There was always plenty of wood to be found about the estate, and she had permission from the estate office to help herself, and was thankful because she was always able to maintain good fires. But in the main part of the house, despite enormous fireplaces, one generous wood fire would have made little difference.She noticed, as she trod submissively behind him, that Mr. Leydon turned his coat collar up about his ears as he strode forward. Their footsteps echoed on the stone floors of the corridors, and when they reached the great hall the echo was like the clattering of many pairs of iron-shod hooves. Leydon looked up at the gallery, and the portraits of his many ancestors that lined the walls. There were gentlemen in curled perrukes and elegant eighteenth-century gentlemen, as well as a beauty-chorus of females. One or two of the latter were tight-lipped, and the jewels that smothered their throats and partially concealed their exposed bosoms had the same wicked brightness as their watchful glances.With one or two exceptions the men were all dark, but most of the women were fair, with generous curves and rose-leaf complexions that had survived despite the alterations in pigmentation throughout the slow passing of centuries.The hall was magnificently panelled, and the staircase uncurled like a fan until it reached the gallery.
