An Inconvenient Letter by Julie Wright

Author:Julie Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Published: 2024-02-08T23:48:25+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Gerard turned the corner with Etta and passed under a large stone arch where Lucy and Miss Stone were surveying the crumbling tower to the side of them. They had not made it to the gatehouse.

“Lucy!” Etta called out. “There you are.” She released Gerard’s arm and hurried to Lucy’s side, then pulled Lucy quickly toward the other archway as if intent to show her some interesting bit of history.

Gerard smiled. “Well done, Etta,” he thought. He joined Miss Stone and squinted up at the tower remains. “Care to have a game of pretending we’re monks?” he asked. He was determined to pull conversation from her this time.

Anne smiled. “Some might call that blasphemous.”

He grinned. Though Miss Stone hadn’t laughed at his joke like Etta might have, and she’d even given mild admonishment, he knew she wasn’t cross with him, and any answer more than a “yes” or “no” from her felt like an accomplishment.

“You didn’t mind playing that game when we were children. If I recall properly, it was one of your favorites when the governesses brought us here to play.”

“It was far better than the reenactment of The Tempest when Lucy almost drowned.”

“That’s only because Freddie made such an abysmal Prospero.”

Anne actually chuckled at this, a thing which made Gerard feel he’d accomplished something magnificent. “Do you imply that if he’d been a better Prospero, the raft would have floated?”

“Certainly.”

She must have noted that Lucy and Etta had moved a fair distance because she began a leisurely walk in their direction. “Thank you, Mr. Hartwell.”

“For what?” he asked as he offered her his arm.

Miss Stone took it and said, “For defending my sister at dinner. I know I am older than she and it should be my responsibility to stand up for her, yet I often feel she is the one watching out for me. She is my greatest champion.”

“She is certainly a spirited friend.”

“Only a friend?” She gave Gerard a sideways look, catching the sunlight in her hair as she tilted her head.

Well, that was certainly direct, and not at all the conversation he’d imagined having. “I must say yes. While she is a capital girl, I believe we might be destined for friendship alone. And one who counts Etta among his friends is lucky indeed.”

“True,” Anne agreed. “I wish she were going to London with me.”

“Perhaps you should stay home as well.” Gerard liked that Miss Stone didn’t seem to be in any hurry to rejoin her sister. It made him think that perhaps she wanted this time with him.

Perhaps.

“Tempting. But Mama would not allow me to stay.”

That was a disappointing fact. He would need to work faster to gain Miss Stone’s favor, because he simply did not have time to go to London for the season. It was not ludicrous to think it could happen so quickly. Many marriage proposals were the result of a few weeks of courtship. Some came after mere days. The fact that he’d had years of friendship to recommend him should make his task easier.

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.