Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- 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
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- The Pengarron Sagas
- The Harvey Family Sagas
‘Master Samuel is a wonderful little boy. Now I am expecting a happy event, perhaps we could swap notes on child care.’ Alicia had never taken care of a child in her life, but she had the art of making a conversant believe whatever she wanted them to. Anything she learned from Cordelia would be useful for her impending motherhood.
‘Yes, indeed. If I may say,’ and Cordelia blushed, ‘you and Jack are obviously a love match. Did… did Mr Luke meet anyone special while in London?’
Jack had filled Alicia in on Cordelia’s background. Born to a poor fisherman, who had turned out to be Sir Oliver’s half-brother, something Sir Oliver had not known himself until after the unfortunate fisherman had been lost in a storm at sea, Cordelia had lived at the manor since her mother’s untimely death. It had not taken long for Alicia to see that Cordelia, a thoroughly likeable little soul, transparent and honest, her accent very much like Lady Pengarron’s, in pointing to her origins, did not entirely fit into her uplifted station, that she felt gauche and uneasy around men, and that she was hopelessly in love with Luke.
She said what the other young woman wanted to hear, ‘No, Miss Drannock, he didn’t seem to enjoy much of London at all, and I can vouchsafe he spent very little time with any lady. He enjoyed the theatre, was always enthusiastic about the plays.’ She added swiftly, ‘So Jack informed me.’
‘He’s been offhand, secretive and more bad-tempered than usual since his return. He’s hardly strung two sentences together for me, and we used to be so close.’
‘Take heart, Miss Drannock, give him a little more time. I’m sure he just needs to readapt to his old ways.’
What a lot of lies I’ve just told, Alicia reflected. Quite the order of my new life.
Eight
Unaware of the various emotions simmering inside some of those gathered around the ancient granite font, Kane and Jessica Pengarron presented their baby, Harry Oliver Clemow to God, the Reverend Timothy Lanyon and the invited assembly.
While having a fondness for his daughter-in-law, Oliver felt it a pity Kane had fallen in love with her. He was furious his grandchild should bear Clem Trenchard’s name. Trenchard was behaving as the wretch should, humbly, politely detached towards Kerensa, attentive to his own wife. He had better not step out of line, not once!
Oliver stood slightly in front of Kerensa. He knew she was vexed about it, but he had the right to keep Trenchard out of her line of vision.