Between the end of the village street and the gates of the Manor, Mutimer gave his sister hasty directions as to her behaviour before the servants.
‘Put on just a bit of the princess,’ he said. ‘Not too much, you know, but just enough to show that it isn’t the first time in your life that you’ve been waited on. Don’t always give a ‘thank you;’ one every now and then’ll do. I wouldn’t smile too much or look pleased, whatever you see. Keep that all till we’re alone together. We shall have lunch at once; I’ll do most of the talking whilst the servants are about; you just answer quietly.’
These instructions were interesting, but not altogether indispensable; Alice Maud had by this time a very pretty notion of how to conduct herself in the presence of menials. The trying moment was on entering the house; it was very hard indeed not to utter her astonishment and delight at the dimensions of the hall and the handsome staircase. This point safely passed, she resigned herself to splendour, and was conducted to her room in a sort of romantic vision. The Manor satisfied her idea of the ancestral mansion so frequently described or alluded to in the fiction of her earlier years. If her mind had just now reverted to Mr. Keene, which of course it did not, she would have smiled very royally indeed.
When she entered the drawing-room, clad in that best gown which her brother had needlessly requested her to bring, and saw that Richard was standing on the hearth-rug quite alone, she could no longer contain herself, but bounded towards him like a young fawn, and threw her arms on his neck.
‘Oh, Dick,’ she whispered, ‘what a thing it is to be rich! How ever did we live so long in the old way! If I had to go back to it now I should die of misery.’
‘Let’s have a look at you,’ he returned, holding her at arm’s length. ‘Yes, I think that’ll about do. Now mind you don’t let them see that you’re excited about it. Sit down here and pretend to be a bit tired. They may come and say lunch is ready any moment.’
‘Dick, I never felt so good in my life! I should like to go about the streets and give sovereigns to everybody I met.’
Richard laughed loudly.
‘Well, well, there’s better ways than that. I’ve been giving a good many sovereigns for a long time now. I’m only sorry you weren’t here when we opened the Hall.’
‘But you haven’t told me why you sent for me now.’