Love and Lady Lovelace (The Changing Fortunes Series, Vol. 8) by Beaton M. C

Author:Beaton, M. C. [Beaton, M. C.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: RosettaBooks
Published: 2014-01-13T05:00:00+00:00

Five

The end of an Indian summer found Lady Lovelace in residence at Beaton Malden. She had fled London after the fateful breakfast in Kensington and had spent some months in seclusion in a quiet watering place on the south coast, unfrequented by the aristocracy. She had shut the world out.

Miss Wilkins had at last suggested that Amaryllis should write to Lord Philip through her lawyers with a view to obtaining a divorce, but Amaryllis could not bear to think of him or hear his name mentioned. At last, she returned to Beaton Malden at the end of October. For the first time a glimmer of hope began to shine on her financial position. The last of the money from her jewels had been used to pay the servants, but Mr. Worthy reported a bumper harvest and that the staff, inside and outside the house, were prepared to wait for their wages, provided they were housed and fed.

If Amaryllis were prepared to live very quietly and not entertain in any way, then he was sure they would come about.

Mr. Worthy was living up to his name. Amaryllis was moved to tears when she learned that he had not drawn his wages since his return to her employ. He was a serious young man, devoted to the science of agriculture, and he had pointed out mildly that his reward was in being allowed to run things by himself and introduce as many new methods as he pleased.

Amaryllis, guilty at having neglected her duties, spent long hours in the saddle during the day, calling on the tenants, checking roofs and walls, and making a meticulous report of all necessary repairs. She was glad of the exercise and the excuse to be absent from the house, for there seemed to be a constant stream of callers, and not all of them ladies or gentlemen either, desirous of having a tour of the house.

“We really must stop this flow of visitors,” Amaryllis had said to Foster and Mrs. Jarrett. “You must be exhausted. I am sure you have enough to do without having to parade a party of gawking people all over the place who should know better how to employ their time.”

But Foster had merely smiled and said he and Mrs. Jarrett found it no trouble at all. He further pointed out that he would not allow any of these guests to enter a room where my lady was seated. That is all very well, thought Amaryllis, but I cannot seem to move from one room to the other without running into a party of staring, goggling people. It was never thus when my lord was alive. What can be the sudden attraction?

One late afternoon, two weeks after she had arrived home, Amaryllis had been riding over her estates with a saddlebag full of medicines from the stillroom at Beaton Malden to give to the sick. She finished her last call, which was on the very outskirts of her property, and turned her horse’s head toward home.

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.