Free The Time Baroness (The Time Mistress Series) by Georgina Young- Ellis Page A

upon which sat a rose-themed tea set.
    “Oh, my dear,” said Lady Holcomb, once she was settled on the sofa, and the tea and delicacies had been delivered. Cassandra sat on an opposite chair. “Did you hear about the gentleman that purchased Gatewick House? He is to move in any day!”
    “I think I met him,” said Cassandra.
    “You met him? How on earth?”
    “He was lost the other day, and came by asking for directions. I was in the garden looking a fright.”
    “Oh no, I am sure you were not.” She paused. “I heard he was a bachelor.”
    “Well, we did not discuss his marital status,” said Cassandra, stirring one of her tiny pills into her tea.
    “His marital status!” Lady Holcomb cackled. “You have such a way of putting things. So, what was he like?” She teetered on the edge of the flowery cushion.
    “Well, I couldn’t see his face very clearly under his hat, but he seemed about thirty-five or forty, very pleasant, but, you know, we did not get that familiar.”
    “Oh, Cassandra, really! You should visit him. You are just bold enough to do such a thing!”
    “I am not!” cried Cassandra. “How would that appear, an old widow calling upon a gentleman? He will think I am looking to catch a husband.”
    “And are you not?” She laughed.
    “Charlotte, I have told you a hundred times, I have no interest in remarrying! Why do I need a husband to tell me what to do? You, on the other hand—”
    “Need someone to tell me what to do? I should say not. Besides, I am too old for him.” Lady Holcomb lounged back into the sofa with her cup in her hand. “Well, anyway, if you have already met him, then it would not be improper for him to call on you, now would it, and I am sure he will, as soon as he gets settled. I shall ask Jeffrey to pay him a visit on our behalf and invite him to tea. I suppose Jane will consider him too old for her.”
    “Charlotte, he is at least twenty years older than Jane.”
    “Well, what difference does that make?” she laughed, “if he is handsome and he has money, which he obviously does.”
    “You are terrible,” observed Cassandra.
    “Really? Why? Here they are! Come, you two, say hello to Mrs. Franklin.”
    Her children sat to eat after greeting Cassandra.
    “Have I told you,” continued Charlotte, “that Jeffrey’s assignment is expected to come into port by the end of the summer? He will then be off at sea for who knows how long! He is sure to be made a captain in no time.”
    “No, mother, it does not work like that!” He addressed Cassandra. “My mother seems to be an expert on naval matters.” At eighteen he was tall, with dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a crooked, yet engaging smile.
    Jane listened quietly as her mother and brother disputed his future. She had a round face with a little round chin, thick, light brown hair and warm brown eyes. Her dimples flashed as she turned her smile from her older brother to Cassandra.
    Cassandra nodded and made brief comments as she ate and drank her tea. She had heard the same conversation more than once before. She lingered a respectable amount of time, and then made her excuses to leave.
     “I know you want to rush home to your piano.” Lady Holcomb said to her as they dallied in the entry way, waiting for the maid to fetch Cassandra’s bonnet and shawl. “I have never known a grown woman to be so devoted to her instrument. I thought young ladies became accomplished in order to impress young men, and then they gave it all up when the demands of home and children pressed in upon them. Only a true artiste devotes themselves to an instrument all their lives. I declare you are an eccentric!”
    “Yes, maybe I am,” her friend admitted.
    Lady Holcomb walked Cassandra out to the gate. The smell of wet earth filled the air, and the women breathed it in.
    “Now, you must inform me at once if that Mr. Johnston calls on you,” said the lady.
    “And you must tell me if Jeffrey has the opportunity to meet him,”