She led the way upstairs, talking volubly the while, and assuring Celia that she was exactly in appearance like her mother had been at her age, a remark which Celia received in dead silence, wondering if it could possibly be true; afterwards, when she heard the same from Sir Jasper's lips, she concluded that it was.
Mrs. Wallis expressed herself very pleased with all the arrangements the housekeeper had made for her comfort, whilst the little girls were delighted with the bedroom which was allotted to them.
"How big it is!" Joy exclaimed. "And, oh, what a great, high bed! Look at the curtains around it! I declare it's almost as large as our room at home!" Then she ran to the window, and uttered a cry of admiration. "Oh, Celia, what a lovely view! Isn't it simply magnificent?"
"It is very pretty," Celia replied, composedly.
"Pretty!" Joy echoed. "Why, it is grand!"
"Yes, it's very nice, and so is the house. The furniture is rather old, but it's very handsome. I should think Uncle Jasper must be exceedingly rich. He's a funny old man, isn't he? Did you ever see sharper eyes? They seemed to look me through and through."
"I don't think he is very happy," Joy remarked, reflectively. "I wonder what he meant by saying he hoped my name would never appear in the light of a mockery to me. Wasn't it an odd thing to say?"
"Very," Celia replied, carelessly.
Joy saw her sister was not attending to her, so she sat down on the broad, cushioned window-seat, and allowed her gaze to wander over the fair landscape, whilst Celia, after closely scrutinising each article of furniture the room contained, turned her attention to the dressing-table, and thoughtfully regarded her countenance in the looking-glass. Then she untied the ribbon which fastened back her golden locks, and commenced to brush her hair.
"You had better put yourself tidy, Joy," she advised her sister, presently; "didn't you hear Mrs. Mallock tell mother that tea would be served in the dining-room almost directly? I should have thought Uncle Jasper would have dined late, but it appears he does not."