"Then I
mean to go directly up and see about it, and you can follow or
not, just as you please."
So saying, Sir Norman entered the open doorway, and found himself
in a long hall, flanked by a couple of doors on each side. These
he opened in rapid succession, finding nothing but silence and
solitude; and Ormiston - who, upon reflection, chose to follow -
ran up a wide and sweeping staircase at the end of the hall. Sir
Norman followed him, and they came to a hall similar to the one
below. A door to the right lay open; and both entered without
ceremony, and looked around.
The room was spacious, and richly furnished. Just enough light
stole through the oriel window at the further end, draped with
crimson satin embroidered with gold, to show it. The floor was
of veined wood of many colors, arranged in fanciful mosaics, and
strewn with Turkish rugs and Persian mats of gorgeous colors.
The walls were carved, the ceiling corniced, and all fretted with
gold network and gilded mouldings. On a couch covered with
crimson satin, like the window drapery, lay a cithren and some
loose sheets of music. Near it was a small marble table, covered
with books and drawings, with a decanter of wine and an exquisite
little goblet of Bohemian glass.
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