Free Carisbrooke Abbey by Amanda Grange Page A

hundreds of years. If she had been accepted at the abbey, she would have enjoyed arranging them.
    An idea occurred to her. If she made a start on organizing the library then Lord Carisbrooke might change his mind about appointing her. Once he saw that she was diligent, he might decide she could stay. And if not, it would at least give her something to do whilst she was forced to remain.
    She lay her pelisse over the back of the chair, and put her bonnet and gloves on the seat. Then she began to empty the first shelf, the one that was easiest to reach. She carried the books, scrolls and manuscripts over to the table and dipped into them to see what they contained. It soon became clear that whilst some of them related to the abbey, being either plans or deeds or other such documents, some were works of learning, and others were works of fiction. The plans arrested her attention. Here was something straight out of the pages of a Gothic romance, for the abbey possessed a number of secret passages. Having seen an age of religious persecution, in common with many old houses it had a number of passages leading to secret rooms where priests could be hidden. Fortunately such hiding places were no longer needed.
    She turned her attention back to the task in hand. Once she had sorted the ancient tomes she wanted to return them to the shelf. It was, however, very dusty. She went over to the dust sheets. On top of them were laid a number of small rags, evidently intended for cleaning.
    She set to with a will, dusting the shelves and then replacing the books and scrolls, now neatly organized. She was just about to start on the second shelf when the door opened and Mr Ulverstone entered.
    ‘So there you are!’ he said with a charming smile. He glanced round the room, and evidently realized what she was doing. He frowned. ‘I thought my cousin refused to appoint you as his librarian.’
    ‘He did. But I must have something to do, and I thought that if I could make a good job of it ....’ She trailed away as she saw Mr Ulverstone’s expression.
    ‘You must do as you wish, of course, but my cousin does not like to be crossed. I fear he will not be pleased.’ His frown cleared. ‘But enough of this. Whatever Marcus’s thoughts on the matter, you have been working hard and need a rest. I have come to ask you if I can persuade you to give me a game of cards or chess.’
    Hilary hesitated. She would really rather continue with her work, but seeing no way out, she gave in with a good grace.
    ‘Willingly,’ she said.
    He offered her his arm, and together they went into the drawing-room, where the cards had been laid out on an inlaid table.
    He held out her chair for her, then sat down opposite her, flicking up the tails of his coat as he did so.
    ‘What would you like to play?’ he asked, picking up the cards and shuffling them with a proficient air.
    ‘I don’t know many card games,’ she confessed.
    ‘Then you should! They form an agreeable way of spending a winter evening. I will teach you.’ He put the cards down on the table. ‘Would you like to make a small wager, to render the game more interesting?’ he asked with a smile.
    ‘I think I’d better not,’ she said ruefully. ‘I could not afford to lose!’
    He laughed. ‘You are very wise. In London the stakes are so high that entire fortunes can be won or lost on the turn of a card! Now, I suggest we start with piquet.’
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Chapter 5
    Marcus prowled back to the folly, looking about him all the while. Once there, he gave it a thorough search and then proceeded to search the shrubbery. At last, frustrated, he turned his steps into the heart of the shrubbery, following what was little more than a track. At the end of it, after several twists and turns, he came to a small cottage. Taking a moment to prepare himself, he knocked three times. The door opened, and an elderly woman opened the door. She was of middling height and had greying hair scraped back from her face in