When all hope seems lost, a congenial presence appears at your elbow. All is grace and welcome. A visitor's book is presented for your signature.....
A green baize door opens and you are ushered in.
What is it you expect? Here is a well proportioned room, well lit with a magnificent fireplace. Antique tomes line library shelves. The flickering light of the fire illuminates moiré silk walls, picking out the detail of fine paintings in their grand gilt frames. Here,two Jack Russells race across a field of burnt stubble, the snow covered peak of Helvellyn in the distance. Another is surely a Munnings, "His favourite racehorse with his stable companion, a terrier".
Some gentleman's club this certainly is. Comfortable sofas invite you to sink down into their luxurious depths. Turkey rugs cover the floor. What a place, what an undiscovered delight!
Adjusting to the light, your eyes start to take in the detail. Are those holes in the carpet at the corners? The capacious chesterfields have bits of protruding stuffing and yes, if you had to think about it, bite marks on the armrests. You notice the portraits which flank the fireplace. Fine aristocratic portraits with noble profiles and steely imperious mien gaze down on the room. All is not as it might seem.................
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