seat.
Athena sat motionless inside, and said not a word as the extra passenger took her place. The silence was very heavy and embarrassing, and Blanche wished more than anything that SirEdmund Brandon had left her to complete her journey in the pony and trap.
Jake was already driving swiftly on toward the village, and as Sir Edmund climbed into the carriage and closed the door, Richards urged the team into action again.
The Red Lion alehouse stood on the edge of Amberley St Mary, and it was bright with lamplight as the trap drove past, followed by the carriage. Raucous laughter and the sound of bawdy singing emanated from the open doorway, but there was no one to see the odd little procession. The lane swept uphill toward the armorial gates of Amberley Court at the top, dissecting a wide expanse of green that was lined on either side by a haphazard scattering of thatched, half-timbered cottages. Christmas wreaths adorned the neat doors, candles glowed in windows, and woodsmoke curled up from the chimneys, to be wafted away by the cold draft of air coming inland from the sea.
Orchard Cottage, Blanche’s home, was the dwelling closest to the gates. It was fairly large by village standards, with latticed windows peeping sleepily from beneath a sprawling thatched roof, and it had become the Amberley family’s residence because it was part of the estate and had happened to be empty at the time of the financial blow that had so reduced their circumstances . Behind it stretched the ancient cider apple orchard from which it took its name, and in front of it was a neat garden, with an ash path that led away from a gate flanked by two holly trees. The only lighted window was that of Blanche’s father’s bedroom, where candles glowed behind the green-and- white-chintz curtains.
Richards maneuvered the carriage to a standstill by the cottage gate, while Jake drove the trap on around to the back of the cottage, where a little stable looked out onto a walled yard.
Sir Edmund opened the carriage door and climbed down, turning to hold his hand out to Blanche. The silence had continued in the vehicle, but Blanche now felt a belated desire to warm the atmosphere if she possibly could. She turned to Athena. ‘I-I hope you’ll be very happy at Amberley Court, Lady Hetherington.’
‘Do you indeed,’ came the chilly reply, and Athena lookedpointedly away.
Wishing she hadn’t weakened, Blanche accepted Sir Edmund’s hand and alighted, but if she thought that that was to be the end of the unwanted encounter, she was mistaken, for far from taking immediate leave of her, he opened the gate and showed every intention of escorting her to the door.
‘There’s no need, Sir Edmund,’ she said quickly, glancing back into the carriage.
‘On the contrary, Miss Amberley, there’s every need,’ he replied.
There was nothing for it but to do as he wished, and as they proceeded up the ash path she heard the back door of the cottage close, as Hannah went in from the yard. Amoment later, candlelight flickered beneath the front door as the housekeeper waited discreetly inside to answer the expected knock.
At the door with its holly wreath and crimson ribbons, Sir Edmund turned to face Blanche. ‘Miss Amberley, it seems very likely that our paths are going to cross from time to time now that I’ve at last taken up residence here, and although our original meeting was far from agreeable, and our second one barely less so, I do hope that we can get along from now on. It isn’t my wish to be at daggers drawn, I promise you.’
‘Nor is it mine, sir,’ she replied, suddenly able to smile at him. ‘Thank you for your kind assistance tonight.’
‘Not at all, for it seems to me that the fault was probably on both sides. Richards was proceeding too quickly, and you were proceeding too invisibly.’
‘Yes, I fear we were. Sir Edmund…?’
‘Miss Amberley?’
‘I’m truly sorry about Lady Hetherington’s clothes, but it was an
Athena sat motionless inside, and said not a word as the extra passenger took her place. The silence was very heavy and embarrassing, and Blanche wished more than anything that SirEdmund Brandon had left her to complete her journey in the pony and trap.
Jake was already driving swiftly on toward the village, and as Sir Edmund climbed into the carriage and closed the door, Richards urged the team into action again.
The Red Lion alehouse stood on the edge of Amberley St Mary, and it was bright with lamplight as the trap drove past, followed by the carriage. Raucous laughter and the sound of bawdy singing emanated from the open doorway, but there was no one to see the odd little procession. The lane swept uphill toward the armorial gates of Amberley Court at the top, dissecting a wide expanse of green that was lined on either side by a haphazard scattering of thatched, half-timbered cottages. Christmas wreaths adorned the neat doors, candles glowed in windows, and woodsmoke curled up from the chimneys, to be wafted away by the cold draft of air coming inland from the sea.
Orchard Cottage, Blanche’s home, was the dwelling closest to the gates. It was fairly large by village standards, with latticed windows peeping sleepily from beneath a sprawling thatched roof, and it had become the Amberley family’s residence because it was part of the estate and had happened to be empty at the time of the financial blow that had so reduced their circumstances . Behind it stretched the ancient cider apple orchard from which it took its name, and in front of it was a neat garden, with an ash path that led away from a gate flanked by two holly trees. The only lighted window was that of Blanche’s father’s bedroom, where candles glowed behind the green-and- white-chintz curtains.
Richards maneuvered the carriage to a standstill by the cottage gate, while Jake drove the trap on around to the back of the cottage, where a little stable looked out onto a walled yard.
Sir Edmund opened the carriage door and climbed down, turning to hold his hand out to Blanche. The silence had continued in the vehicle, but Blanche now felt a belated desire to warm the atmosphere if she possibly could. She turned to Athena. ‘I-I hope you’ll be very happy at Amberley Court, Lady Hetherington.’
‘Do you indeed,’ came the chilly reply, and Athena lookedpointedly away.
Wishing she hadn’t weakened, Blanche accepted Sir Edmund’s hand and alighted, but if she thought that that was to be the end of the unwanted encounter, she was mistaken, for far from taking immediate leave of her, he opened the gate and showed every intention of escorting her to the door.
‘There’s no need, Sir Edmund,’ she said quickly, glancing back into the carriage.
‘On the contrary, Miss Amberley, there’s every need,’ he replied.
There was nothing for it but to do as he wished, and as they proceeded up the ash path she heard the back door of the cottage close, as Hannah went in from the yard. Amoment later, candlelight flickered beneath the front door as the housekeeper waited discreetly inside to answer the expected knock.
At the door with its holly wreath and crimson ribbons, Sir Edmund turned to face Blanche. ‘Miss Amberley, it seems very likely that our paths are going to cross from time to time now that I’ve at last taken up residence here, and although our original meeting was far from agreeable, and our second one barely less so, I do hope that we can get along from now on. It isn’t my wish to be at daggers drawn, I promise you.’
‘Nor is it mine, sir,’ she replied, suddenly able to smile at him. ‘Thank you for your kind assistance tonight.’
‘Not at all, for it seems to me that the fault was probably on both sides. Richards was proceeding too quickly, and you were proceeding too invisibly.’
‘Yes, I fear we were. Sir Edmund…?’
‘Miss Amberley?’
‘I’m truly sorry about Lady Hetherington’s clothes, but it was an
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