God's Good Man by Marie Corelli (best young adult book series .txt) đ
- Author: Marie Corelli
- Performer: -
Book online «God's Good Man by Marie Corelli (best young adult book series .txt) đ». Author Marie Corelli
âThank the Lord and His goodness, Passon Walden, here you are at last! Iâd made up my mind the silly fool of a Spruce had brought me the wrong message;âa good meaninâ man, but weak in the upper storey, âcept where trees is concerned and clearing away brushwood, when Iâd be bold to say heâs as handy as they make âemâbut do, for mercyâs sake, Passon, step inside and see how weâve got on, for itâs not so bad as it might have been, anâ Iâve seen worse done at a few daysâ notice than even myself with hired hands on a suddint could ever do. Step in, sir, step in!âweâre leavinâ the door open to let the sun in a bit to warm the hall, for the old stained glass do but filter it through at its best; not but that we ainât had a fire in it night and morninâ ever since we had Miss Vancourtâs letter.â
Walden made no attempt to stem the flow of the worthy womanâs discourse. From old experience, he knew that to be an impossible task. So he stepped in as he was bidden, and looked round the grand old hall, decorated with ancient armour, frayed banners and worn scutcheons, feeling regretfully that perhaps he was looking at it so for the last time. No one more than he had appreciated the simple dignity of its old-world style, or had more correctly estimated the priceless value of the antique oak panelling that covered its walls. He loved the great ingle-nook, set deep back as it were, in the very bosom of the house, with its high and elaborately carved benches on each side, and its massive armorial emblems wrought in black oak, picked out with tarnished gold, crimson and azure,âhe appreciated every small gleam and narrow shaft of colour reflected by the strong sun through the deeply-tinted lozenge panes of glass that filled the lofty oriel windows on either side;âand the stuffed knight-in- armour, a model figure âclad in complete steel,â of the fourteenth century, which stood, holding a spear in its gauntleted hand near the doorway leading to the various reception rooms, was almost a personal friend. Mrs. Spruce, happily unconscious of the deepening melancholy which had begun to tinge his thoughts, led the way through the hall, still garrulously chirping.
âWeâve cleaned up wonderfully, considerinââand it was just the Lordâs providence that at Riversford I found a decent butler and footman what had jesâ got the sack from Sir Morton Pippittâs and were lookinâ for a place tempâry, preferring London later, so I persuaded both of âem to come and try service with a lady for once, instead of with a fussy old ancient, who turns red and blue in the face if heâs kept waitinâ âarf a secondâand I picked up with a gel what the footman was engaged to, and thatâll keep HIM a fixture,â and I found the butler had a hi on a young woman at the public-house âere,âso thatâs what you may call an âhattraction,â and then I got two more âandy gels which was jesâ goinâ off to see about Mrs. Levesonâs place, and when I told âem that there the sugar was weighed out, and the tea dispensed by the ounce, as if it was chemicals, and that please the Lord and anybody else that likes, theyâd have better feedinâ if they came along with me, they struck a bargain there and then. And then as if there was a special powerful blessinâ on it all, who should come down Riversford High Street but one of the best cooks as ever took a job, a Scotch body worth her weight in gold, and sheâd be a pretty big parcel to weigh, too, but she can send up a dinner for one as easy as for thirty, which is as good a test as boilinâ a tater---and âas got all her wits about her. She was just goinâ to advertise for a house party or shootinâ job, so we went into the Crown Inn at Riversford and had tea together and settled it. And they all come up in a wagginette together as merry as larks;âso the place is quite lively, Passon, I do assure you, âspecially for a woman like me which have had it all to myself and lonesome like for many years. Iâve made Kitty useful, too, dustinâ and polishinââgels canât begin their traininâ too early, and all has been going on fine;ânot but what thereâs a mighty sight of eatinâ and drinkinâ now, but itâs the Lordâs will that human beinâs should feed even as the pigs do, âspecially domestic servants, and thereâs no helpinâ of it nor hinderinââbut this morninâs business did put me out a bit, and I do assure you I havenât got over it yet, but howsomever, Spruce says âDo yer dooty!ââand Iâm a-doinâ it to the best of my belief and, âopeâstill it do make my mind a bit rickettyââ
Silently Walden followed her through the rooms, saying little in response to her remarks, ârickettyâ or otherwise, and noting all the various changes as he went.
In the dining-room there was a great transformation. The fine old Cordova leather chairs were all released from their brown holland coverings,âthe long-concealed Flemish tapestries were again unrolled and disclosed to the light of dayâvaluable canvases that had been turned to the wall to save their colour from the too absorbing sunshine, were now restored to their proper positions, and portraits by Vandyke, and landscapes by Corot gave quite a stately air of occupation to a room, which being large and lofty, had always seemed to Walden the loneliest in the house for lack of a living presence. He trod in the restless wake of Mrs. Spruce, however, without comment other than a word of praise such as she expected, for the general result of her labours in getting the long-disused residence into habitable condition, and was only moved to something like enthusiasm when he reached what was called âthe morning room,â an apartment originally intended to serve as a boudoir for that beautiful Mrs. Vancourt, the bride who never came home. Here all the furniture was of the daintiest design,âhere rich cushions of silk and satin were lavishly piled on the luxurious sofas and in the deep easy-chairs,âcurtains of cream brocade embroidered by hand with garlands of roses, draped the sides of the deep embrasured window- nook whence two wide latticed doors opened outwards to a smooth terrace bordered with flowers, where two gardeners were busy rolling the rich velvety turf,âand beyond it stretched a great lawn shaded with ancient oaks and elms that must have seen the days of Henry VII. The prospect was fair and soothing to the eyes, and Walden. gazing at it, gave a little involuntary sigh of pleasure.
âThis is beautiful!â he said, speaking more to himself than to anyoneââPerfectly beautiful!â
âIt is so, sir,â agreed Mrs. Spruce, with an air of comfortably placid conviction; âThereâs no doubt about itâitâs as beautiful a room as could be made for a queen, though I say itâbut whether our new lady will like it, is quite another question. You see, sir, this room was always kept locked in the Squireâs time, and so was all the other rooms as was got ready for the wife as never lived to use them. The Squire wouldnât let a soul inside the doors, not even his daughter. And now, sir, will you please read the letter I got this morning, which as you will notice, is quite nice-like and kindly, more than the otherâonny when the boxes came I was a bit upset. You see the letter was registered and had the keys inside it all right.â
Walden took the missive in reluctant silence. The same thick notepaper, odorous with crushed violetsâthe same bold, dashing handwriting he had seen before, but the matter expressed in it was worded somehow in a totally different tone to that of the previous letter from the same hand.
âDEAR MRS. SPRUCE,â it ran: âI enclose the keys of my boxes which I am sending in advance, as I never travel with luggage. Kindly unpack all the contents and arrange them in the wardrobes and presses of my motherâs rooms. If I remember rightly, these rooms have never been used, hut I intend to take them for myself now, so please have everything prepared. I have received your letter in which you say there is some difficulty in getting good servants at so short a notice. I quite understand this, and am sure you. will arrange for the best. Should everything not be quite satisfactory, we can make alterations when I come. I expect to arrive home in time for afternoon tea. MARYLLIA VANCOURT.â
Walden folded up the letter and gave it back to its owner.
âWell, so far, you have nothing to complain of, Mrs. Spruce,â he said, with a little smile; âThe lady is evidently prepared to excuse any deficiencies arising from the hurry of your preparations.â
âYes, sir, that may be,â answered Mrs. Spruce; âbut if so be you saw what Iâve seen you mightnât take it so easily. Now, sir, if youâll follow me, youâll be able to judge of the quandary we was in till we got our senses back.â
Beginning to be vaguely amused and declining to speculate as to the âquandaryâ which according to the good woman had resulted in a species of lunacy, Walden followed as he was told, and slowly ascended the broad staircase, one of the finest specimens of Tudor work in all England, with its richly turned balustrades and grotesquely carved headpieces, but as he reached the upper landing, he halted abruptly, seeing through an open door mysterious glimmerings of satins and laces, to which he was entirely unaccustomed.
âWhat room is that?â he enquired.
âThatâs what we used to call âthe brideâs room,â sir,â replied Mrs. Spruce, smoothing down her black skirts with an air of fussy importance, and heaving a sigh; âMiss Marylliaâs mother was to have had it. Donât be afraid to step inside, Passon; everythinkâs been turned out and aired, and thereâs not a speck of damp or dismals anywhere, and youâll see for yourself what a time weâre âavinâ though weâre gettinâ jesâ a bit straight now, and Iâve âad Nancy Pyrle as is âandy with her pencil to mark things down as they come to âand. Step inside, Passon Walden,âdo step inside!â
But Walden, held back by some instinctive fastidiousness, declined to move further than the threshold of this hitherto closed and sacredly guarded chamber. Leaning against the doorway he looked in wonderingly, with a vague feeling of bewilderment, while Mrs. Spruce, trotting busily ahead, gave instructions to a fresh-faced country lass, who, breathing very hard, as though she were running, was carefully shaking out what seemed to be a fairyâs robe of filmy white lace, glistening with pearls.
âYe see, Passon, this is what all my troubleâs about;ââshe saidâ âFancy âavinâ to unpack all these grand clothes, and sort âem as they comes, not knowinâ whether they maynât fall to bits in our âands, some of âem beinâ fine as cobwebs, anâ such body linen as was never made for any mortal woman in St. Rest, all lace anâ silk anâ little ribbins! When
Comments (0)