A Lady Never Surrenders 5 by Jeffries Sabrina

Author:Jeffries, Sabrina [Jeffries, Sabrina]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Fiction, Historical, General
ISBN: 9781451642452
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2012-01-24T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Celia could tell from Jackson’s stony expression that she’d ruined his plans for how this discussion should go, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t let such an idea stand! Mama would never have taken a lover. Never! Not when she hated Papa’s infidelities so.

“Miss Celia?” Nurse squinted as she too rose from her seat. “Little Elf?”

“Papa was the one to call me Elf,” Celia said absently, thumbing through her memories, trying to make sense of them in light of what Nurse was claiming about Mama.

“Aye. That’s why we started doing it. It fit you then—you were such a tiny thing.”

But she hadn’t been a tiny thing in a long while. Even her siblings didn’t call her Elf anymore, so it felt strange to have Nurse do so.

Nurse shocked her by seizing her in a great hug. “Oh, my dear girl, I can’t believe it’s you!” She peered at her with a misty gaze. “Look at you, all grown up. Why, you’re so tall! And so elegant-looking, too. What a fine lady you’ve turned out to be.”

“I … I … thank you.” Celia was torn between wanting to embrace her old nurse and wanting to shake her for what she’d said. She stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do.

“Oh! I’ve got something to show you. Come!” Grabbing Celia by the hand, Nurse drew her to a trunk and opened it to reveal a trove of baby dresses and shoes and the like. “Your grandmother was always so kind about letting me keep a thing or two after you children outgrew it.”

She began to rummage through the trunk. “Now where is it…” She picked up a worn primer. “Oh, look, this was your brother’s. Master Gabe carried it everywhere after your parents … Well, anyway, he liked the pictures.”

Shoving it into Celia’s hand, she searched some more. “And here is Miss Minerva’s red handkerchief.” She shot Celia a knowing glance. “Your sister always did like the colorful ones. You liked the dainty ones—lots of lace. You loved them to be pretty and feminine.”

“Did she?” Jackson sounded surprised as he came to stand beside them.

She felt his steady gaze on her, but couldn’t return it, her mind still too full of turmoil.

“Oh yes,” Nurse said. “It was strange really. She liked girlish clothes, but she wasn’t squeamish like most girls. She was curious about everything, even bugs and spiders. Minerva would scream at the sight of a snake, but Miss Celia wanted to pick it up and examine it. She wanted to know how things worked.” She cast Celia a sly smile. “That is, until Master Ned caught her attention when she was nine. Then she turned all simpering and silly.”

Jackson went rigid. “Ned Plumtree?”

Heavens, Celia had forgotten that her infatuation for Ned had started so early. Or that she’d often confided in Nurse about it.

“Yes, indeed.” Mrs. Duffett patted Celia’s hand. “How is your cousin? He made all the girls swoon in his day, and you were the worst, as I recall.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.