The Mermaid in the Basement Read Online Free PDF

’im.”
    “Danny’s been reading me a book about wild Indians.”
    “One of Cooper’s books, the American. You know, Viscountess?”
    Danny said.
    “I know the books, and I wish you wouldn’t read them to David.”
    Danny’s eyes flew open. “Why, I fink they’re a sight of fun. Nothin’ immoral in ’em.”
    “I know, but make-believe games aren’t good for young boys.”
    Serafina turned and saw that David was staring at her with something like fear in his eyes. She went over and put her arm around him.
    “Don’t be ’ard on the boy. ’E’s got a wunnerful imagination.”
    This, although Danny Spears did not know it, was exactly the thing that Serafina feared most. She believed in clinical logic and clear linear thinking, not make-believe stories.“Well, don’t be upset, David.Why don’t you take him fishing for trout, Danny? You’d like that,wouldn’t you, Son?”
    “Oh yes,Mum!”
    She kissed him, and despite the dirt, she smiled and said, “You’ll be asleep when I come home, but tomorrow you and I will go for a ride.”
    “Can I ride Patches all by myself,Mum?”
    “Yes, indeed.” She turned and said, “Danny, give this young man a lesson on Patches.” Serafina had given the multicoloured pony to David for his sixth birthday.
    As the two walked toward the stream, David talked a mile a minute. Serafina worried, He has too much imagination—just as I once had. As she turned to leave for the dinner, she thought of the girl she had once been. There was once a girl full of joy and imagination and notions and romance. She loved fairy tales and high tales of romance. The thought saddened her, and she whispered, “I wonder where that girl is now.”

    Albert Givins, the coachman, pulled the landau up in front of the imposing mansion. It was indeed a spectacular home; it had once belonged to John Churchill, who later became the Duke of Wellington. The duke had moved to Blenhim, the most ornate and fabulous private home in all of England, and Sir Osric Wallace now resided in his mansion.
    As Givins handed her down, Serafina thought about her host.Wallace had been a poor boy who made a fortune in coal mining. He had recently returned from America, where he had studied their coal mining methods. He had also carefully given large sums of money to the crown, for which Queen Victoria had knighted him as Sir Osric Wallace.
    “It will be a rather long wait for you, Givins.”
    “That’s all right, ma’am. Don’t trouble yourself about that.”
    “If you go around to the kitchen, I’ll have them fix you a nice supper.”
    “That’s kind of you, ma’am. Indeed, it is.”
    The door was opened by a fine-looking footman, and Serafina was greeted at once by Lady Wallace, a dumpy, rather homely, but cheerful woman. She reminded Serafina of her own mother.
    “Come into the reception room, my dear. You are the last to arrive.”
    “I didn’t mean to be late.”
    “Oh, you’re not late. It will be rather an odd affair. Just three of us women and the rest gentlemen.”
    Serafina wanted to say, That’s the way I like it, but she merely said, “I’m sure it will be an enjoyable evening.”
    They passed down a hallway, the walls covered with paintings and sculptures of various kinds on shelves. They passed into a large open room with an interesting mixture of styles. On one side sat an old Chinese silk screen that had once been of great beauty but was now faded. Still, it held an elegance that gave the room charm and a comfortable grace. There was a Russian samovar on a side table, Venetian glass in a cabinet, a French ormolu clock on the mantel shelf above the fireplace, and a late Georgian mahogany table of total simplicity and cleanness of line that, to Serafina, was the loveliest thing in the room. Lady Wallace said, “Our last guest has arrived, the Viscountess Serafina Trent. Viscountess, let me introduce you to our guests. This, of course, is Mr. Charles Dickens.”
    Dickens stepped forward,