He was glad it devolved upon his
partner, and not on himself, to proceed to extremities with so charming
a person. He really could not do it. And yet all the while he chuckled
internally as he thought of the terrible dilemma in which she would be
speedily caught, and how completely it would place her at his mercy. She
must come to terms then. And Sir Francis rubbed his skinny hands
gleefully at the thought. On her part, Madame Bonaventure guessed what
was passing in his breast, and secretly enjoyed the idea of checkmating
him. With a captivating smile she left him to attend to her numerous
guests.
And very numerous they were on that day. More so than usual. Sir
Francis, who had brought a boat from Westminster, where he dwelt,
experienced some difficulty in landing at the stairs, invested as they
were with barges, wherries and watermen, all of whom had evidently
brought customers to the Three Cranes. Besides these, there were two or
three gilded pinnaces lying off the wharf, with oarsmen in rich
liveries, evidently belonging to persons of rank.
The benches and little tables in front of the tavern were occupied by
foreign merchants and traders, discussing their affairs over a stoop of
Bordeaux. Others, similarly employed, sat at the open casements in the
rooms above; each story projecting so much beyond the other that the old
building, crowned with its fanciful gables and heavy chimnies, looked
top-heavy, and as if it would roll over into the Thames some day.
Pages:
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34