Harlequin Historical July 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Rebel Outlaw\The Scarlet Gown\Betrayed, Betrothed and Bedded by Carol Arens

Author:Carol Arens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

The last few yards to where Margaret and Sir Timothy waited were barely sufficient for Lucy to recover from the horror of Mr Cottingham’s words. She could not believe it. Ralph would not do such a thing. But could she be sure? Her own parents had kept from her the truth about their finances and she had never guessed. Even after her father’s death Mama had said nothing, until the truth could be concealed no longer. And if Mama could hide things from her, how much easier, then, for a man she had known barely three weeks? Lucy moved away from Adam Cottingham and fixed herself with Margaret, engaging her in conversation as they walked back through the old ride and the park.

Lucy thought perhaps it was her disordered thoughts that made the remainder of the journey uncomfortably hot, but as they made their way across the gardens to the house she noticed the heavy black cloud bubbling up on the horizon.

‘We shall have a storm soon, I think,’ opined Margaret, following her glance. ‘Good thing, too. Clear the air.’

‘Well, I for one am ready for my dinner,’ declared Lord Wetherell as they all made their way into the house. He took out his watch. ‘And, by Jove, there is barely time to bathe and change. I hope that new-fangled range of yours can cope with supplying so much hot water in one go, Adversane?’

‘Of course it can.’ Sir Timothy laughed, clapping his host on the shoulder. ‘Next thing we know he will have found a way to pump it up to the bedrooms, ain’t that so, my boy?’

‘I am working on it,’ replied Ralph, smiling a little.

The party dispersed, and Lucy felt a hand on her arm.

‘One moment.’ Ralph detained her. ‘You professed an interest in the orrery. Perhaps you would like to come into the library and see it now.’

She swallowed. She would much rather not be alone with Ralph at that moment, but short of running away she had no choice. She followed him to the library.

It was not a room she was familiar with. It was such a large, lofty chamber that until the house party it had been rarely used and she had come in here only to gaze at the thousands of books on display and to choose one of the more popular novels to read. Now she noted that there was a large terrestrial globe beside the desk, and Ralph pointed out to her the odd-shaped lamps positioned on shelves and side tables around the room.

‘Argand lamps,’ he told her. ‘They burn oil, but in a way that makes them ten times as bright as any candle. Excellent for reading in the winter.’

When I will no longer be here.

In just over a week’s time, the end of the month, she would be gone. Life at Adversane would go on as it always had done but she would not be there to share it. Lucy did not know why she found the thought so depressing.

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