Far From Home Read Online Free PDF

independent woman and here I am worrying over someone tittle-tattling about me.
    However, when she came down the stairs to meet him at six o’clock in the foyer as they had arranged, she saw that Mr Dreumel was engaged in earnest conversation with another man.
    His eyes swept over her as she approached and he smiled admiringly. Kitty had ironed all her gowns and she had chosen to wear a deep blue, which, she had been told, emphasized the colour of her eyes. Over her gown she wore a shoulder cape in a darker shade of blue, as the evening was growing chilly.
    ‘Miss Gregory.’ Dreumel held out his hand to include her in their conversation. ‘Permit me to introduce a colleague, John Charlesworth.’
    Oh, no, she breathed. Not the husband of that dreadful woman! She smiled, however, and inclined her head in greeting.
    ‘Delighted, Miss Gregory.’ John Charlesworth bowed. ‘Are you newly arrived in New York?’
    So his wife hasn’t told him of me and how rude I was, she cogitated, beginning to regret her hasty departure from that lady.
    ‘Just a few days ago,’ she replied.
    ‘And are you impressed by our fine city? I believe it is comparable with London for its shops and theatres, though not of course for its ancient buildings and heritage,’ he added.
    ‘Indeed I am. It’s a very handsome city,’ she agreed. ‘The streets are much wider than our English streets and the colour of the stone buildings is very appealing. The gardens too,’ she added and was surprised at her own enthusiasm, ‘are lovely.’
    ‘Good. Good,’ he said, and, as he took his leave, declared, ‘I must introduce you to my wife, Miss Gregory. She likes to meet people from other lands.’
    ‘I believe we have met already, Mr Charlesworth,’ she said. ‘But I shall be glad to renew her acquaintance.’
    ‘Oh dear,’ she remarked to Wilhelm Dreumel as they left the Portland – he had suggested that as it wasn’t far they might walk to the hotel where they were to eat. ‘I’m afraid I may have insulted his wife when I met her. I was rather discourteous, for she was so very patronizing and wished to organize my life.’
    He chuckled. ‘Don’t worry yourself, Miss Gregory. Mrs Charlesworth would not notice if you were rude to her, for she never listens to anyone’s opinion. She thinks only that she knows best, and yet she has no education or discernment. She has lived in the Portland Hotel for the last ten years and goes nowhere but to New York balls, parties and theatres. That is her life.’
    ‘Poor woman,’ Georgiana murmured. ‘Does her husband not travel either?’
    ‘He does, but she will not go with him, preferring to stay at the Portland where she behaves as if she owns it.’
    The Marius Hotel where they were to dine was situated in a small quiet square. It was not as large or as lavish as the Portland, being plainly constructed on the outside with balconies on the first and second floors. It was well furnished with good carpets and curtains, and, like the Portland, had many small tables and comfortable sofas in the main lounge, and although it did not have a grand foyer, there was a wide hall with a piano, paintings on the walls and a welcoming fire in a large hearth.
    ‘Delightful,’ Georgiana said as they entered. ‘How very pleasant.’
    Mr Dreumel nodded at her approval. ‘After we have eaten supper – and the food is good and wholesome – you may decide that you would prefer to live here. This is why I brought you.’
    She noticed, as they were shown to their places in the dining room, that although several tables were occupied, they were occupied by gentlemen only, and the few ladies who were there were sitting separately and at a distance from the other diners. When she commented on this, her companion said that few ladies dined out with their husbands, and that gentlemen generally dined alone.
    ‘Is this a typical New York custom?’ she asked. ‘Or a general American one?’
    ‘I can’t answer that,