The Balmoral Incident by Alanna Knight Read Free Book Online Page A

the foreground the massive structure of the stables, where Vince informed us some of the former coach houses were being turned into garages, the final destination of our motor car.
    ‘Here we are.’ A small cottage close by.
    And that was the first surprise.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Facing us, the usual cottage exterior, supported by a rustic porch, a window on either side and two dormer windows above it, presumably bedrooms.
    ‘It is very small,’ whispered Mabel anxiously. Handing her down, Vince merely smiled as he opened the door.
    That was the second surprise: the tiny rustic cottage vanished as before us a stretch of tartan-carpeted hallway led the way into the two rooms facing each other. Vince opened the one on the left and Mabel sighed with relief.
    ‘Why, it is very much larger than it appeared from outside,’ she said as we walked into the handsome dining room with a well-polished mahogany table ready to seat eight people, overseen by a cavernous sideboard stretching the length of one wall and overlooked by what could only be rather obscure family portraits.
    Vince opened the door opposite, leading the way intowhat would have been once designated as the parlour, opened only for special occasions, weddings, christenings and funerals. Its transformation was an elegant drawing room with plush sofas, armchairs, pretty, small tables and a lingering smell of those expensive cigars.
    ‘Not a country cottage at all, Vince,’ I murmured. ‘More like a gentleman’s hunting lodge.’
    Vince looked pleased. ‘And there is even provision for dogs,’ he said.
    ‘So our landlord knows we have Thane with us.’
    ‘Indeed.’ Vince pointed. ‘Through the kitchen there, although I believe HM usually keeps his pets at his bedside.’
    With a grin, he led us further down the hallway of what was the much-extended interior of a cottage deceptively small from the outside.
    At the sight of a well-appointed kitchen, Meg ran towards the sink, turning on its shining taps.
    ‘Running water, Mam, like we have at home.’
    ‘That’s a blessed relief,’ said Mabel. ‘I must confess, I am most impressed, so much … grander and more comfortable than I expected.’ She smiled at Vince. ‘You have done us proud.’
    Vince bowed and I learnt later that the alterations had been HM’s idea once he became king. He wanted to have a small private place which passers-by would dismiss without a second glance, a mere estate cottage. Only a closer inspection would reveal that as an illusion and that it was three times its original length, embellished with pieces that suggested distinguished origins in Abergeldie Castle.
    There were more delights as we went up a handsomestaircase, more to be associated with a Georgian house than a narrow set of steep wooden stairs.
    Meg was rushing ahead, opening doors. Two bedrooms overlooking the front and with an uninterrupted direct view towards the castle.
    ‘A thoughtful piece of planning,’ Vince told me later, ‘so that the occupant could have plenty of warning of any approaching.’
    I was making several guesses what kind of warning that might be when Vince decided that Meg and I should share this bedroom with its splendid view, not only of the castle but a good prospect of the surrounding country. What Meg thought was a cupboard was, in fact, a small dressing room containing, of all things, a water closet.
    ‘Isn’t this perfectly lovely, Mam?’ said Meg. ‘And such a lovely bed, too.’ And bouncing up and down, ‘Plenty of room – you could sleep a whole family here.’ Watching her gave me an uneasy feeling of lese-majesty, considering that the bed must have frequently sheltered an occupant not just alone for peace and quiet away from the watchful household and an equally watchful spouse.
    Mabel was to have the other bedroom where she indicated that Lily could occupy one of the two attic rooms, invisible from the front and accessible by a ladder, presumably installed for guests’ servants