The Courteous Cad by Catherine Palmer

Author:Catherine Palmer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2011-04-20T20:00:00+00:00

Twelve

Mary squealed, leapt to her feet, and threw out her arms as her sister stepped into the drawing room at Delacroix House. “Prudence! You are here! You are here at last!”

With equal ardor, she clapped her hands to her cheeks and shrieked at the appearance of her younger sibling. “Good heavens, what has happened to you? You look like a guttersnipe!”

“Pru?” Now Sarah, the eldest of the three sisters, rose from her chair near the fire. “Is it truly you?”

“It is I,” Prudence confirmed, hurrying forward, unable to think beyond the anxieties that plagued her. “I am so glad both of you are here. I remembered only moments ago that today is Friday, and therefore the two of you would be joining Henry for tea. Or at least I hoped that was still your custom.”

“But of course,” replied the man in question. “It has been my delight to host my aunt every Friday since my return from sea several weeks ago. When Mrs. Heathhill returned from the north country, she began to join us as well. And today our joy is made complete by your unexpected arrival.”

Prudence cast a glance at Henry Carlyle, Lord Delacroix. A tall, well-built gentleman with a mop of curly gold hair and the brightest of blue eyes, he stood near the hearth, his expression one of amused surprise.

But there was no time for formal greetings. Prudence caught Mary’s hands. “I speak of Mr. Sherbourne. He is on his way to London even now, sister, and he must not learn that I have been staying in Otley.”

“William Sherbourne sent a message to Delacroix House this morning,” Henry spoke up. “Though I have never met the gentleman, he stated that he wished to confer with me about an urgent matter of some import. He hoped also that I might include in the party my aunt, Mrs. Locke, and her family. As I expected them today for tea, I invited him to join us. We expect him momentarily. Indeed, we believed your knock on the door was his.”

“Mr. Sherbourne is coming here? Momentarily?” Prudence stifled a gasp.

“We hoped that you might be in his company,” Mary said. “Sarah and I were certain the reason Mr. Sherbourne requested to meet the entire family was that the two of you had reached an understanding and were coming to London to give us your happy news.”

“Were we correct in our thinking?” Sarah asked. “Have you become engaged to William Sherbourne?”

“Upon my honor, no!” Agitated, Prudence shook her hands. “Of course not. Do I look like a woman newly engaged?”

“Truthfully, no,” Henry replied.

All three sisters turned to him, their expressions conveying varying degrees of annoyance. But Mary was quick to regain her footing and address her sister again.

“If you did not come to London with Mr. Sherbourne,” she began, “how are you here? How is he here without you— yet both arriving on the same day? And why are you garbed in these . . . these rags? Your fingers, sister! They are turned to leather knobs!”

“I have been working in the mill,” Prudence explained.

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.