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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“And who is this strapping lad tagging along with you?” She laughed. “I can hardly ask, ‘What’s this the cat’s dragged in?’ He’s too brawny for that.”
Stepping closer, stretching out his hand, Blackie said, “Shane O’Neill is my name, but most call me Blackie. It’s Siobhan’s cousin that I am, so it is.”
Cook gripped his hand, nodded and said, “Irish, eh? Well, take the weight off your feet, and I’ll give you both a mug of tea.”
“I just have to see Her Ladyship,” Siobhan said to the cook, Mrs. Felton by name. “I need to speak to her urgently.”
“Get along with you then; do your duty. Tea will be waiting when you get back.”
Siobhan nodded and ran out of the kitchen, smiling to herself as she heard Blackie complimenting Cook on the delicious smells floating around her kitchen. Hasn’t he kissed the Blarney Stone? she thought, as she crossed the stone hall.
Thirty
They sat together on an iron garden seat in the back gardens of Bolton Manor.
Hatton, the butler, had suggested they wait there while he spoke to Lord Lassiter.
Siobhan, following the direction of Blackie’s gaze, and then glancing at him, knew how he felt. He did not like the gardens and that was a certainty. His face was full of dismay.
“They need a bit of work, don’t they?” she said, her eyes on him intently. “Poor gardens.”
“I’d say a lot of work,” he replied. “They’re a right mess … a muddle, sure and it is. No plan. Bushes, flower beds, the lawns, a fountain where it shouldn’t be. And the lake obscured by more bushes.”
“I bet you could put it right?”
“Aye, I could that. But I’m not going to, Siobhan. I’m a builder of houses, not a gardener, now.”
“I know. But it’s a shame. Maybe you could recommend somebody.”
“I can’t,” he said brusquely, a tone not usual for him.
“Oh, here comes Lord Lassiter, down the terrace.” Immediately Siobhan stood up and so did Blackie, and they walked toward the terrace.
“Welcome, Blackie,” Lord Lassiter said. “How nice it is to see you again after all these years.”
“Thank ye, and it is a real treat for me, to see ye, Lord Lassiter.”
“A treat indeed. Hatton told me how you ran into Siobhan today. Quite by accident. A lucky accident, I’d have to say. Apparently you were able to have a bite together.”
“Yes, Your Lordship. And thank you for letting me stay the night. Siobhan and me, well, we talked a lot, and I knew the last train ter Leeds would get me in very late.”