Rules for an Unmarried Lady by Wilma Counts

Author:Wilma Counts [Counts, Wilma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Published: 2020-09-03T14:15:24+00:00

Chapter 12

In the next two days Quint had hoped to get a moment alone with Harriet. He knew how shocked she had been at the eight-year-old twins having witnessed that wife-selling incident and he wanted her to know that, indeed, he himself would never have willingly subjected innocent children to such a scene, but the whole business had been over and done with by time he was scarcely aware of what was happening. Quint had allowed the younger boys to accompany the Sedwick farmer, Benson, and his young sons into the auction barn as Quint, Chet, and Phillip inspected a couple of mares another neighbor was considering selling; they would then meet Benson and the boys in the barn. Quint had had no qualms about entrusting the twins to Benson’s care—Benson, and his father before him, had run the home farm of Sedwick for as long as Quint could remember. But by the time they had finished inspecting the mares and made their way to the auction arena, the scene there was nothing short of chaotic. Quint had breathed a sigh of relief and extended a hand in gratitude to Benson when he was able to retrieve his nephews.

Since Saturday’s market, Quint had found little opportunity to explain to Harriet and he feared she still thought the worst of the whole affair. She had joined the men and Phillip for the usual morning rides, but so had Maria, and soon enough Harriet and her niece, along with a groom, were off on jaunts of their own. On Sunday afternoon Phillip had sought a private word with his uncle. Quint cringed inwardly, for he thought he knew what was coming.

“I want to discuss my going to school,” Phillip blurted even as he came through the library door.

Quint turned from where he had been standing staring out the window, wondering if those clouds heralded rain. He sighed and reached deeply for at least a shred of patience. “There is simply nothing to discuss. I will not shirk my responsibility in this matter, nor will I allow you to shirk yours.” He gestured for the boy to take a tan leather-covered wing chair on one side of the fireplace, and he took the matching chair on the other side.

“Uncle Quint—sir.” Phillip was apparently striving for a “man-to-man” tone. He sat forward on the edge of the chair, his hands clasped between his knees. “Please understand that I have no wish to shirk my responsibilities. Indeed, I feel I need to know them far more thoroughly than I do in order to prepare myself adequately.”

“You will get that preparation at Eton, just as your father did. And your grandfather before him. And then university. You will be prepared. Believe me. You will be.”

“Yes. I understand that. I do not reject the idea of school.”

“Well, then—”

“Just not yet.” Phillip held his uncle’s gaze for a moment, but did not hold the eye contact. Apparently seeing no encouragement there, he looked at the floor and went on.

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.