The Truth about Miss Ashbourne by Joanna Barker

Author:Joanna Barker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LDS, clean, regency, romance, novel
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2018-08-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Dear Papa,

It is decidedly strange that I have come to feel so comfortable in a place I arrived at but a fortnight ago. Havenfield is unlike anywhere I ever lived before, and not just for its grandness. There is an easy calm to every day, a contentedness I have not felt since you went to sea again.

This calm is only overshadowed by my missing you and wanting you here. I wish you could write me.

Your very favorite daughter,

Juliana

* * *

It rained for the next two days, though rained was too tame a word. The sky fairly howled as it sent down torrents of water and enormous gusts of wind damaged outbuildings and knocked down tree branches. A few of the nearby tenants’ homes flooded, and William and Mr. Brooks tended to the crisis, arranging for the tenants to live elsewhere for the duration of the storm, overseeing the removal of livestock from flooded fields, and attempting to save whatever equipment and possessions they could.

The storm made the roads impassable, delaying our trip into town. After the excitement of my last riding lesson, I found being trapped indoors a monumental chore, especially with William gone from the house. He left each morning before sunrise and did not return until well into the night. I had not seen him since he evening of our ride and could not account for the strange edginess that pervaded my body the longer I went without having a glimpse of him.

But I was finally able to slip into the library and was pleased to find a near treasure trove of books that intrigued me. My grandfather’s predecessors were quite well rounded in their reading, and I eagerly browsed the shelves that related to my preferred fields of study: classics, history, and politics. I also made certain to select books on subjects I was less familiar with: Latin, Greek, mathematics, philosophy, and the like. If I was to head my own school, I needed to have at least a basic grasp of all that was being taught there.

I managed to secrete a towering stack of books to my room, and during those two days of rain, I spent every spare moment poring over them. Why I was still so determined to hide my plans for a school, I could not say. Though William had responded better than I could have hoped for and I had certainly grown closer to my family, doubt and hesitation still clouded my thoughts whenever they turned to my future. There were still so many specifics to work out and issues to solve that panic often overtook anticipation. I distracted myself with another book rather than dwell on what obstacles still remained.

As much as I enjoyed my studying, I was more than happy to put it aside when I received letters from Sophie, Charlotte, and Daniel on the second day of rain. Sophie, with her usual insightfulness, hinted that she knew I was not telling her the whole truth in my last letter but did not press me, instead recounting to me an amusing story about Mrs.

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