Admittedly it was at its best at that season of the year, and Toni acted upon the advice with alacrity, not minding because no one accompanied her, and the miles she tramped were lonely miles. Celia insisted that there was a great deal to be done at Inverada, and she and Euan must work together to bring about a transformation of the present house. She was all for getting an Edinburgh firm of interior decorators to inspect the place and be responsible for the greater part of the transformation; but Euan—who would be footing all the bills—disagreed with this. He didn’t think Inverada was the type of house to be taken over by a firm of interior decorators, who might beautify it but destroy its atmosphere.Toni agreed with him, but Celia looked faintly mutinous when she realised she was to be opposed in a favourite scheme. She tried cajolery, persuasiveness, even slightly flagrant coquettishness, to get her way, but Euan remained firm. He had no objection whatsoever to Celia walking him round the house and appealing to him with her enormous blue eyes, but he was a man of iron and his mind was made up.While he was tenant of Inverada he would do nothing to spoil it, but Celia could have all the new curtains and carpets and fabrics for chair-covers, and so forth, she wanted, provided they didn’t clash with their period background.
