It was therefore incontinently pulled down, and one of the most
fashionable architects of the day, having _carte blanche_ to build,
erected a Palladian pile of wide frontage and imposing dimensions on
the most prominent site he could find. It ought to have haunted its
author like a crime; but he was spared, and the punishment fell upon
the innocent who dwelt around. There was no escape from Purlington, so
long as you were within a dozen miles of it. Wherever you went and
wherever you looked, down from points of vantage or up from quiet
dells, this great white caravanserai, with its glittering plate-glass
panes and staring stucco, forced itself upon you with the unblushing
effrontery of a brazen beauty, with painted face and bedizened in
flaunting attire. But the heiress thought it was a very splendid
place, with its pineries, conservatories, its acres of glass, and its
army of retainers in liveries of rainbow hues. Mrs. Purling was a
little afraid of her servants, albeit strong-minded in other respects;
but it was natural she should submit to a coachman who had once worn
the royal livery, or quail before a butler who had lived with a duke.
The butler met Harold on his return, extending to him a gracious
patronising welcome, as if he were doing the honours of his own house.
"Misterarold," he cried, making one word of the name and title, "this
is a pleasant surprise.
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