The front door shut behind the caretaker, and the two left behind began
going through the ground floor of the great empty house. Their progress
gave Betty an eerie feeling. She felt as if she was in a kind of dream;
the more so that this was quite unlike any country house into which she
had ever been.
They finally came to the last living-room of all, and both exclaimed
together: "This is the room I like best of all!"
It was an octagon library, lined with mahogany bookcases filled with
bound books which looked as though they hadn't been disturbed for fifty
years. The wide, fan-shaped window looked out on a formal rose garden.
And then, all at once, Radmore's quick eye detected a concealed door in
the wall, on which there were encrusted the sham book titles often to be
found on the doors of an old country home library. Quickly he went across
and, opening it, found it gave straight on to a corkscrew staircase.
Filled with a queer sense of adventure, he motioned Betty to go up first,
in front of him.
The staircase led up to a tiny lobby, into which opened a most beautiful
bedchamber, a replica as to shape and size of the library beneath.
The furniture there interested Betty, for she had never seen anything
like it, except once in a chateau near Arras.
Pages:
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359