The Duchess and the Dreamer by Jenny Frame

Author:Jenny Frame [Frame, Jenny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635556025
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2020-04-14T22:00:00+00:00

* * *

“This is beautiful,” Evan said.

They were only about twenty feet from the edge of the cliff, with only a broken-down wire fence between them and the edge.

“I thought you would have discovered this place when you came here as a child.”

“No, we mostly kept to the beach end of the village. You know what I love about the village?” Evan said.

“What?”

“It has everything. The sea, an unspoiled beach, wonderful views off the cliffs, fossil hunting at the bottom of the cliffs, fishing, farming, and countryside, with the Tynebrook River flowing past at the top of the village. There’s everything someone could want.”

“Why did you and your family first come here?” Clementine asked.

“When I first learned about Isadora in history class at school, I became fascinated and asked them to bring me here. Then we all fell in love with its charms.”

“Isadora? Strange kind of thing for a child to become fascinated with, isn’t it?” Clementine said.

Evan grinned. “I’m a strange kind of person. I had such a thirst for knowledge and facts when I was young, and my brain never wanted to switch off. If I wasn’t playing with toys, or playing sport, then I was reading books, comics, anything really.”

“Your poor mother and father must have been exhausted.”

“Yeah, I think they were,” Evan admitted.

“What is it that you wanted to talk about? Did I overstep my bounds earlier, at the meeting?”

Evan frowned. “What? No. That’s what I wanted you to do, shake things up and remind us all to keep the history of this place firmly in our minds, when we plan. No, it was about the staffing report you gave me, for the house? Yeah, I was wondering if you’d do the finding candidates and interviews for me. I would ask Rupert or Violet, my PA back in London, but they don’t have the experience like you do, the knowledge of what makes a person best for the job.”

Evan was unsure about whether Clementine would go for this, but she wanted the help, and getting her involved with the house was getting Clem closer to her.

“That’s a lot of work on top of the trust. I’m going to start meeting with the trustees to get their ideas for what needs to be done to the village. Besides, the hiring of staff is what the mistress of the house usually does.”

Evan turned around in her seat. “I would like a mistress—” She could feel her cheeks getting a little hot. “I mean, not a mistress in that sense. I don’t have a mistress in any sense, although—”

Clementine started to laugh softly at the muddle she was getting herself into.

“I’m making a mess of this,” Evan said.

Clementine reached over and placed her hand on Evan’s briefly. “Don’t worry. I know what you mean. I could do it for you, but finding the time would be difficult.”

“I’ve thought of that. You’re going to be rushed off your feet with the trust work anyway, and I’m not always here to help, so what if we got you a PA?”

“A PA?” Clementine said with surprise.

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