The Unexpected Past of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright & Cass Grafton

Author:Ada Bright & Cass Grafton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Rose and her father walked in silence until they had reached the gravel sweep running along the side of the house, but it was both companionable and full of anticipation, not fraught with the tensions that had gripped Rose in recent days.

As they rounded the house, Christopher looked down at his daughter and smiled. ‘Do you ride?’

Rose laughed. ‘A little; there haven’t been many opportunities in Bath.’

He raised a brow. ‘You still live in the area?’

‘Yes, I love it. I have a dear little flat in Sydney Place.’ For a moment, a pang of homesickness swept through Rose, but she brushed it aside. ‘Why did you ask if I ride?’ Was he thinking of suggesting they go for one now? She didn’t think a week’s pony trekking in Devon was going to suffice for the demands of galloping across the fields without a hard hat!

He drew them to a halt. ‘Much as I appreciate my wife’s intervention, the stables do not hold much appeal in such fine weather. Shall we walk down to the church?’ He gestured towards the stone building, not hidden behind trees as it was in the future.

‘Yes, of course.’ Rose fell into step beside him. ‘You told your wife about me.’

‘I did.’ Christopher glanced at Rose. ‘That you are the daughter I long thought dead. I have never hidden you from her. She knew I had been wed, for I shared the intelligence with her soon after we met. The year of your birth remains a secret, however.’

Rose chewed on her lip. ‘I’m glad I know what she understands. I was worried I might end up in private conversation with her and would put my foot in it.’

A laugh rumbled through the man beside her, and Rose raised a curious face to his. ‘You cannot comprehend how singular it is, after all these years, to hear modern phrasing such as putting one’s foot in something!’

With a rueful laugh, Rose nodded. ‘You’re right, I can’t imagine.’

‘You do not mind – that I told her?’

‘Not at all. It makes things easier if the facts are simplified.’

They had reached the church now, and Christopher stood aside so that Rose could precede him into the grounds.

‘She is a very understanding woman. Her generous heart, her compassion, were what drew me to her from the beginning.’

Rose didn’t like to comment on how those were two things her own mother seemed to lack. She doubted her father would have forgotten.

‘She seems exceedingly lovely in every way.’ Rose stared at their feet, moving in unison along the path through the graveyard. ‘So, she doesn’t know the year of your birth either?’

Christopher was silent for a moment. Then, he waved a hand towards a bench facing out over the fields where Rose had seem the family walking the other day. ‘Come, let us sit for a while.’

Rose settled beside him, her heart swelling as he took one of her hands in his. His face, however, was uneasy.

‘What is it?’

Christopher turned in his seat, his grey eyes softening.

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