Sweet Deception Regency 07 - The Divided Hearts by Karla Darcy Page A

graceful and stately
plantation. This version was born definitely the wrong side of the
blanket.”
    Judith chuckled at the aptness of her
father’s description. The house was overdone by any standard. The
weatherboard cladding might have been graceful except every feature
of the house had been dressed up by some fanciful ornamentation.
The Palladian style of the front was far too ornate, with fluted
pillars instead of the clean-lined stanchions they replaced. By
squinting her eyes and envisioning the house without the gaudy
ornamentation, she had a fair idea that she would have liked the
original. The house itself had good lines but the frivolous
additions took away from the beauty of its simplicity.
    As the horses drew up to join the other
carriages, Judith straightened her hat and brushed the dust of the
road from her pelisse. She gaped as black footmen, bizarre in white
wigs and ornate livery, rushed to assist her to the ground.
Controlling her expression, she waited for Simon to come around.
She placed her hand on her father’s sleeve and winked broadly.
    “I shall have to be on my most condescending
behavior,” she whispered, following him up the short flight of
stairs. “Should have brought that delightful ostrich feather fan
or, at the very least, my snuff box.”
    “Behave yourself, you naughty minx,” Simon
growled, his grin erasing the harassed look he had worn on the ride
out from town.
    Judith’s jaw quite literally dropped as she
entered the foyer. It was as though she had stepped back in time
and place, standing on the rough flagstones of a medieval baronial
hall. Above her, pennants and banners fluttered in a colorful
display. Armor and weaponry caught the light, dazzling her and her
eyes widened with stupefaction as they roamed the shield-covered
walls.
    “Just a simple, little American home,” Simon
said straight-faced nearly sending Judith into spasms.
    Black servants bustled around the foyer like
a colony of ants. Judith was relieved of her wraps and ushered into
a retiring room where others waited with water and towels to remove
the dust from her travels. She submitted to the ministrations,
feeling rather like a child who had escaped from a governess and
gotten dirty. When she joined Simon in the foyer, her eyes were
alight with amusement which redoubled as he waggled his fierce
eyebrows at her. Smothering her giggles she placed her hand on
Simon’s sleeve as he led her toward the drawing room.
    “If you liked the foyer, my dear, I know you
will be enthralled with the drawing room.”
    At the entrance of the room, Judith
recoiled, torn between awe and hysteria. “Merciful heavens!” she
breathed.
    A riot of color assaulted her eyes and
Judith scanned the four walls in disbelief. Never before had she
beheld a single room so crammed with gaudy and brightly-hued
furniture. A host of colorfully dressed people, moving among the
choicest of the decorative disasters, accentuated the dizzying
effect.
    The first thing to draw her attention was
the fireplace on the far side of the room. The mantle was white
marble, the face of which was carved with scenes from mythology.
Gold leaf covered the reeded columns on either side of the opening.
The whole effect was startling but to add to the impact tall case
japanned clocks flanked the fireplace. Judith was familiar with the
Oriental style since at one time “chinoiserie” objects were the
height of fashion in England. One piece might have been interesting
but as she looked around the room she noted that besides the clocks
there was a high chest of drawers, two low tables and even some
wainscot armchairs with the elaborate Oriental pictures covering
their surface.
    The overall impact of the room on Judith was
a feeling of restless movement. In fact, the legs of the high chest
were so overly curved that she had the distinct impression that the
piece was ready to walk away. Before she could catch her breath,
Judith’s hostess hailed her.
    “Oh la, sweet