The Young Duchess; or, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality — page 142: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

128 THE YOUNG DUCHESS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A LADY OF QUALITY. for she was represented as a being clad in the most gorgeous costume, with pearls on her brow and plumes in her hair, and decorated with jewels and gems to an extent that might have perhaps been striking and dazzling enough at an evening party, but which were little becoming to her ap- pearance when delineated in a picture. “How long ago was that portrait taken?” in- quired Ethel: then, without waiting for an an- swer to the question,-she ejaculated, ‘‘ But it is easy to perceive!—her ladyship must have been eighteen or twenty! How young she must have been married!—for she spoke to me this morning of having lost several children. You tell me that his lordship died fifteen years ago? Her lady- ship, then, could not have been much more than twenty or two and twenty at the outside! Dear me, Miss Crediton! why do you look at me in so peculiar a manner? This is not the first time! I have been going to ask you once or twice—but I really didn’t like to seem inquisi- tive.” “Hush!” said Martha: “ hush !”—for her ear had caught footsteps in the hall. “Tf you please, ladies,” said the footman, who now made his appearance, “luncheon is served in the breakfast-parlour.” “We are coming, Frank,” replied Miss Cre- diton. The footman retired; and almost at the same ’ moment Lady Langport made her appearance on the threshold. She was beautifully dressed; she had a gay French bonnet trimmed in the most charming style—her mantelet was embellished with the costliest lace—she wore flesh-coloured silk stockings—and her shoes, also French, fitted her in the most faultless manner. She seemed to have a beautiful foot and ankle; and she walked with an elasticity which might have become a girl of eighteen. The pink ties of her bonnet tended to conceal that partial hollowness of the cheeks to which we have before alluded; and thus her ladyship appeared absolutely charming. Ethel had given her about thirty-five years when she had first seen her in the morning: she had just. now extended that age to thirty-seven when she remembered the allusion to the children: but now, as she contemplated the really beautiful face and the superbly symmetrical form before her, she marvelled how Lady Langport could be a day older than thirty. ‘“‘Ah, my dear Mrs. Trevor,” she said, shaking her warmly by the hand; ‘‘so you've kept your word and comeearly? Jam indebted to you for this consideration: I am also glad that you have formed the acquaintance of my dear friend Martha before she leaves. I suppose, Martha, you were showing Mrs. Trevor over the house? Has she been up-stairs yet ?” It struck Ethel that this question was put with a certain degree of mystery ; for her ladyship leant forward and lowered her voice while speaking to Martha. ““No,” responded Miss Crediton, also with a certain peculiarity of look—or at least so it struck Ethel. “Mrs. Trevor has not long been here, and I was just beginning to show her the house when Frank announced luncheon. By the bye, dear Lady Langport, I think you said I might have the carriage presently to take me as far as the West End?” “To be sure, my dear friend!” replied her ladyship. ‘Give your own orders. Mrs. Trevor and I will take a walk to-day—we can therefore very well dispense with the carriage, for I will show her over the grounds.” The three ladies repaired to the breakfast par- lour, where an inviting luncheon was spread. Lady Langport begged Ethel to make a good re- past, intimating that they did not dine till seven o'clock. When luncheon was over, Miss Crediton | hastened up-stairs to superintend the packing of — her last box: the carriage—which was a hand- some one—drove round to the door; and Martha took an affectionate leave of her ladyship and of Ethel. ‘ ““T will now show you over the house,” said Lady Langport. ‘By the bye, where is your dear little Alfred ?” “The housemaid took charge of him,” responded Ethel. _ “She is a good young woman, and will treat him kindly. I have ordered a girl, whom I know in Hendon, to be sent for to act as nursemaid for little Alfred. She will be here presently. She is about eighteen, and highly respectable. Ah, you have seen these rooms on the ground floor— the dining-room —the breakfast-parlour? — and here is the library. That other apartment serves as an ordinary dining-room when we have no company.” ° They now ascended the staircase, and re-entered the drawing-rooms, which Ethel found to consist of a suite of three, occupying the entire length of the house, in its front part, on the.first floor. The back apartments on this storey were also sitting- rooms, and commanded amuch more agreeable view than the front windows. They now ascended to the next floor; and first of all Lady Langport led the way into a laege handsomely furnished bed-room, but fitted up in an old-fashioned style, and which she announced to be her sleeping-apartment. Opening a door, she led Ethel into a bath-room. Then she opened another door—but, slowly and hesitatingly, and at the same time flinging a peculiar look upon her com- panion,—a look which the latter could by no means comprehend. It was now a dressing-room into which she was led; and it contained a toilet- table placed near the window, and a large bureau of walnut wood very handsomely carved, at the farther extremity. From that dressing-room a door led into another chamber, almost as spacious and quite as well furnished as the first which they had entered. “This is your room,” said Lady Langport ; and her eyes were now fixed upon Ethel’s coun- tenance. ‘‘T am very much pleased with it—it is exceed- ingly comfortable and airy. I presume that I may have my little boy to sleep with me?” Her ladyship at once answered in the affirma- tive; and then she said somewhat deliberately, ‘You are not, therefore, surprised to perceive that your chamber communicates with my apart- ments.?” ' ‘Not at all,” replied Ethel, ‘considering the duties which, as your ladyship intimated, I shall have to perform.” A look of indescribable satisfaction appeared upon Lady Langport’s countenance; and she said in a low voice, which appeared to be full of emo- a COMO oO SS Colin