Page:Romance & Reality 3.pdf/27

Rh voice said, in tolerable, though foreign, accents, "Ladies—from the days of chivalry to the present, no woman was ever seriously angry at the homage, however rude, excited by her own charms: they pardon the offence themselves caused. Pray use your own pleasure, of which I am the slave." The door shut heavily on hinges whose rust grated as it closed. "Do throw that great cloak aside, and tell me what you think of our adventure," said Lady Mandeville, who seemed divided between alarm and laughter. Emily collected her scattered faculties, and looked round with all the terror and none of the mirth of her companion. They were in a spacious room, whose days of splendour had long since passed away. The walls had once been stuccoed with perhaps beautiful paintings,—damp had effaced all, except patches where blues, reds, and greens, had mingled into one dim and discoloured stain. All trace of what the floor had been, was lost in one uniform darkness. The windows were fastened with strong iron lattices, and so completely overgrown with ivy, that not one gleam of daylight pierced through the thick leaves.