock

 
spreading
 

America

 
descended

Charles
 

hundred

 
showing
 
hedges
 

stained

 

answered

 
chapel
 

pigeons

 
strutting
 

feathers