Under Siege by Edward Marston

Author:Edward Marston [Marston, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Action & Adventure, Fiction
ISBN: 9780749040178
Google: PDqKAgAAQBAJ
Amazon: B0077F5WHC
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2011-11-27T13:00:00+00:00

Amalia Janssen was constantly delighted by the novelty of England. Wherever she went, she marvelled at the architecture, took a close interest in what people were wearing and listened with amusement to the rustic accents of Oxfordshire. Late morning found her sitting on the terrace outside the house with her father. With two servants and a cook already provided, there was little for Beatrix Udderzook to do so she hovered nearby and wiped the dirt from one of the wooden tables. Bright sunshine turned the roof to pure gold and gave the whole property a magical glow. Summer birdsong delighted the ear.

‘I love it here,’ said Amalia, beaming.

‘My first impressions have been good as well,’ said her father. ‘If we overlook our meeting with Her Grace, that is.’

‘Sir John says that she can be prickly at times.’

‘She invited us here, Amalia. She seems to have forgotten that.’

‘Her Grace has found able deputies. Sir John and Lady Rievers have been perfect hosts. They seem to look on me like a long-lost daughter. I’m going out riding again this afternoon.’

‘What about me?’ muttered Beatrix. ‘I’m your chaperone.’

‘You could always go for a drive in the carriage with Father. It must be rather boring for you to be left here on your own.’

‘It’s the other servants, Miss Amalia,’ complained Beatrix. ‘I can’t get on with them. They’ve all worked for lords and ladies in grand houses and look down on me because I have a humbler station. I’ve heard them laughing behind my back at my voice.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with your voice,’ said Janssen.

‘It’s Dutch, sir. They seem to find that very funny.’

‘I find the English language rather comical at times.’

‘I don’t,’ said Amalia. ‘I like it. I just wish that I could speak it as beautifully as someone like Sir John.’

Janssen smiled. ‘Or someone like Captain Rawson, perhaps?’

‘Oh, I could listen to Daniel speaking English all day.’

‘He sounds better in Dutch to me,’ said Beatrix, bluntly.

She moved away, scouring the terrace in search of another chore. Unlike the others, she hadn’t adjusted to life in a foreign country and was extremely homesick. In their short time at the cottage, Beatrix had lacked a real function. Back in Amsterdam, Amalia would never venture out without taking her maidservant as a chaperone. Yet she’d already gone out riding alone with a man and was preparing to do so for the second time. Janssen understood why Beatrix was so tetchy.

‘I think she’s jealous,’ he suggested.

‘She’s no reason to be, Father.’

‘Beatrix likes to be involved. At the moment, she’s just twiddling her thumbs out of boredom. You and I are having a splendid time here and that makes her envious.’

‘Well, I can hardly take her riding with me,’ said Amalia.

‘And I’m afraid that I can’t invite her to join me for a drive this afternoon. Thanks to Sir John, I’ve had an invitation to visit one of his neighbours who, it transpires, is an avid collector of tapestries. If I take Beatrix,’ he went on, ‘she’d only be in the way.

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