Blackmoore: A Proper Romance by Julianne Donaldson

Author:Julianne Donaldson [Donaldson, Julianne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Historical, Regency
ISBN: 9781609074609
Google: hnXzkwEACAAJ
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2013-08-05T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Alice was vocal about her displeasure when I rang for her next morning. I couldn’t decide which she disapproved of more: my going to the beach at night or my failure to ring for her when I returned. There was a lot of muttering about the sand coating my boots and the hem of my gown. As she pulled the handful of seashells out of the pocket of my cloak, she sent me a dark look and said, “That will be the end of it, though, miss. No more. Especially not when it’s a full moon.”

I turned from my perch on the windowsill, where I had been listening for birds and asked, “Why not on a full moon?”

She shook her head, as if completely exasperated with me Finally she said, “Because smuggling happens on beaches, miss! Especially when the moon is full.”

I scrambled down, nearly falling to the floor in my excitement. “Is smuggling really still taking place here?”

Regret filled her eyes. She backed away, my boots in hand, and muttered something about needing to clean off the sand. Then she ran out the door. If only I had not been so curious! She might have told me something of the secrets of Robin Hood’s Bay. Hopefully, if I was patient, my chance was not entirely ruined.

But patience did not come naturally to me, and that weakness was 136

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never clearer than it was as I waited for a sign from Henry that he was going to propose. I had taken him at his word that I should not push him. But Mrs. Delafield glared at me every time she glanced my way, and Sylvia still had not spoken to me since the night I flirted with her Mr.

Brandon. Watching Miss St. Claire hang on Henry’s arm was making me physically ill. I had to leave. Soon.

I watched him during breakfast while Miss St. Claire talked to him about the shame of such a grey and drizzly day when she wanted so much to explore Robin Hood’s Bay. Mr. Brandon talked to me about the birds he had heard on the moors that morning. But the birds were not something I wanted to share with Mr. Brandon.

Not once did Henry look directly at me during breakfast, and in a moment of panic I wondered if I had imagined it all last night. Or if he had changed his mind and was not going to help me after all. But when I stood to leave the room, excusing myself to Mr. Brandon, I suddenly discovered Henry standing too, and when I walked to the door, he called my name softly. I paused and turned, wondering what he was about.

“You dropped this,” he said, handing me a handkerchief I was certain I had not dropped.

I took it, though, and thanked him, and he turned around and walked back to the table. Miss St. Claire shot me a curious look. I slipped the handkerchief into my pocket and hurried from the room.

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