The Daughter of the House: An irresistible and utterly spellbinding Cornish Victorian romance about daring to follow your heart by Victoria Cornwall

Author:Victoria Cornwall [Cornwall, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Choc Lit Historical Romance: A Joffe Books Company
Published: 2024-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Samuel Timmins, his hands thrust into deep pockets and his shoulders hunched against the evening chill, had lost track of time a while back. He had found the house easily, its situation, warped stony walls and little windows that allowed little light inside. He had often visited Perran Village when he was a young man and knew its tangled lanes and quaint little houses well. Nothing had changed, yet everything had.

He was aware of the fragility of life. He saw it every day, a thriving plant dead within hours of a morning frost, or a bountiful crop diseased and rotting at the turn of the weather. Yet, it always surprised him how a man’s world could change on a spoken word, an object found, a discovery of the truth or in the belief of someone’s lies. This morning he had been ignorant of the facts or he had put them to the back of his mind and ignored them. A man is good at ignoring what he does not want to face. He was the best. He had perfected the skill for a long time now. Not any more.

It was Abel who had inadvertently forced his hand this morning. He had reported to him that he had seen Drake speaking to Miss Evelyn in a too familiar tone. On further questioning, he admitted that Miss Evelyn had not been insulted by his lack of respect, but Abel felt it was his duty to report Drake for overstepping the mark. He had expected the head gardener to dismiss Drake, but it was his accusations Timmins chose to ignore, much to the lad’s irritation. However, unknown to Abel, his words had played on his mind long after the boy had left his office. The truth was Abel had only voiced his own growing suspicions.

On several occasions he had come upon Drake hard at work, appearing oblivious to Miss Evelyn walking away in the distance. He had not caught them talking, as Abel had done, or even close enough to hold a conversation, but something unnerved him and made the hairs at the back of his neck prickle. If they had been found alone, her reputation would be compromised and Drake’s apprenticeship would be terminated. He had grown fond of Drake and did not want his training to end. So he had spent the latter part of the morning compiling a list of suitable establishments and a reference to his good character. Drake could undertake his final year of basic training elsewhere and then he would be ready to be a journeyman, the next step in his apprenticeship that would take him from mere gardener to the path of head gardener and, eventually, landscape architect, the profession he hoped to achieve.

He had summoned the boy to his office and told him the good news, fully expecting Drake to be grateful and enthusiastic about the next phase of his apprenticeship. He was wrong. The boy, nay the man, looked him in the eye and refused to go.

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