Read "My Lady Bountiful" by Fred M. White online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
The sonorous clang of the ship's bell filled the house sedately. A magnificent butler announced dinner as if it had been some dark yet sacred rite. He bowed to Merrion, and hoped severely that he was well, though his manner conveyed but a poor opinion of the latter's statesmanlike qualities. The 'Times' had been down upon the Foreign Secretary lately, and the 'Times' invariably had the cachet of Mr. Cedric's approval. In lighter mood he trifled with the 'Morning Post,' but that was only when he unbent in the servants' hall.
-"We are not dining in state to-night, Maria?" Merrion asked as he proffered his arm.