Danger to the Duke by Barbara Cartland

Author:Barbara Cartland
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-908303-57-8
Publisher: Barbara Cartland.com

CHAPTER FIVE

To Michael’s surprise he was ordered to lay dinner for twelve.

As he had seen so few people since he had arrived, he could not imagine all that number of guests could be staying in the house.

However, just when dinner was nearly ready, he heard a number of footsteps coming down the stairs belonging to both men and women.

They must have been lying down – if that was the right word – during the afternoon.

He had already taken two bottles of champagne into the drawing room where they were to gather before dinner.

It was a lovely room with three huge crystal chandeliers. The furniture was French, which he guessed had been bought by one of his ancestors at the time of the French Revolution.

He walked towards the drawing room to announce dinner.

For the first time he could see why there had been so much talk about what was happening at the Hall.

The men were certainly not gentlemen. They were what his father would have called bounders.

The women were painted, common and dressed in the most fantastic and suggestive gowns.

When he looked at them, Michael could only hope that there was no chance of Adela coming into contact with such creatures.

He had been told by the cook,

“There’s no point, Mr. Morris, in announcin’ dinner until they’s had at least half-an-hour’s hard drinkin’ aforehand.”

When he did enter the drawing room the noise and laughter made it impossible for him to make himself heard.

Then as Cyril looked towards him, he proclaimed in a stentorian tone,

“Dinner is served, sir.”

For a moment it seemed as if none of the party was interested. However, as Cyril moved towards the door, the others began to follow.

The dining room was a very large and impressive Banqueting Hall and Michael had arranged the table as it would have been at Viceregal Lodge on an important occasion.

The candelabra were of gold and so were the goblets and dishes he had found in the safe and he had instructed the footmen, who had never heard of such an idea, to decorate the table with flowers.

As none had come in from the garden, he had taken them from one of the rooms which he did not think was in use.

When the women saw the table they shrieked with delight.

“That’s ever so pretty!” one of them cried. “All it wants now is for me to dance among the gold.”

“And a nice mess you’d make of it,” remarked the man beside her.

“I’ll show you if you want me to,” she squawked.

Fortunately at that moment a plate was placed in front of her and it stopped her from performing what she had suggested.

By the time dinner was only half finished it would have been impossible for any of the diners to dance on the table or anywhere else.

Michael had been warned that they were heavy drinkers and had therefore brought up a great number of bottles of wine from the cellar. Even so he began to wonder if he would run out before the meal was over.

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