Noblest Love by Alastair Flythe

Author:Alastair Flythe [Flythe, Alastair]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hampton, Westbrook Publishing
Published: 2018-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

28.

Guildford, England

Gunny Shrimpton drove her mother’s well-used Toyota to the lunch meeting with Lord Eagerford, who lived a few miles south of Guildford about an hour away from Plufton Manor. She was a reluctant driver, someone who enjoyed observing the changing landscape more than keeping her eyes on the road. Several times she drifted onto the hard shoulder while sightseeing, and twice she crossed briefly into the opposing lane while reading text messages. Treacherous though it was, the journey delivered her to the front gate of the most remarkable country estate she had ever seen.

Randtree Hall stood at the distant end of a vast lawn that looked as though each blade of grass had been perfectly sculpted by hand. The front entrance featured a pair of enormous stone towers, each topped with a tall marble cross. Even larger towers anchored both ends of the facade, which stretched nearly a city block. The forty bedroom mansion had been in the earl’s family since the early fifteenth century and had been lavishly cared for every day since.

The main building and half a dozen lovely stone cottages were nestled among fifteen hundred lush acres of prime woodland and surrounded by incomprehensibly large gardens that appeared to contain every variety of flower known to man. Gunny had never paid much attention to such things and had no idea how much it might cost to maintain them, but she knew at a glance that the Earl of Eagerford and the Earl of Biscuit played in different leagues. Now this, she thought to herself, is how nobility is meant to live.

Aided by an antique cane, the earl toddled toward her as she pulled up to the front entrance. Behind him in a prim line were ten uniformed servants who looked as though they had been magically transported there from the nineteenth century. They bowed and curtsied as the earl introduced each of them and assured Gunny they would be delighted to attend to her every need.

Climbing the front stairs was as challenging for the earl as climbing Mount Everest might be for most younger folks, and Gunny chided herself for imagining Lazarus as he walked slowly from his tomb after having been raised from the dead. The butler stood behind the earl the entire way, ready to provide a useful shove if things went badly, and did not disappear until Lord Eagerford and his adolescent friend were on their way to the dining room.

“So tell me, dear Gunny. How was your drive over?”

“A bit unnerving at times, to tell the truth. People seem to enjoy blowing their horns for no reason.”

“That partly explains why I rarely leave Randtree,” he nodded. “England was a vastly more civil place, you know, before fast motor cars, airplanes, and computers. People used to think it was enough to live from one year to the next. Now, however, everyone seems to believe life must be measured in seconds.” Gunny felt the cell phone vibrate in her purse. “I’m especially appalled by

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