Of Noble Birth by Brenda Novak

Author:Brenda Novak
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: mom 03/21/2014
ISBN: 9781469230726
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 1999-12-01T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The carriage Nathaniel rented was an ordinary black conveyance that seated eight people. Alexandra was squished between Tiny and the pirate captain himself; Garth was on the other side of Tiny. John, Samuel, an average-looking fellow with a thick head of hair, and Shorty, a tall, heavyset man with a tattoo on the bald pate of his head, sat with the marquess on the other side.

They started out shortly after dawn, traveling in silence as they passed the elegant squares and graceful crescents of Bristol. Alexandra had never visited the city before. She loved the Georgian architecture, complete with its colonnades and terraces.

“That’s Royal York Crescent, the longest crescent in Europe,” Nathaniel pointed out as they passed a long building of flats that curved like a half-moon. “It was started before the turn of the century, but wasn’t finished until 1820 or so.”

“Isn’t Blaise Castle around here somewhere?” Alexandra asked. “My mother once mentioned having seen it.”

“It’s in Clifton,” the marquess said, speaking for the first time. “So is Bridlewood, my father’s home.”

Nathaniel glanced at his half brother without responding.

“Then you’re familiar with this area,” Alexandra said.

“The air and the water of Clifton are unsurpassed.”

“So I’ve heard. So are the beautiful hills and dales.” Alexandra smiled, wondering what the marquess was really like. He was not unhandsome with his short, sandy-colored hair and green eyes. His nose was rather wide, and his stocky build was enough to suggest a preponderance of weight as he grew older, but he had sensual lips and straight, nice teeth. She marveled that, other than the lips, there was so little resemblance between Nathaniel and his younger brother.

“Is the Clifton Suspension Bridge as spectacular as they say?” she asked.

“Yes, though it’s not finished yet. The Severn is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world.”

Nathaniel had brought Alexandra a basket of fresh buns that morning, together with a small crock of butter, and she took two out now, offering one to Lord Clifton. She was sure the marquess had eaten nothing but hard-tack biscuits and salt pork since coming aboard the Vengeance. They’d had nothing else.

Clifton smiled and accepted the bread from her outstretched hand. “I can see why these miscreants mistook you for my sister. You’re not only beautiful, but generous as well.”

Alexandra gave him a dimpled smile. The last thing she expected was a compliment as she sat there in Nathaniel’s clothes. But she would have felt even more self-conscious wearing the now ruined, expensive blue dress she had taken from Lady Anne.

“Sometimes it’s wise for prisoners to pull together.” Just as the marquess had emphasized miscreants, she emphasized the word prisoners for Nathaniel’s benefit, still goaded by his refusal to trust her enough to take her into Bristol the night before.

Nathaniel ignored them, but as Alexandra’s conversation with Lord Clifton warmed, touching a variety of subjects from the Royal Strand Theater in London to the hot wells of Bath, his gaze repeatedly flicked her way. Evidently her friendliness with his half brother struck a nerve, so she remembered to laugh gaily at whatever Clifton said.

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.