Arkhaven logo

Dress for Dinner panel 1

Episode 69

Dress for Dinner

A coach was sent for Sir Peter Stokes the following afternoon to bring him to the house where Arabella and her father greeted him at the front entrance to welcome him to their home.

The visitor was accompanied by a stubby man named Torrance who served as his valet and who insisted on handling all of the doctor’s baggage. Also traveling with him was a prissy Frenchman about her father’s age and a young man named Stewart Humphries. They were introduced, respectively, as Professor Jean-Claude Archambeau and his protégé. The Frenchman, unsurprisingly, was gruff and aloof and rarely seen without a lit cohiba in his hand or mouth. His student was a chinless specimen with large eyes made larger by a pair of thick-lensed spectacles.

Sir Peter himself was a slender man who appeared to be used to the finer things in life. His suits were silk and impeccably tailored. His silver-gray hair was perfectly combed beneath his topper, as were the mustaches that occupied his long upper lip. He appeared to be dressed more for attending an opera than for a long train ride up from the city. That he was a man used to being pampered was confirmed when he bowed to take Arabella’s hand and plant an austere kiss on the back of it. The strong scent of cologne came off him.

“Thank you so much for allowing us to be your guests, my dear,” Sir Peter said upon releasing her hand. “This a most charming home.”

“It’s my father holds the title, not I,” she said.

“A man may own a house,” he replied with a condescending smile. “But it is a woman who makes it a home.”

And thus, Arabella was put in her place, albeit in the most courteous, blameless way imaginable. She was a woman, a girl, and acknowledged and dismissed all with one remark. She decided in an instant that she did not care for this Sir Peter. But, in honor of her father’s respect for the man, she would keep a civil tongue.

“Thank you, Sir Peter,” she said with a wintery smile.

The men were already engaged in conversation as they entered the house. Travers, the butler and major domo of the house, held the door personally. The butler stood with chest puffed out and an admiring gleam in his eye. Here, at last was an occupant of the house, no matter how temporary, that he could approve of. To his eyes, this Sir Peter Stokes was of quality, unlike the Indian upstarts who presumed the earldom. Arabella followed the men into the house, offering Travers an insolent squint as she passed him.

Father was anxious to show off his creature to company, but Sir Peter begged to be allowed to rest before dressing for dinner. There would be plenty of time, he insisted, to inspect his host’s finding in the evening. Lord Huntoun concealed his disappointment and allowed Travers to escort the guests upstairs to their assigned rooms.

Once they were out of sight and earshot, Arabella’s father turned to her with a degree of alarm.

“They dress for dinner!” he said, aghast.

“Damn them,” she sighed.

“Language, Pansy!”


THE SIDEWINDERS runs daily from Monday through Friday on Arktoons.




Dress for Dinner panel 3
Dress for Dinner panel 4
The Sidewinders series cover
Dress for Dinner episode cover
35K views2K likes
4 comments

The Sidewinders

The Legend Chuck Dixon explores the Wild West, with epic tales of gunfighters, frontier justice, savage Indian tribes, and even more savage outlaws.
About a Job episode cover
About a JobEpisode #84
Go In Peace episode cover
Go In PeaceEpisode #83
No Marshal, No Jail episode cover
No Marshal, No JailEpisode #82
An Avenging Angel episode cover
An Avenging AngelEpisode #81
New Folks in Town episode cover
New Folks in TownEpisode #80
In Search of Mr. Thaddeus Jones episode cover
In Search of Mr. Thaddeus JonesEpisode #79
Limited Lodgings episode cover
Limited LodgingsEpisode #78
New Arrivals episode cover
New ArrivalsEpisode #77
Making the Rounds episode cover
Making the RoundsEpisode #76
Shocking Behavior episode cover
Shocking BehaviorEpisode #75
The Danger of Tedium episode cover
The Danger of TediumEpisode #74
The Silk Hat episode cover
The Silk HatEpisode #73
Eagle Flat episode cover
Eagle FlatEpisode #72
Balderdash and Codswallop episode cover
Balderdash and CodswallopEpisode #71
The Misplaced Spines episode cover
The Misplaced SpinesEpisode #70
Dress for Dinner episode cover
Dress for DinnerEpisode #69
A Guest of the Manor episode cover
A Guest of the ManorEpisode #68
Gleam of Sunlight episode cover
Gleam of SunlightEpisode #67
Thieves and Squatters episode cover
Thieves and SquattersEpisode #66
A Miserable Excuse episode cover
A Miserable ExcuseEpisode #65
The Terrible Lizard episode cover
The Terrible LizardEpisode #64
The Blackpool Train episode cover
The Blackpool TrainEpisode #63
The Grinning Visage episode cover
The Grinning VisageEpisode #62
A Catalog of Regrets episode cover
A Catalog of RegretsEpisode #61
A Mutual Passion episode cover
A Mutual PassionEpisode #60
The Unvarnished Truth episode cover
The Unvarnished TruthEpisode #59
The Gurkha's Shovel episode cover
The Gurkha's ShovelEpisode #58
Under a Harvest Moon episode cover
Under a Harvest MoonEpisode #57
Too Late to Damn episode cover
Too Late to DamnEpisode #56
The Death of Mercury Wells episode cover
The Death of Mercury WellsEpisode #55
A Figure in Black episode cover
A Figure in BlackEpisode #54
The Riders Strike episode cover
The Riders StrikeEpisode #53
Breaks in the Line episode cover
Breaks in the LineEpisode #52
The Edge of the Fiery Pit episode cover
The Edge of the Fiery PitEpisode #51
All Damnation Riding episode cover
All Damnation RidingEpisode #50
Empty Wagons at Dusk episode cover
Empty Wagons at DuskEpisode #49
The Angry Sky episode cover
The Angry SkyEpisode #48
Breathing His Last episode cover
Breathing His LastEpisode #47
The Price of Madness episode cover
The Price of MadnessEpisode #46
No Backing Down episode cover
No Backing DownEpisode #45
Riders of the Twisted Tree episode cover
Riders of the Twisted TreeEpisode #44
The Ground Trembles episode cover
The Ground TremblesEpisode #43
Rage and Fear episode cover
Rage and FearEpisode #42
News from the Capitol episode cover
News from the CapitolEpisode #41
The Limping Man episode cover
The Limping ManEpisode #40
The Reckoning episode cover
The ReckoningEpisode #39
Say a Prayer, Cowboy episode cover
Say a Prayer, CowboyEpisode #38
The Killing Starts episode cover
The Killing StartsEpisode #37
Worse Than Expected episode cover
Worse Than ExpectedEpisode #36
Cursed for a Fool episode cover
Cursed for a FoolEpisode #35
Answer to a Prayer episode cover
Answer to a PrayerEpisode #34
You'll See Jesus First episode cover
You'll See Jesus FirstEpisode #33
Cowboys and Irishmen episode cover
Cowboys and IrishmenEpisode #32
A Man Without a Gun episode cover
A Man Without a GunEpisode #31
A Storm is Coming episode cover
A Storm is ComingEpisode #30
The Bounty of the Lord episode cover
The Bounty of the LordEpisode #29
More Law Than We Want episode cover
More Law Than We WantEpisode #28
Ten Bucks per Conviction episode cover
Ten Bucks per ConvictionEpisode #27
Kings of the Jungle episode cover
Kings of the JungleEpisode #26
Don't Kick a Dog episode cover
Don't Kick a DogEpisode #25
The Majestic episode cover
The MajesticEpisode #24
Convictions Where Necessary episode cover
Convictions Where NecessaryEpisode #23
Sober as Sunday episode cover
Sober as SundayEpisode #22
Liquored Up episode cover
Liquored UpEpisode #21
Pools of Blood episode cover
Pools of BloodEpisode #20
In God's Hands episode cover
In God's HandsEpisode #19
The Devil Coming With Me episode cover
The Devil Coming With MeEpisode #18
Sudden Fury episode cover
Sudden FuryEpisode #17
The Scotchman Didn't Lie episode cover
The Scotchman Didn't LieEpisode #16
Paradise episode cover
ParadiseEpisode #15
A Man with Sand episode cover
A Man with SandEpisode #14
The Scent of Money episode cover
The Scent of MoneyEpisode #13
The Hand of a Righteous Man episode cover
The Hand of a Righteous ManEpisode #12
Devil's Freight episode cover
Devil's FreightEpisode #11
A Losing Fight episode cover
A Losing FightEpisode #10
Building an Empire episode cover
Building an EmpireEpisode #9
No Holy Man episode cover
No Holy ManEpisode #8
Blood Christening episode cover
Blood ChristeningEpisode #7
Guardian Angel episode cover
Guardian AngelEpisode #6
High Tide episode cover
High TideEpisode #5
Night Raid episode cover
Night RaidEpisode #4
Man and Boy episode cover
Man and BoyEpisode #3
A Gang of Mongrels episode cover
A Gang of MongrelsEpisode #2
The Wagon Train episode cover
The Wagon TrainEpisode #1
,
List icon
Comment icon
Prev icon
Next icon
Fullscreen icon