The Charm School by SUSAN WIGGS

Author:SUSAN WIGGS
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2021-05-18T20:13:02+00:00

* * *

Isadora had no appetite for supper, though the meal was both delicious and exotic. There was avocado seasoned with vinegar, yams and beefsteak and two kinds of wine, melon and guava and lemony ice shaved from the large block Ryan had brought his aunt as a gift.

Yet for all the bounty, Isadora could only pick at her food. She felt jumpy and out of sorts, and she wasn’t sure why. Eagerness, she decided, studying the ochre walls of the dining room, the arched doorway and windows with their carved wooden screens. That, and a decided enchantment with this strange new place, with the fragrance of orchids and tamarind trees and the strains of soft guitar music that came from the servants’ wing.

And disillusionment with Ryan. The moment he’d reached shore, he’d gone looking for a woman, which he had made a point of explaining to her without apology.

“There’s so much to see,” Lily declared. “And in such a short time.”

“It doesn’t have to be short,” Rose said. “You could stay with me.”

“Here?”

“Of course. What is there at Albion for you?”

Lily took a sip of her wine. “Albion is my home. It’s where I raised my son and buried my husband. My stepson has two children I barely know. I spent too long on the Continent. I can’t stay away forever.”

Ryan eyed her keenly. “Father’s dead and I’ll never live at Albion again, Mama. I think Aunt Rose has a fine idea. Let Hunter have Albion. He never needed us anyway.”

Hunter. Isadora tried to picture the stepbrother—older, of course. Dissolute, with a big red nose from drinking all those mint juleps on the porch while his slaves worked themselves to death in the fields.

“What are his children like?” Rose asked.

“I hardly know—they were both in leading strings when I left. The boy’s name is Theodore and his sister is Belinda. Hunter’s wife—her name is Lacey—didn’t welcome my attention.” A wistful expression softened Lily’s face. “I would have liked to be a grandmama.” The expression vanished as she drilled Ryan with a stare. “Perhaps one day someone of my own flesh and blood will oblige me.”

Ryan laughed. “I know I performed a small miracle in getting us here so fast, but even I would have trouble having a baby.”

Rose burst out laughing. Her sister merely shook her head. “Whatever shall I do with the boy?”

Isadora took a very small bite of melon, chewed it carefully and swallowed. She prayed they would not see the hot blush that stained her cheeks.

“We’ve embarrassed our guest with all this bawdy talk,” Rose said. “Shame on us.”

“No, really—”

“Nonsense, my dear. Let us move on to politer topics.” She folded her unfashionably sunbrowned arms on the table. “You are a most intelligent young lady. Lily was telling me you’ve a gift for languages.”

Isadora shook her head. “If the conversation I heard at the wharves today was any indication, I am no expert.”

“She’s being modest,” Ryan said. “She’s the best interpreter I’ve ever heard.”

She blinked. After her performance with the harbor pilot, she hadn’t expected praise.

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.