The Gathering Place (New England Book 10) by James Philip

Author:James Philip [Philip, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Sunday 17th March

Cherry Hill

Crown Colony of New Jersey

It was odd to be almost alone in the old house on the hill. Robin and Jasmine had taken their entire brood to stay with friends at their house in Lancaster on the Conestoga River, some sixty miles west of Philadelphia on Friday, and would not be back again until sometime tomorrow. So, it had just been her and Paul…and the kids. Which sounded as weird as, honestly and truly, it was.

Melody hoped Robin and Jasmine had got to Lancaster before the snow made the roads treacherous, outside the world had been transformed into a winter wonderland by the late season snowfall. Locals said there was spring weather on the way and that there might be local flooding when the thaw came, possibly overnight.

Serena Rose, the Longstreet children’s nanny had promised to be in bright and early tomorrow morning. She had told Melody to ‘just ring me’ if she had a ‘bad moment’ but thus far, she was still waiting for the first panic attack and therefore, she had not reached for the phone. In fact, she was calmer about the mothering thing than she had been at any time in the last three months. It might have been exhaustion but she thought not; it was more as if she had been climbing an impossibly steep learning curve – one she had not even known existed – ever since the day of the bombings and now, she was starting to believe she could at least glimpse the top of ‘the curve’. Not that she really believed everything was going to be downhill from now on!

Why am I not a mess today?

That was another very strange thing.

Today of all days, I ought to be a complete mess…

Instead, she listened in the unnaturally peaceful living room to the voices in the hallway as she rocked Lizzie in her arms. She did not look up as the door opened, the light at his back silhouetting the tall, rangy man who was soon to be the Governor of the Commonwealth of New England.

He had wanted to speak to her privately; so, here he was.

I ought to be a lot more curious about this than I am, Melody thought idly.

Paul did not follow the angular, stiff-backed Texan into the room. He closed the door at the visitor’s back, and re-joined the two close security operatives who had preceded their chief into the house. There were other men, men with guns now patrolling the woods behind the building.

“Long time no see,” George Washington observed ruefully, a paternal grimace twitching at his lips beneath his moustache. There was no hiding the rancher beneath the fancy Savile Row suit and waistcoat. “Do you mind if I take a seat?”

“I’m a guest here, too,” Melody said blankly.

The man who had won the war against the Triple Alliance settled in an armchair he had moved around a few inches so as to be directly in front of Melody. She, for her part

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