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Back Pengarron Dynasty
Chapters (50)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. One
  4. Two
  5. Three
  6. Four
  7. Five
  8. Six
  9. Seven
  10. Eight
  11. Nine
  12. Ten
  13. Eleven
  14. Twelve
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-One
  34. Thirty-Two
  35. Thirty-Three
  36. Thirty-Four
  37. Thirty-Five
  38. Thirty-Six
  39. Thirty-Seven
  40. Thirty-Eight
  41. Thirty-Nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-One
  44. Forty-Two
  45. Forty-Three
  46. Forty-Four
  47. Forty-Five
  48. Forty-Six
  49. The Pengarron Sagas
  50. The Harvey Family Sagas

‘You don’t hate it, do you? I know it’s only a tiny cottage but it’s thoroughly waterproof, quite warm in winter, isn’t it, Jack? And every room has a fireplace, hasn’t it, Jack?’ Luke had fastened an anxious expression on her as she had gazed about the one and only living room of Jack’s home. A short time earlier she had succumbed to a fierce bout of morning sickness, and although a little rested after a night in a proper bed with clean linen and feeling more secure, she had been glad to sit down on one of the oddments that made up a trio of chairs. She had worn a cotton day dress of a delicate floral pattern, donated by Lady Pengarron, a pretty affair but very ordinary compared to what she was used to.

Before she could reply, Luke had prattled on, ‘The manor’s attics are full of furnishings, all good stuff. I’ll have some sent round. Or you and Jack can climb up there yourselves and choose anything that takes your fancy. I’ll arrange for it to be sent round immediately. Or I can buy new, as much as you want. Absolutely anything, just say. What’s in the other room, Jack?’

‘The kitchen, but I’ve always eaten with Esther and Ruth, so I use it to store a few belongings in,’ Jack had said, smiling at her in a way that sought her approval. ‘I’ll move it all out today, turn the room into a little parlour for you, Alicia.’

‘That is good of you. Thank you, Jack.’ To her relief, at Luke’s insistence Jack was not to return to work for two or three days, until his hands were quite healed. Sir Oliver had agreed to this, on the proviso Jack oversaw the stables twice a day. Jack was home, with time on his hands and, he had told her emphatically, he wasn’t about to fritter it away as he’d done in London.

‘Good,’ Luke said. ‘You see, Alicia, there will definitely be no skivvying for you. I’m afraid you’ll have to do without a maid. That would raise too many eyebrows, eh, Jack?’

‘Yes, Luke. I’m sorry, Alicia.’

‘Don’t be sorry. I can’t forget that I lost my maid in the fire, and I’ve managed without one before. In fact, I’ve had to attend to many of the duties of a servant. My father had a little land near Alex’s estate, but there were no comforts in the house.’

‘My dear Alicia,’ Luke was suddenly all sympathy, ‘I’ve never really thought about your family. Where are your relatives? Would the Society know of their existence?’