Ma'amselle herself received them in the entrance hall. She looked quite different from the way she had appeared on board the steamer, as she was now attired in very elegant and formal robes, with her white hair arranged after the fashion of Madame de Pompadour.
She cordially welcomed the three young girls, making emphatic assertions at her delight in seeing them, but her warmest welcome was bestowed upon Patty.
"But it is herself!" she cried; "of a certainty, it is ma petite Patty.
Ciel! but it is that I am glad to see you!"
Patty returned the greetings with polite warmth, and indeed she was really fond of the quaint old lady.
The girls were all amazed at the grandeur and beauty of Ma'amselle's home, and were unable to repress their admiration; but Ma'amselle was pleased rather than otherwise that they should express their pleasure.
"But surely," she said, "it is indeed the beautiful home. This hall! It is not of a smallness! And in the old days it welcomed royal guests."
The hall was indeed magnificent. It was decorated with frescoes and mural paintings by well-known French artists. It contained statues and paintings and clocks and vases that might have graced a museum. The armour of knights stood about, and valuable trophies graced the wainscoted walls.
A wide carved staircase wound spirally up from one end; and at Ma'amselle's suggestion, the girls were ushered at once to their room. French maids were sent to them to unlock their boxes and assist with their toilettes, and Patty was glad that she now knew enough French at least to make herself understood.
Rosamond Barstow was a girl who never hesitated to get what she wanted if possible, and now it suited her purpose to dismiss the French maids; in her voluble if somewhat imperfect French, she told them that the young ladies wished to be alone for a time and would ring for the maids later.
"I just HAD to talk to you girls alone for a minute," she exclaimed, "or I should have exploded. Did you EVER see such a gorgeous castle in this world? I didn't know your old Ma'amselle lived like this! How shall we ever live up to it?"