The whitish object that was
indistinctly visible here in the gloom of the boughs he found to
be Darling, as left by Fitzpiers.
"D--n him! why did he not ride up to the house in an honest way?"
said Melbury.
He profited by Fitzpiers's example; dismounting, he tied his horse
under an adjoining tree, and went on to the house on foot, as the
other had done. He was no longer disposed to stick at trifles in
his investigation, and did not hesitate to gently open the front
door without ringing.
The large square hall, with its oak floor, staircase, and
wainscot, was lighted by a dim lamp hanging from a beam. Not a
soul was visible. He went into the corridor and listened at a
door which he knew to be that of the drawing-room; there was no
sound, and on turning the handle he found the room empty. A fire
burning low in the grate was the sole light of the apartment; its
beams flashed mockingly on the somewhat showy Versaillese
furniture and gilding here, in style as unlike that of the
structural parts of the building as it was possible to be, and
probably introduced by Felice to counteract the fine old-English
gloom of the place.
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