The Ashes of Everstone Court: A Regency Romance (Avington-Nottingham Series Book 3) by Iris Lim

Author:Iris Lim [Lim, Iris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-09T16:00:00+00:00

Two days after he had finally managed to speak to the widow, Harold ventured once more into Grenton. His excuses for visiting the bustling little town had been growing flimsier by the day, but Edgar and Heather were kind enough not to question him. There had been a curious glance or two, but nothing more.

And today, his vigil was rewarded by the sight of the woman he sought, at her favorite corner, distributing the usual loaves and pastries to the energetic children. Harold waited for the initial wave of activity to subside before he approached, his steps measured and careful.

"Look, it's the gent!" Jimmy shouted once Harold was a few steps away.

To his surprise, the children looked up and all gathered around him instead.

"Will you dance with us, sir?"

"Will you teach us today?"

Several questions, some muttered and some loudly exclaimed, surrounded him. Harold glanced up, a little helplessly, at where the widow and her servant stood. Both women looked back at him with their backs straight and their heads level. If this was a test, he was loathe to fail it.

"I would be glad to," Harold answered the children, receiving loud cheers in response. With another glance at the widow, who seemed to be watching intently from underneath her veil, Harold proceeded to offer a dance to the next little girl in line.

"My turn!" a scrawny young girl who looked small enough to be five or six and yet acted old enough to be closer to ten eagerly announced. The other children made way for her, and Harold approached the child with a gallant bow.

"May I have this dance?" he inquired solemnly.

"Yes, sir!" The girl giggled, as did all the others. Harold thought he caught a murmur or two from one of the older ones about his being handsome. He thought it best to ignore such remarks as he endeavored to dance with the little girl.

Their dancing was nothing like proper dancing and nowhere close to what country dances ought to be like. If anything, Harold mostly stepped blithely from side to side and swayed the little girls by their arms whenever they wished. Yet there was no mistaking the joy on the children's faces, their cheeks ruddy with the exercise. A few dances later, one of the taller, older boys approached.

"Ye reckon ye can teach me, sir? How to do the men's part?" There was a tremble to the young man's lips, betraying nervousness underneath his feigned nonchalance.

"You have a lady you wish to impress then?" Harold asked with a gentle smile.

"That is, if you can, sir." The boy stood his ground despite hushed whispers from the other children.

Harold wished he had half the child's backbone all his life. The pampered life of a younger son, especially one armed with the knowledge that his father was wise enough to have set aside a separate inheritance for each of his five children, had never tested Harold much. Life had rarely been purposeful, but it had always been charmed. Was it

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.