CHAPTER VI
THE DORRANCE DOMAIN
Alternately resting and climbing, at last they reached the top, and forthe first time had a full view of the Dorrance Domain.
"Oh," said Dorothy in an awe-struck whisper, "that's our home! All ofit!"
Leicester, from sheer lack of words to express his feelings, turneddouble somersaults on the grass, while Fairy danced around in her usualflutterbudget way, singing at the top of her voice.
Lilian, the practical, after one look at the great building, saidexcitedly, "Grandmother, where are the keys, quick?"
The hotel itself was a white frame building, about two hundred feet longand three stories high. Huge pillars supported verandas that ran allaround the house on each story. Broad steps led up to the mainentrance, and at one corner was a large tower which rose for severalstories above the main part of the house.
Although the whole place had a deserted aspect,--the shutters were allclosed, and the lawns uncared for,--yet it did not seem out of repair,or uninhabitable. Indeed, the apparent care with which it had beenclosed up and made secure was reassuring in itself, and the childreneagerly followed Lilian who had gained possession of the front door key.
With little difficulty they succeeded in unfastening the great frontdoors and threw them wide open to admit the May sunshine.
They found themselves at first in a large hall which ran straightthrough the house. It was furnished in red, with a velvet carpet andsatin brocade sofas, which seemed to the Dorrances quite the mostbeautiful furnishings they had ever looked upon.
Arched off from this hall was a good-sized room, which Leicesterdeclared to be the office, and as soon as the windows of that could bethrown open, the desks and safe and other office furniture proved he wasright. Opening a wicket door, he flew in behind the great desk, andthrowing open a large book which was there, he turned it around towardsDorothy with a flourish, and asked her to register.
"Oh," she cried, wild with excitement, "it's just like the SleepingBeauty's palace. Everything is just as they went off and left it. Whoregistered last, Leicester?"
"The last is Mr. Henry Sinclair, who arrived here in July, summer beforelast."
"And nobody's been here since!" exclaimed Lilian; "just think of it! Itseems as if we ought to register."
"You may if you like," said Leicester; "it's our register, you know."
But the ink was all dried up, and the pens all rusty, so they left theoffice and went to make further explorations.
Across the hall from the office was the great parlor. Many hands makelight work at opening windows, and in a jiffy the parlor was floodedwith sunshine.
Then there were more exclamations of delight, for the parlorappointments were truly palatial. Gorgeous frescoes and walldecorations, mirrors in heavily gilded frames, brocaded hangings, ornatefurniture, and a wonderful crystal chandelier made a general effect thatcontrasted most pleasurably with Mrs. Cooper's unpretentiousdrawing-room.
Even a piano was there, and flinging it open, Dorothy struck up a brisktwo-step, and in a moment the twins were dancing up and down the longroom, while Fairy, who had been dancing all the time, simply kept on.
Grandma Dorrance sank onto a sofa and watched her happy grandchildren,no less happy herself.
It was a daring experiment, and she did not know how it would turn out,but she was glad that at last she was able to give the children, for atime at least, that desire of their heart,--a home in the country.
After the grand parlor, and several smaller reception rooms, all equallyattractive, they went back across the hall, and through the office toinvestigate the other side of the house. Here they found thedining-rooms. One immense one, containing a perfect forest of tablesand chairs, and two smaller ones.
One of the smaller ones which overlooked the lake, Dorothy declaredshould be their family dining-room.
"There's more room in the big dining-room," said Lilian, slyly.
"Yes, there is," said Dorothy; "and I _do_ hate to be cramped. Perhapswe had better use the big one, and each one have a whole table all toourselves."
"No," said Grandma Dorrance, "we'll use the small one every day, andthen some time when we invite all Mrs. Cooper's family to visit us, wecan use the large one."
"Oh," groaned Lilian, "don't mention Mrs. Cooper's dining-room whilewe're in this one."
After the dining-rooms came the kitchens, supplied with everything themost exacting housekeeper could desire; but all on the large scalerequisite for a summer hotel.
"I should think _anybody_ could cook here," said Dorothy; "and as Ipropose to do the cooking for the family, I'm glad everything is socomplete and convenient."
"You never can cook up all these things," said Fairy, looking with aweat the rows of utensils; "not even if we have seventeen meals a day."
"_Will_ you look at the dish towels!" exclaimed Lilian, throwing openthe door of a cupboard, where hundreds of folded dish towels werearranged in neat piles.
At this climax, Mrs. Dorrance sank down on a wooden settle that stood inthe kitchen, and clasping her hands, exclaimed, "It's too much, girls,it's too big; we never can do anything with it."
"Now you mustn't look at it that way, granny, dear," said Dorothy,brightly; "this is our home; and you know, be it ever so humble, there'sno place like home. And if a home and all its fixings are too big,instead of too little, why, you'll have to manage it somehow just thesame. Of course, I'm overpowered too, at this enormous place, but Iwon't own up to it! I will _never_ admit to _anybody_ that I think therooms or the house unusually large. I _like_ a big house, and I likespacious rooms! I _hate_ to be cramped,--as possibly you may have heardme remark before."
"Good for you, Dot!" cried Leicester. "I won't be phased either. We'rehere, and we're here to stay. We're not going to be scared off by a fewsquare miles of red velvet carpet, and some sixty-foot mirrors!"
"I think the place rather small, myself," said Lilian, who rarelyallowed herself to be outdone in jesting; "I confess _I_ have a littleof that cramped feeling yet."
At this they all laughed, and went on with their tour of the house.Merely taking a peep into the numerous pantries, laundries, storeroomsand servants' quarters, they concluded to go at once to inspect thebedrooms.
"Don't go up these stairs," said Leicester turning away from the sidestaircase. "Let's go back to the main hall, and go up the grandstaircase, as if we had just arrived, and were being shown to ourrooms."
"Oh, _isn't_ it fun!" cried Fairy, as she hopped along by her brother'sside. "I never had such a fun in my whole life! Wouldn't it be awful ifwe were really guests instead of purporietors?"
"_You_ wouldn't be a guest," said Leicester, teasingly; "nowell-conducted summer hotel would take a flibbertigibbet like you toboard!"
"Nobody would take us Dorrances to board anyway, if they could help it,"said Fairy, complacently; "we all know how obnoxiorous we are."
"I know," said Grandma Dorrance, sighing; "and if we can only make alittle corner of this big place habitable, I shall certainly feel agreat relief in not being responsible for you children to any landlady."
"Oh, come now, granny, we're not so bad, are we?" said Leicester,patting the old lady's cheek.
"You're not bad at all. You're the best children in the world. But justso sure as you get shut up in a boarding-house you get possessed of aspirit of mischief, and I never know what you are going to do next. Butup here I don't _care_ what you do next."
By this time they had reached the entrance hall, and assuming the airof a proprietor, Leicester, with an elaborate flourish and a profoundbow, said suavely:
"Ah, Mrs. Dorrance, I believe. Would you like to look at our rooms,madam? We have some very fine suites on the second floor that I feelsure will please you. Are these your children, madam?"
"We're her grandchildren," volunteered Fairy, anxious to be in the game.
"Incredible! Such a young and charming lady with grandchildren! Now Ishould have said _you_ were the grandmother," with a
nother elaborate bowto Fairy.
Laughing at Leicester's nonsense, they all went up-stairs together, anddiscovered a perfect maze of bedrooms.
Scattering in different directions, the children opened door after door,pulled up blinds, and flung open windows, and screamed to each other tocome and see their discoveries. Tessie followed the tribe around,wondering if she were really in fairyland. The unsophisticated Irishgirl had never seen a house like this before, and to think it belongedto the people with whom she was to live, suddenly filled her with agreat awe of the Dorrance family.
"Do you like it, Tessie?" asked Mrs. Dorrance, seeing the girl's amazedexpression.
"Oh, yis, mum! Shure, I niver saw anything so grand, mum. It's a castle,it is."
"That's right, Tessie," said Leicester; "a castle is the same as adomain. And all these millions of bedrooms are part of our Domain. Ourvery own! Hooray for the Dorrance Domain!"
The wild cheer that accompanied and followed Leicester's hurrah musthave been audible on the other side of Lake Ponetcong. At any rate itserved as a sort of escape-valve for their overflowing enthusiasm, whichotherwise must soon have gotten beyond their control.
"I think," said Mrs. Dorrance, "that it would be wise for you each toselect the bedroom you prefer,--for to-night at least. If you choose tochange your minds to-morrow, I don't know of any one who will object."
"Oh!" said Lilian, "to think of changing your room in a hotel just asoften as you like, and nobody caring a bit! I shall have a different oneevery night."
"That won't be my plan," said her grandmother, laughing; "I think Ishall keep the one I'm in, for mine, and make no change."
As it was a large, pleasant, southwest room, with a delightful view ofthe lake, it was thought to be just the one for grandma, and they allwillingly agreed.
"Do you suppose there are sheets and pillow-slips and things?" askedDorothy, and a pell-mell rush of four explorers soon brought about thediscovery of a wonderful linen room.
Grandma and Tessie were called to look, and all exclaimed at the sight.It was a large room with shelves on all four sides and the shelves werepiled with neatly-folded clean linen,--sheets, counterpanes,towels,--everything that was necessary.
"Whoever left this house last," said grandma, "was a wonderfulhousekeeper. I should like to see her and compliment her personally."
"Shure, it's wonderful, mum!" said Tessie, still a little dazed by thesuccession of wonders.
"Well then, children," went on grandma, "pick out your rooms, and Tessiecan make up your beds for you, and when Mr. Hickox brings the trunks,they can be brought right up here."
"How clever you are, grannymother," cried Dorothy, kissing her. "I saidI'd direct the arrangements,--and yet I never once thought of all that."
"Never mind, dearie, we don't expect an old head to grow on youngshoulders all at once. And besides, you'll have enough to dodown-stairs. Did I hear you say you're going to get supper? And isanybody going to build a fire in the kitchen?"
"I'll build the fire," cried Leicester, "just as soon as I select myroom from the hotel clerk."
The boy ran down the hall and in a few moments returned, saying that hehad made a selection, and would take the tower-room.
Of course they all flew to see it, and found a large octagon-shapedroom with windows on five sides, leaving only enough wall space for thenecessary furniture. But it was a beautiful room, "just like beingoutdoors," Leicester said, and they all applauded his choice.
Just then the door-bell was heard to ring, and this gave the children anew sensation.
"Our own door-bell!" cried Dorothy; "only to think of that! Tessie,please go down to the door!" and Tessie went, with the four Dorrancesfollowing close behind her.