“Our mother was Reginald’s daughter Flora,” Mary began. She proceeded to tell him the full story of her parents’ hasty wedding and the earl’s disapproval, though she skipped over her mother’s second marriage to the odious Cosmo Glass, as well as her and her sisters’ hasty departure from the United States.
“We have papers showing that we are Flora’s children,” she finished. “It isn’t as if we expect the earl to believe us without any proof.”
“I see.” Royce regarded her, a twinkle growing in his eyes. “Well, well. I wonder what the righteous Oliver will have to say about this.”
“I am so glad that our situation provides you with amusement,” Mary snapped.
“Oh, no, your situation does not. I am in full sympathy with you, I assure you. It is the thought of Oliver’s expression when I present you to him that amuses me.”
“You mean you are going to take us to him?” Mary asked, her irritation vanishing in a flood of relief.
“I have little choice in the matter, it would seem.”
“When?” Lily asked eagerly. “When can we meet him? Tomorrow?”
He gave the young girl a smile. “I see no reason to wait that long. I suggest we pay the earl a visit this afternoon.”
Chapter 5
Mary’s second arrival at the home of the Earl of Stewkesbury was a far cry from the first one. This time she and her sisters stepped down from Sir Royce’s elegant carriage. And when he knocked and the same haughty footman opened the door, the servant’s face immediately was creased with a broad smile.
“Sir Royce! Good afternoon, sir.” He stepped back to allow Royce to enter, and his gaze fell upon Mary, standing at Sir Royce’s side. His jaw dropped. “You!”
He looked as though he was about to say more, but he saw Sir Royce regarding him with cool inquiry and shut his mouth.
“Yes, James?” Sir Royce asked. “Is there a problem?”
“I—well, no, sir. That is—” He cast another disbelieving glance at Mary.
“Why don’t you tell Lord Stewkesbury I am here?” Royce suggested, ending the man’s dilemma.
“Yes, sir, of course, sir.” James bowed and hurried away.
As the footman headed up the stairs, Mary looked around her. Even the grand kitchen had not prepared her for the splendor of the entry hall of Stewkesbury House. Large squares of black and white marble stretched away from the front door into an enormous room that rose two stories. On the walls hung massive portraits and landscapes and even, Mary noticed in some amazement, a large oil painting of a black horse. There were heavy padded benches and chairs scattered around the walls and long wooden tables holding large urns and candelabra. The centerpiece of the hall, however, was the grand staircase that rose before them, twice the width of an ordinary staircase up to the first landing, then splitting into two as it continued in either direction to the second floor. If this room had been built and decorated to awe its visitors, Mary thought, it certainly succeeded. Glancing at her sisters, she could see that their impressions were the same.#p#分页标题#e#
Rose turned to look at her, and Mary saw the almost fearful look in Rose’s wide blue eyes, a look that said, Surely we don’t belong here!
“Well, ladies …” Sir Royce turned to them, seemingly undaunted by their surroundings. “Why don’t we wait for the earl someplace a trifle less drafty?”
He ushered them across the entryway and into a large room. Two sets of tall windows hung with red velvet drapes looked out onto the wide street outside. Dark teak furniture dominated the chamber, and it took Mary a moment to realize that the arms of the sofa and chairs ended in carved dragon’s heads. Red silk cushions padded the seats, and gold-and-white—patterned wallpaper repeated the theme of Chinese dragons.
The girls stared about the room in amazement.
“Forgive the décor,” Sir Royce told them. “One of Oliver’s aunts became rather obsessed with chinoiserie during the Prince’s building of the Pavilion in Brighton. I cannot imagine how she ever persuaded the old earl to let her do it. However, it is the most comfortable drawing room in the place.”
Mary glanced around her at the elegant silks and velvets, the smooth rich wood, the thick rug beneath their feet, and wondered how this could be classified as “comfortable.” She had never seen anyplace that was at once so elegant and so exotic.
She glanced at Royce suspiciously. Was the man serious? Or had he brought them here purposely to intimidate them? He appeared to be without guile as he directed them toward the sofa and settled in one of the chairs beside it.