Miss Cresswell's London Triumph Read Online Free PDF Page A

day in late March that the entourage from Cresswell descended to be welcomed by Higgins the butler and the staff, whom he had assembled in the front hall. "Hurrah! Hurrah! We're here at last," shouted Teddy, who despite having been allowed to ride the entire distance on the box with John Coachman, still possessed an excess of high spirits.
    "Arf! Arfl" echoed Wellington, who had also ridden on the box and, like his newly adopted playmate, was in fine fettle. Nelson, having endured the journey nursing a queasy stomach nestled against the squabs of the Mainwarings' beautifully sprung traveling carriage, descended in a more leisurely manner, tail aloft, delicately sniffing and evaluating the town scents which assailed him. At this point, Ethelred, who had slept quietly in a basket on Cassie's lap, woke up and demanded to be set free. With a loud quack and several flaps of yet unformed wings, he hopped down, beady
    eyes eager to take in all the new sights. Catching sight of their protege, Wellington and Nelson instantly forgot their delight at being set free in the metropolis and, adopting the most jaded of airs, sauntered in a blase fashion toward the stables with Ethelred and Teddy in hot pursuit.
    "I daresay they shall have the place at sixes and sevens in no short while," Frances observed as she descended, a bandbox in one hand, to greet the staff. Cassie, clutching Ethelred's now deserted basket, followed suit, and with Higgins's assistance the travelers were soon ensconced comfortably in the drawing room in front of a well-laden tea tray and a welcoming fire.
    In no short order, Wellington, Nelson, Teddy, and Ethelred appeared. Having explored the nether regions and discovered there that tea had already been sent upstairs, they had lost no time in hastening to the scene. Wellington and Nelson took up their accustomed places on either side of the fire while Ethelred padded around snapping at a curtain tassel here, pecking at a design on the rug there, until he was entirely satisfied with his new surroundings. He then joined his friends by the fireplace, where all three, along with Theodore, concentrated on the tea table.
    As Theodore, consuming a hot buttered crumpet, expounded on the wonders of the stables, Frances absently nibbled a scone and perused a stack of gilt-edged invitations. Such abstraction made an ideal situation for the crumb-snatching brigade which watched every gesture of Teddy's that scattered bits of crumpet or every piece of scone that fell unnoticed from Frances's hand as she sorted through the mail. In fact, Cassie was the only one doing justice to the beautiful array that Higgins had brought in.
    "Itth a bang up thtable, Cathie, though it doethn't hold a candle to the one at Crethwell," enthused Teddy, sending an irresistible shower of crumbs in Ethelred's direction. The little duck pecked happily until the other two, unable to restrain themselves, pounced at the same time on a large piece that had dropped beyond his reach under the cake stand.
    "Cassie, my love, here is a card for Lady Delamere's rout tomorrow evening. That should do quite well for your first introduction to the ton,* Frances remarked, not bothering to look up from her correspondence as she automatically caught the cake stand, which teetered precariously after Wellington's dive for the crumb. "Her affairs are always quite brilliant, though it's sure to be a sad crush so early in the Season. There is no time to have Madame Regnery make up anything new for you, but your white gauze with the blue satin pipings that we had made for the Alton assembly should do very well. It was fortunate that the snow made it impossible to attend."
    "Teddy, if you eat another crumpet, youll become ill," Cassie admonished before turning an anxious face toward Frances. "That dress may have done very well in Hampshire, but are you quite certain it will do for London?"
    "Of course, love. It's very simple, but the lines are quite elegant and you're so lovely