Elizabeth looked round the room with surprise and admiration. It was not larger or better than their own—and the furniture was, apparently, neither more expensive, nor more plentiful—but there was an air which their sitting-room never had. Instead of the old discoloured engravings of bishops with wonderful wigs, or gentlemen in broad-tailed coats, and flapped waistcoats, with their black frames, and dull, dusty glasses, which adorned the walls of their usual sitting-room at home, there hung here a few beautiful copies from the well-known and most admired works of the Italian masters, which Mr. Howard had brought as the fruits of his tour with Lord Osborne. These appeared to Elizabeth far more cheerful than the dingy prints before mentioned, although the idea of objecting to the latter, had never before entered her head. There was a flower-stand with some pretty plants; an embroidery frame; a bird cage with Charles's pet canary; a set of bookshelves well-filled, and a comfortable fire. But she could not make out why the appearance of the room was so different from things at home. Perhaps one reason was, that the whole of the furniture, having been bought and arranged at the same time, harmonised together; unlike the articles in her father's house, which having been picked up at different auctions in the neighbourhood, or purchased second-hand from the broker, appeared, when put together, ill-matched and out of place, however good in themselves the individual articles were. She wished she could learn the art of giving such an air to a room, but she feared she never should. These thoughts wandered through her mind during the intervals of her conversation with their hostess, mixed with occasional wonder that Emma should find so much to say, and say it all with so much ease to Mr. Howard; for though Elizabeth could get on pretty well with Mrs. Willis, she still felt some degree of awe towards Mr. Howard himself; a man who taught young Lord Osborne, and played at cards with his mother. Emma, evidently undeterred by such considerations, or rather not considering the subject at all, kept up a very pleasant chat with him, though nothing was said by either particularly deserving to be recorded. Half an hour passed rapidly, but when the sisters, after glancing at each other as a signal for departure, began to look rather anxiously at the weather, they found that it had changed decidedly for the worse since their entrance, although their attentions had been too much engrossed to perceive it before. The heavy sky was discharging itself on the earth in a thick veil of snow, which entirely concealed the distance, and rapidly whitened all surrounding objects. So dense was the atmosphere, that it rather seemed as if the clouds had themselves suddenly descended and settled upon the earth, than as if they were merely dispensing their superfluous contents. The wind too, which had before blown only in occasional gusts, was now almost incessant, and greatly increased in violence, and as their road lay eastward, they were certain of encountering it in full force. The whirlwinds of snow which it raised, threatened almost to smother unhappy travellers, and would have made it madness to attempt to face it.
"What can we do?" said Emma, as she contemplated the scene in some alarm; "do you think you could drive in such a storm, Elizabeth?"
"Oh, I should not mind venturing," said Miss Watson, "but I am afraid for you; you know you had a cold this morning, and to encounter such a storm would make you worse."
"Encounter the storm!" cried the brother and sister at once, "impossible, not to be mentioned or thought of, much less put in practice—they must wait a little while, if they wished very much to return home, and see what patience would produce; in case it did not mend, they might send a message if they feared Mr. Watson would be uneasy—but indeed Mr. Howard thought they had better give up all idea of returning at once, and allow him immediately to dispatch some one to answer for their safety to their father's house. But as to leaving the house during such a tempest, it was quite out of the question."
With the most friendly warmth, every possible accommodation was placed at their disposal; every objection done away as soon as started; every difficulty proved to be a vain fancy of its originator. The idea of the addition to their circle at dinner, did not seem at all to discompose Mrs. Willis; and the minor arrangements, the things to be lent for their use and comfort, appeared rather to bring her positive enjoyment. In a short time, the young ladies felt themselves quite domesticated in the house; their cloaks and bonnets removed, their hair smoothed, and their thick boots exchanged, for comfortable slippers of their new friend, they found themselves again seated comfortably in the pretty parlour—and, ere long, were busily employed in helping Mrs. Willis in the agreeable occupation of sewing certain little colored silk bags which Mr. Howard and Charles afterwards filled with deliciously scented pot-pourri, from the large china jar in the corner of the room. Now, their only subject of uneasiness besides the dread of giving too much trouble, was the fear that their father's comfort would suffer in their absence, as they knew only too well how little Margaret contributed towards his amusement, or sought to spare him trouble.
Dinner time came, and Elizabeth was surprised to find that, although in the vicinity of Osborne Castle, their hour of dining was no later than what she was accustomed to; and still more surprised that the simple meal—the single joint, and the plain, but certainly well-made, pudding which followed it, was considered quite sufficient in itself, and needing no apologies. Not that she expected anything more elegant or uncommon, much less wished for it, but she felt had she been the entertainer, she would, certainly, have regretted the absence of further luxuries. The hour of dusk which followed the dinner, was particularly agreeable, as they drew their chairs round the comfortable fire, and chatted with the easy good nature which such a situation and such a combination of circumstances is sure to promote. The man or woman who can be cross and disagreeable at such a moment, must either be cursed with an uncommonly perverse temper, or have eaten a great deal more than is good for the health. This was not the case with either of the five who formed this cheerful group—and Charles very freely expressed his extreme satisfaction at the turn events had taken; appealing to his uncle to confirm his assertion that nothing could be more delightful than the fact of the two Miss Watsons being forced to remain in the house, and to join in his hope that the snow would keep them prisoners for a week to come. Mr. Howard readily assented to his view of their own good fortune in the turn events had taken, and only demurred to his wishes from the doubt whether the young ladies themselves would not find such a detention a severe penalty—in which case, he was sure, even Charles could not wish, for his own gratification, to inflict it on them.
"Oh, certainly not, if they did not like it," cried Charles, "only I am sure Miss Emma, you are too good-natured to object to what would give us all so much pleasure."
"If my opinion or wishes could make any difference to the snow, or serve to open the road, Charles, it would be worth while to form a deliberate decision," said Emma, good naturedly; "but now I want you, in the meantime, to guess this riddle," and she diverted his attention by proposing some charades and enigmas for his amusement.
The diversion soon occupied the whole party, and much mirth ensued at the variety and strange guesses which it gave rise to. Presently a note was brought to Mr. Howard, which after studying near a light for some time, he threw down on the table, and said:
"There, ladies, there is a riddle which I would almost defy you to read—look at it!"