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Her room was a bower of every pretty comfort money could buy. Delicate hothouse flowers filled the vases and were replenished daily. The sheets on the bed were of pale-pink silk, the toilet articles were backed with solid gold. Jars of steaming bathwater were hauled upstairs every evening by panting chambermaids – but of course Maria
One evening, several days after her arrival, she was seated before the fire wrapped in a dressing gown of pale-blue satin trimmed with feathers. Celeste, her maid, moved noiselessly around the room laying out the clothing she would presently put on. The gown was the most elaborate she had yet worn, voluminous folds of snowy tulle over a petticoat of heavy blue silk. A cascade of silk flowers fell from one shoulder across the front of the gown and down one side of the overskirt, which was drawn back in graceful folds over a soft bustle. Maria
This was one of the few references she made to David Holmes. If she had not abandoned her belief in the girl's real origin, at least she had not dwelled on it. Whether this was calculation, avoiding a subject that might inspire her protegee to rebellion, or genuine indifference to the opinions of others, including the one most concerned, Maria
She was less successful in managing her dreams. The bespectacled, bearded young Freud was still studying at the Institute for Cerebral Anatomy; he would not invent the subconscious for another fifteen years. It is possible, however, that even the great Sigmund in his prime might not have been able to account satisfactorily for the quality and frequency of Maria
With a genteel murmur of inquiry Celeste knelt before her and Maria
"It looks very well. Now my jewelry… please."
She was still admiring her exquisite reflection when the Duchess entered, her little dog Pierre trotting along behind her. "You look lovely, my dear," she said.
"So do you." Maria
He was waiting for them when they entered the drawing room, looking quite distinguished in evening clothes. His mustache had been trimmed and his unruly hair ruthlessly subdued by an application of pomade. Pierre made straight for him and leaned against his ankles. White hairs adhered to the black broadcloth as if drawn by a magnet. An expression of mild anguish crossed the doctor's face, but he rose nobly to the occasion.
"Good boy; nice little doggy… Ton my word, Honoria, you look no more than eighteen."
"What a pretty compliment! I wish I could return it; but you look as grumpy as a bear. I trust that your scowl is produced, not by present company, but by the prospect of the evening's entertainment?"
"You know I hate opera," was the candid reply. "Silly fools rushing about the stage shouting out secrets at the top of their lungs."
"But the music," Maria
"Sounds like cats on a back fence, serenading the moon."
Pierre barked sharply, as if in agreement. The Duchess laughed. "Never mind, it won't hurt you to suffer for one evening. What do you hear from John?"
The doctor's face lit up. "Good news, I am happy to say. I received a letter yesterday. I had thought the wound was in his leg, where it might have been serious, you know, but it was only in his shoulder. He expects to be invalided home soon."
"Splendid. We speak of Dr. Gruffstone's son, my dear," the Duchess explained. "Following his father's example, he qualified as a surgeon and went out to India with the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was wounded in the fighting in Afghanistan, and we were concerned about him… But where is Roger? We shall be late."
Before she had time to become impatient the lawyer was a
"Let us declare a truce," Carlton murmured.
"Why should we? You obviously have the lowest possible opinion of me."
"Ah, but as yet I have discovered no evidence to substantiate my suspicions."
"No doubt you have tried to discover it."
"Yes, indeed, and I will go on trying. But why should that interfere with our truce? You don't want to distress Her Grace, and neither do I… unless it should become necessary. Who knows, perhaps that occasion will never arise. In the meantime, let us try to be civil."
"Very well," Maria
The Duchess beamed to see her young friends on such good terms.
This was the first time Maria