CHAPTER III THE FIRST GUEST "I am greatly honoured to be your first guest," said Crowther. "The honour is ours to get you," Avery declared. She sat on the terrace whither she had conducted him, and smiled at him across the tea-table with eyes of shining friendship. Crowther smiled back, thinking to himself how pleasant a picture she made. She was dressed in white, and her face was flushed and happy, even girlish in its animation. There was a ring of laughter in her voice when she talked that was very good to hear. She had herself just brought him from the station in Piers' little two-seater, and her obvious pleasure at meeting him still hung about her, making her very fair to see. "Piers is so busy just now," she told him. "He sent all sorts of messages. He had to go over to Wardenhurst to see Colonel Rose. The M.P. for this division retired at the end of the Session, and Piers is to stand for the constituency. They talk of having the election in October." "Will he get in?" asked Crowther, still watching her with friendly appreciation in his eyes. "Oh, I don't know. I expect so. He gets most things that he sets his heart on. His grandfather--you knew Sir Beverley?--was so anxious that he should enter Parliament." "Yes, I knew Sir Beverley," said Crowther. "He thought the world of Piers." "And Piers of him," said Avery. "Ah! Was it a great blow to him when the old man died?" "A very great blow," she answered soberly. "That was the main reason for our marrying so suddenly. The poor boy was so lonely I couldn't bear to think of him by himself in this great house." "He was very lucky to get you," said Crowther gravely. She smiled. "I was lucky too. Don't you think so? I never in my wildest dreams pictured such a home as this for myself." A great magnolia climbed the house behind her with creamy flowers that shed their lemon fragrance all about them. Crowther compared her in his own mind to the wonderful blossoms. She was so sweet, so pure, yet also in a fashion so splendid. "I think it is a very suitable setting for you, Lady Evesham!" he said. She made a quick, impulsive movement towards him. "Do call me Avery!" she said. "Thank you," he answered, with a smile. "It certainly seems more natural. How long have you been in this home of yours, may I ask?" "Only a fortnight," she said, laughing. "Our honeymoon took ten weeks. Piers wanted to make it ten years; but the harvest was coming on, and I knew he ought to come back and see what was happening. And then Mr. Ferrars resigned his seat, and it became imperative. But isn't it a beautiful place?" she ended. "I felt overwhelmed by the magnificence of it at first, but I am getting used to it now." "A glorious place," agreed Crowther. "Piers must be very proud of it. Have you begun to have many visitors yet?"