Chapters (71)
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Part Two
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Part Three
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Part Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Part Five
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford
- About the Author
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“I have a friend, a lady friend, and she invited me to come today. When I arrived at her aunt’s house at noon, she wasn’t there. Everything was locked. A neighbor said she might be back this afternoon. I decided I couldn’t wait. Ye see, it had begun ter drizzle, and I was—well, a bit put out. It’s not the first time she’s done something odd.”
“I understand; you should be annoyed. It’s not nice to mess you around. So are you going back later, then?”
“Not on your life. I’m not going ter be played for a fool.”
“So where are you going when we leave Hettys?”
“I’ll have ter try and get a train back ter Leeds. I don’t know when they leave.”
“Don’t do that! I’ve got a better idea!”
“And what is it?” he asked, filled with curiosity.
“Come back with me to the house. Lord Lassiter will be glad to see you, and so will Her Ladyship.”
“But it’s too far ter go out to Bolton Manor, and then come back ter Harrogate ter catch a train,” Blackie pointed out.
“You can go back to Leeds on Sunday. There’re lots of empty rooms in the servants’ quarters. They won’t mind, the Lassiters, I mean. They’ll let you stay; I just know they will. They often ask about you.”
“Are ye sure, Siobhan?” Blackie asked, sounding doubtful.
“Oh yes, I am. You were always their favorite.”
Twenty-Nine
The drizzling rain had stopped, and sunlight filled the air with a golden glow. Suddenly it was a nice day.
“Sunshine,” Blackie said with a laugh. “Nowt like Yorkshire weather! It changes in three shakes of a lamb’s tail. It reminds me of Ireland.”
His cousin nodded, and then explained, “It’s not too far to Bolton Manor, about half an hour at a steady pace.”
“Oh, I thought it was farther away than that, closer to Studley Royal.”
“No, nearer to Harrogate. His Lordship likes it up here in July and August, when guests come to stay. You know, for the shooting in August.”
“Aye, a lot of people do that. Can’t say I do.… Shooting little birds is not a pastime I’d go for. I find it a bit cruel in fact, Siobhan.”
“I know what you mean. But the toffs like it. The men anyway. Most of the ladies don’t go roaming the moors with guns in their hands, murdering birds.”
Blackie didn’t respond, and they walked on in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts.