up with him once. He’s going to take me again.”
She heard a little shriek from inside the house and the woman’s lips twitched. “Why don’t you come in and have a hot cup of tea before you start off again? My name is Margaret, and I am Jon’s mother.”
“My name is Rowena.” She didn’t offer her last name, but it wasn’t asked for, and she didn’t want to give the woman a reason to cast her out. Rowena longed to see where Jon lived, where he had grown up. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble?” she asked as she was being ushered inside.
“No, of course not. We don’t get many visitors, but the day we can’t offer a cup of hot tea and some sustenance to a young woman out riding on a day like today is the end of the Wells family.”
Rowena detected a slight burr in Margaret’s voice and wondered whether she was Scottish. She took off her riding cloak as she was ushered through a wide entryway down a long hall with wide pocket doors on either side. Some were closed while others were open, showing cheery fires roaring inside. The ceilings were low and timbered, giving the home a warm, cozy feeling that seemed to be missing from most of Summerset. But then again, Aunt Charlotte was not exactly the warm and cozy type.
“I hope you don’t mind if we have our tea in the kitchen; that is where we live most of the time anyway. With five boys and only one daughter, it just doesn’t seem appropriate to make them have tea in the sitting room, where they are apt to spill something or otherwise make a mess.”
The kitchen was a huge room with a fireplace on one wall, a wood stove on another, and a cooker against the back wall. The walls were round river stones put together with mortar, and Rowena could tell it was the oldest part of the house. Atable made of long wooden planks stood in the middle, while a butcher block the size of a small bed stood to one side.
“Do have a seat at the table. I had just put the tea on when I heard Cristobel’s unearthly scream. I am so sorry about that. As I said, we don’t have much company and I’m afraid I’ve let the girl run wild.”
Rowena heard an annoyed yelp from the hallway but said nothing. She took a seat at the end of the long table, worried that Margaret would start asking questions about her family that she wouldn’t be able to answer truthfully.
In spite of Rowena’s assertions that she help, Margaret bade her to stay seated and had a quick tea set on the table in no time. Then she sat firmly next to Rowena and stared at her with her blue eyes.
Rowena squirmed uncomfortably at Jon’s eyes peering out of his mother’s face.
“How long have you known my son?” she asked.
Rowena ducked her head to hide a smile. That certainly didn’t take long. “Not long. Just a couple of months, really.”
“How did you two meet? I was under the impression that he had no time for anything except his aeroplanes.”
This time Rowena didn’t bother to hide her smile. “I think that’s true. He was flying, or crashing, actually, when we met.”
His mother clapped a hand to her mouth. “So you’re the woman on the hill.”
Rowena shifted. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might have told his family about her. She wondered about his older brother, George, whom she’d met at the skating party and who had been none too happy about her surname. Had he said anything to his mother about her?
“You practically saved Jon’s life!” an awed voice said behind her.
She turned to find that the girl at the door had quickly changed her skirt and brushed out her hair. She served herself a cup of tea and joined them at the table.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Rowena said weakly.
“So he took you up in his plane to say thank you,” Cristobel continued. “He said you were a real trouper. You were hardly afraid at all. I love your riding habit. I outgrew mine and we haven’t enough money to replace it yet, but maybe when George comes home from the
She heard a little shriek from inside the house and the woman’s lips twitched. “Why don’t you come in and have a hot cup of tea before you start off again? My name is Margaret, and I am Jon’s mother.”
“My name is Rowena.” She didn’t offer her last name, but it wasn’t asked for, and she didn’t want to give the woman a reason to cast her out. Rowena longed to see where Jon lived, where he had grown up. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble?” she asked as she was being ushered inside.
“No, of course not. We don’t get many visitors, but the day we can’t offer a cup of hot tea and some sustenance to a young woman out riding on a day like today is the end of the Wells family.”
Rowena detected a slight burr in Margaret’s voice and wondered whether she was Scottish. She took off her riding cloak as she was ushered through a wide entryway down a long hall with wide pocket doors on either side. Some were closed while others were open, showing cheery fires roaring inside. The ceilings were low and timbered, giving the home a warm, cozy feeling that seemed to be missing from most of Summerset. But then again, Aunt Charlotte was not exactly the warm and cozy type.
“I hope you don’t mind if we have our tea in the kitchen; that is where we live most of the time anyway. With five boys and only one daughter, it just doesn’t seem appropriate to make them have tea in the sitting room, where they are apt to spill something or otherwise make a mess.”
The kitchen was a huge room with a fireplace on one wall, a wood stove on another, and a cooker against the back wall. The walls were round river stones put together with mortar, and Rowena could tell it was the oldest part of the house. Atable made of long wooden planks stood in the middle, while a butcher block the size of a small bed stood to one side.
“Do have a seat at the table. I had just put the tea on when I heard Cristobel’s unearthly scream. I am so sorry about that. As I said, we don’t have much company and I’m afraid I’ve let the girl run wild.”
Rowena heard an annoyed yelp from the hallway but said nothing. She took a seat at the end of the long table, worried that Margaret would start asking questions about her family that she wouldn’t be able to answer truthfully.
In spite of Rowena’s assertions that she help, Margaret bade her to stay seated and had a quick tea set on the table in no time. Then she sat firmly next to Rowena and stared at her with her blue eyes.
Rowena squirmed uncomfortably at Jon’s eyes peering out of his mother’s face.
“How long have you known my son?” she asked.
Rowena ducked her head to hide a smile. That certainly didn’t take long. “Not long. Just a couple of months, really.”
“How did you two meet? I was under the impression that he had no time for anything except his aeroplanes.”
This time Rowena didn’t bother to hide her smile. “I think that’s true. He was flying, or crashing, actually, when we met.”
His mother clapped a hand to her mouth. “So you’re the woman on the hill.”
Rowena shifted. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might have told his family about her. She wondered about his older brother, George, whom she’d met at the skating party and who had been none too happy about her surname. Had he said anything to his mother about her?
“You practically saved Jon’s life!” an awed voice said behind her.
She turned to find that the girl at the door had quickly changed her skirt and brushed out her hair. She served herself a cup of tea and joined them at the table.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Rowena said weakly.
“So he took you up in his plane to say thank you,” Cristobel continued. “He said you were a real trouper. You were hardly afraid at all. I love your riding habit. I outgrew mine and we haven’t enough money to replace it yet, but maybe when George comes home from the
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