Penelope Goes to Portsmouth Read Online Free PDF Page A

in such circumstances,’ said Penelope thoughtfully. ‘Stupid, too. And had he and his servant volunteered to help the family in their work, they would not have found the days boring.’
    ‘Have you ever done any work yourself, Miss Wilkins?’
    ‘No. But then I have not been a prisoner of war, but if I ever were, I should not stand on my dignity.’
    ‘Easy to say when it is not likely to happen.’
    The couple surveyed each other coldly, as if across a great gulf.
    Hannah stifled a sigh. Despite Père Wilkins’s worldly ambitions for his daughter, she feared he was a Radical, and would not look fondly on such as the frivolous Lord Augustus as a son-in-law. Like most people at the dawn of this new nineteenth century, Hannah believed that God put one in one’s appointed place and to think otherwise was flying in the face of Providence. In her case, it was different. Divine Intervention had seen to it that she was left a legacy. And yet there was no denying the common sense of Penelope’s argument. Perhaps Penelope was not stupid at all, but merely unfashionably down-to-earth.
    They came to the gates of the Manor. Lord Augustus rang the bell at the lodge and then presented his card to the lodge-keeper, who opened the gates.
    They walked in silence up to the house. Again Lord Augustus presented his card. A butler led them through a shadowy hall to a reception room and then left them. The house appeared to be richly furnished, but somehow cold and dark and gloomy.
    They waited half an hour and then the door opened and Lady Carsey came in.
    Penelope took one look at her, turned pink, and stared at the floor. For despite the chilly day, Lady Carsey was wearing a transparent muslin gown and appeared to have next to nothing under it. She was highly painted, Roman-looking, with a generous bust, liquid eyes, a patrician nose, and a great quantity of glossy brown curls dressed in the latest fashion. She held out her hand to Lord Augustus and then gave two fingers for Penelope and Hannah to shake. Hannah wondered crossly why Lady Carsey had immediately assumed that she and Miss Wilkins were of lower rank than Lord Augustus. Covertly, Hannah stroked the expensive stuff of her gown. Why had not Lady Carsey thought them relatives?
    But Lady Carsey knew all about the stage-coach passengers, having just heard the gossip about them from her servants. She had learned all about the handsome lord and the ‘divinely beautiful’ girl who had arrived on the stage, and so it was Penelope she was trying to offend, not Hannah.
    She waved a hand to indicate that they had her permission to sit down, and then asked Lord Augustus, ‘And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?’
    ‘The ladies here have had their hearts touched bythe predicament of your footman,’ said Lord Augustus. Lady Carsey’s eyes, which had been glowing at him a moment before, hardened. ‘He is a thief. He stole my brooch.’
    ‘Why did you employ a deaf-and-dumb footman in the first place?’ asked Lord Augustus curiously.
    She shrugged. ‘A novelty. It amused me to have a dumb servant. Now, if I have satisfied your curiosity, you must excuse me. I have much to do.’
    ‘I see we have bored you with our tedious inquiries,’ said Lord Augustus. ‘Perhaps I can redeem myself by giving you the latest London gossip.’ He smiled into her eyes.
    ‘Perhaps. But have these ladies nothing else to do?’
    ‘Of course,’ said Lord Augustus. ‘They are both fatigued and would be glad of an opportunity to rest. Is that not so, Miss Pym?’
    Hannah got to her feet. ‘Certainly. Come, Miss Wilkins.’
    Penelope’s eyes were wide with disappointment as Hannah urged her from the room. ‘He was not interested in helping our footman,’ expostulated Penelope. ‘He is only interested in that painted harridan.’
    ‘Then he has more chance of finding out whether the footman really took the brooch or not than we have,’ said Hannah crossly. She hoped that was what Lord