Loveswept by Murray Tamela Hancock

Author:Murray, Tamela Hancock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

Eight

Averil could hardly contain his excitement as he drove his new buggy past the gate of the boys’ school, with the most beautiful young woman he had ever known sitting by his side. He had looked forward to the celebration as soon as Cecily’s parents had agreed to allow him to be her escort, but the reality of being so near to Cecily on such a festive day didn’t register with him until she was sitting beside him in the open-air buggy. He wished he could detour all through the city—and not to show everyone the company name imprinted on both sides of his buggy. He wished he could show everyone who was anyone that the prettiest girl in the state of Virginia was riding with him—Averil Kingsley—to the Celebration of Spring.

He managed to contain himself, but made sure to sneak a sideways peek at the vision perched beside him. “My, but I do believe this lovely day pales in comparison to your beauty, Miss Eaton,” he ventured. “If I may be so bold.”

She let out a delightfully melodic giggle, then smoothed her skirt even though the fabric wasn’t wrinkled in the least. “Mr. Kingsley, how you do talk!”

Making sure not to keep his eyes off the road for too many moments at a time, Averil studied her with his peripheral vision. Dressed in pure white in anticipation of the Maypole dance, Cecily wore a hat with an exceedingly large brim that framed her face to perfection. The hat boasted an abundance of silk roses. Averil wondered why Cecily’s head didn’t tip forward from the weight, but contrary to the laws of gravity, she kept her head upright and her gaze level. She carried a matching white parasol as extra insurance to protect her creamy complexion from the sun’s harsh rays.

Riding along in the buggy, he realized he was much less conscious than usual of the fact that she towered over him. With the fashions of styling their hair in billowing chignons, wearing large hats, and holding parasols, only the tallest man accompanying the most diminutive woman could hope to sit higher than his female companion. Nevertheless, he remembered the numerous occasions where Cecily shared conversations with him while they both stood, forcing her to look downward into his face. She never seemed to notice and certainly was never vexed. For her consideration, he was grateful.

“A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Kingsley.”

He didn’t mind his pensive mood being interrupted by such a sweet voice. “I doubt my thoughts are worth that much.”

“I’m sure mine aren’t.”

“I’ll venture a guess that any thought that runs through your pretty head is worth at least that much. Maybe even double.” He paused, waiting for her to respond.

Instead, she looked around the school play yard. Catching the gaze of another woman who seemed to be about her age, Cecily waved a gloved hand. The woman smiled and waved in return. Averil wondered if the friend noticed that Cecily was riding with someone new. If she did, the woman showed no signs of curiosity.

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.