Wingless Bird - стр. 40
Anthony laughed softly.
– 'Alas, that is so! – he said cheerfully.
– But isn't it our womanly duty to lead them out of this delusion? – Vivian wondered.
– 'My dear, when you are married you may surprise your husband with the truth, but till then remember that you are a bird, and need only a few grains to satiate you,' her aunt answered her in a decided tone.
"It seems that this evening will be not only exciting and wonderful, but also hungry," thought the girl gloomily, but a moment later, when the trio descended into the courtyard, where a lacquered black carriage, a pair of slender black horses, and an important-looking coachman were waiting for them, Vivian's soul was filled with delight. – Had it really come to pass? My dresses had been found, and I was going to Lady Marlborough's ball! What's in store for me there? The Stevenses, the Brodys, the Cravens… I have always enjoyed their invitations and their balls, but they are but petty noblemen, unknown to any but the people of our little town. Ah, if they could see me now, they would be so proud of me! I shall be sure to write to them after the ball! All the details! They'll be delighted!"
As the Cranfords and Vivian settled themselves in the soft seats of the carriage, the Countess of Cranford shouted to the coachman: "Pull on!" and the swift horses dragged the carriage to where Miss Cowell's heart was longing to go – to the ball where her fate might be decided.
The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough's mansion was only thirty minutes' drive from Greenhall, but as other guests were travelling there, the Cranford carriage moved slowly, which caused the Countess to press her lips together disapprovingly, for she did not like to be late. Still, they arrived at Marlborough Mansion late, and then waited a quarter of an hour before it was their turn to arrive at the front door and leave the carriage.
The carriage stopped at a low, broad stone staircase, and suddenly Vivian was overcome with excitement, but she was able to control her emotions. Anthony left the carriage first and helped the ladies down.
– Go home, Thomas, but be here at twelve o'clock," Lady Cranford ordered the coachman.
– If you say so, ma'am!" he said.
– Now, my children, I expect you to do your best. And don't overdo the flirting, for you don't want to be known as frivolous and fickle, do you? – Lady Cranford addressed her son and niece, but seeing the undisguised admiration on the girl's face, she said to her affectionately: – 'I suppose, my dear, you have never been in such splendid houses before?
– Never! – she whispered feelingly, looking at the Marlborough mansion, which looked more like a royal palace.
– This is Greathall," Anthony said quietly, chuckling at her almost childish admiration for the old stone house.
But to Vivian, who had come from the provinces, this "old stone house" seemed like magic: its heavy splendour deeply astonished her unsophisticated mind, for compared with Greathall, her aunt's mansion seemed like an ordinary little mansion.
– A fitting name," Vivian smiled, but realising that she was behaving like a little girl at a Christmas fair, she shrugged her shoulders and said indifferently: – It's a beautiful house, and it must be at least two hundred years old, mustn't it?