Aurora Read Online Free Page A

visitors’ eyes followed hers, to gaze on a handsome young fellow posed with a dog at his heels. It was well done. Clare was a talented painter.
    “The doctor has been to see him, and assures me there is no danger.” The concerned mother face vanished, and a calculating look took its place. “So I have decided to consult with you about the manner in which we should announce little Charles’s accession. I thought some sort of a quiet do, to introduce him to everyone.”
    “Everyone knows him. He has been declared the baron for nearly a year now. What do you mean, Clare?” Marnie asked.
    “A little fête of some sort—a garden party or tea. It cannot be a ball; he is too young. Now that the year is up since your dear Bernard’s passing, we shall begin to go out a little again. Not that one looks forward to it in the least, but people in our position, you know, are not expected to keep entirely to ourselves.”
    As Lady Raiker had made not the slightest move to keep to herself during the past year, this modest speech was greeted with open derision. “You are going to have a party, in other words?” the other Lady Raiker asked baldly.
    “Some token gesture must be made to honour the occasion. The nisi decree has come down that Charles is now Lord Raiker, and it would be too backward not to acknowledge it. What do you feel—an outdoor party, or a rather more formal tea?”
    “I expect Charles would prefer an outdoor party,” Aurora suggested, being so naive as to think Charles’s happiness was involved in the matter.
    “Just what I thought myself,” the mother took it up. “But then the weather is unreliable. To erect Japanese lanterns and tents and a pavilion for dancing outdoors and have the whole spoiled by rain . . .”
    Marnie’s brows rose to hear the extent of the modest celebration planned. “Very true,” she said, “and people do make such a mess of the lawns at an outdoor party too. The place was always a shambles after public day.”
    “Had I had the foresight to redo the saloon, I would not hesitate a moment to do it inside,” Clare said, casting a condemnatory look at the opulence around her. “Really, the place was allowed to go to rack and ruin while you . . .”
    Then she stopped discreetly. “But then I know you never cared at all for keeping up Raiker Hall, my dear Marnie. I do not say it in a reproving way, I assure you. I know your interests lay elsewhere, with your daughter and your charity work. Quite proper, I’m sure, but then we who are placed by chance in these old stately homes have a duty to keep them in good repair. Now that the court has finally placed some of Charles’s income at my disposal, I shall do what I can to repair the ravages of time. The party, however, I wish to hold immediately, as soon as it can be arranged. I am inclined to hold it here, despite the looks of the place. It is a great nuisance preparing the outside, and then if we should be rained out . . .”
    “I cannot think the place so tatty you need be ashamed of it in the least,” Marnie said hotly. “I kept it up a good deal better than you did the Dower House.”
    “Oh my dear, I have offended you! It is not at all tatty—it is only that I should like it to be seen at its best, as it used to be. But you are right; it is nothing to be ashamed of, and I’ll have a tea indoors. Now, I wonder if you would be kind enough to help me with this list I am working up. The Dougalls of course must be asked, and the St. Albanses, the Spencers and the Brewsters.” She went on to name off the illustrious of the parish, who were by no means her own set, and to omit all those persons with whom she generally consorted.
    Her intention was soon discovered. As the mother of the baron, she wished to ingratiate herself with the proper people, and felt the likeliest way of achieving it was to show the world she had the support of the younger Lady Raiker. Bernard and Marnie had moved in the first circles; Clare had