Carola Dunn by Lord Roworth's Reward

Author:Lord Roworth's Reward
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Scarce two hours later, Felix turned off the Dover road, cantered through country lanes, and rode up to Nettledene. Leaving his horse at the stables, he strolled to the walled garden where the groom had said he would find the mistress of the house.

He pushed open the door in the wall of Kentish ragstone, overgrown with creeping jinnie and orange lichen. The air was full of the heady fragrance of sun-warmed herbs: thyme, lavender, mint, rosemary, a dozen he could not name. Rosemary--the scent of Fanny’s hair when he had taken her in his arms to comfort her.

Among the beds of herbs, her back to him, moved a tall, graceful woman dressed in lavender-green, a straw hat hiding all but a single lock of dark red hair. He paused to admire the scene. After four years and two children, Miriam must be thirty, yet her splendid figure was as tempting as ever. Isaac was a lucky devil.

A little boy, about Anita’s age, with hair the bright copper colour of a new penny, ran up to her and tugged urgently on her sleeve.

“Mama!” He pointed and she turned, shading her eyes. The sun had touched her pale porcelain complexion with colour.

“Felix! Amos, you remember Uncle Felix. What a wonderful surprise! I hope you can spare us more than an hour or two this time.”

“I fear not,” he said regretfully. “I am come to ask a favour.”

“What can we do for you? Isaac is in the library. At least come into the house to see him and take some refreshment before you dash off.” She picked up a watering-can, took Amos’s hand in hers, and came to meet him. “Mr Rothschild keeps you busy. You have been in Brussels ever since we last saw you?”

“Yes. Hello, Amos. How is your little sister?”

“She’s on’y a baby,” he said with scorn. “She’s too liccle to play catch prop’ly. She tried to eat my horse.”

“A wooden horse,” Miriam said hastily, “a present on his third birthday. Leah is crawling already, driving poor Hannah to distraction with her poking and prying. Tell me, did you leave Brussels before the battle? The morning papers announced a victory, but they had no details as yet.”

“I brought the news to Mr Rothschild,” Felix said as they left the garden and turned towards the long, low manor house. “Liverpool, Castlereagh, and Bathurst refused to believe it until Wellington’s despatch arrived. As a result, Rothschild made a fortune on ‘Change. He gave me a share, Miriam, a most generous share.” Accustomed to confiding in Miriam and Isaac, he told her, “I can afford now to think of asking for Lady Sophia’s hand.”

“Lady Sophia Gerrold? Whom you met in Vienna? You called her a Goddess, I recall, but I did not realize you were hoping to marry her.”

“She was in Brussels, too.”

“You said she is very beautiful.”

“She is, but more important, she is everything even my parents could look for in a future countess, the daughter of a marquis, well-bred, dignified, elegant.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.