A Lady Never Tells by Candace Camp

Author:Candace Camp
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2010-04-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Unsurprisingly, it was Miss Dalrymple who put a damper on Sir Royce’s plans. The girls, she said, shocked, could not possibly ride without riding habits.

“Why?” Camellia protested. “We can wear what we have.”

“It would never do.” Miss Dalrymple shook her head. “Riding habits are specially made, with extra material to fall down over one’s, um, limbs. It would be unladylike—indeed, quite scandalous—to mount a horse wearing a day dress.”

No matter how much the girls argued, the chaperone was adamant, and this time Sir Royce came down firmly on her side.

“I’m sorry, ladies, but Miss Dalrymple is right. I shall write Charlotte and tell her to have riding habits made up as well. Don’t fret. The horses won’t go anywhere.”

“No, but I shall die of boredom,” Camellia grumbled as they left the small ballroom and made their way upstairs.

They had finished their dance lesson and the rest of the afternoon was their own, for Miss Dalrymple was fond of taking a daily nap. The first few days they had spent their spare time exploring the sprawling house and its grounds.

“Now what will we do?” Lily asked. “We’ve gone all over the house. And Royce said we can’t go to the maze. It scarcely seems fair that you got to see it.”

“I know.” Mary schooled her face to show nothing, though at mention of the maze she felt a twinge of warmth steal through her. “I have an idea. Remember what Cousin Oliver said about looking through Mama’s things?”

Her sisters brightened at this thought, and they went in search of one of the maids to show them the entrance to the attic. The maid’s reaction to such a request was an astonished stare, and she scurried away, quickly returning with the housekeeper, Mrs. Merriwether.

“That would be the north attic, my lady,” Mrs. Merriwether said. “The more recent things are stored there. I’ll have a footman go up and find whatever you wish.”

“Oh, no, we want to go ourselves,” Mary assured her. “If you could just direct us to the right place?”

“But, my lady …” The older woman looked doubtful. “There’s little ventilation and light in the attic. And though we clean it regularly, it tends to be dusty. Your clothes will suffer. It will be much easier to have the trunks brought down.”

“That’s quite all right.” Mary was becoming more adept at fending off the servants’ efforts to arrange their lives. “We’d like to explore the attics. It will be fun.”

If the housekeeper thought this an odd bit of fun, she was too well trained to express it. She simply smiled politely and instructed the maid to take Mary and her sisters to the attic.

Following the maid, they climbed the back stairs to the top floor, where the servants lived. Another narrow staircase led to a small door. Opening the door, the maid, Junie, led them into the attic and held up a kerosene lamp to give them a better look at their surroundings. The attic was an enormous room that must have covered most of the north wing of the house.

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