Free Where Love Shines by Donna Fletcher Crow Page A

accompany them on their visits. It took me only one experience to discover that a costermonger or policeman would be more welcome in a drawing room than a blind man as soon as the novelty of entertaining a war hero has worn off. ‘What
does
one say when he sloshes his tea, my dear?’”
    Jenny forced a small laugh at his bitter humor. Then she noticed the odd papers on his desk with the little rows of bumps on them. “But what are those papers? I’ve never seen anything like them.”
    “It’s my excuse for taking refuge in here. A French fellow named Louis Braille invented a method for the blind to read and write using a system of raised dots. Mama is most enthusiastic that I should learn it, and so she will excuse me from any other activity if I tell her I wish to read. It doesn’t work as well on Livvy, however, for she is still convinced my sight will improve, and I’ll have no need of such rigmarole.”
    “And what does your doctor say?”
    “My ‘doctor’ includes half the sawbones on Harley Street to whom Mama has dragged me off. Although she is energetic at the present, Mama has long suffered sporadic bouts of invalidism. She is well acquainted with that community. We have yet to find one doctor with a cogent idea of what to do beyond rubbing my eyelids with citron and spermaceti ointment and hoping for the best.”
    Jennifer could think of no reply, so she asked, “What are you reading?”
    “Nothing. This confounded system is so slow. Or rather I am so slow at it. I have no patience for this. If I had such inclination, I would have remained quietly reading law at Cambridge instead of convincing Father to purchase my commission. My dear mother entertains notions of my returning to something like that, and I haven’t the heart to dissuade her. After all, she is Lady Eccleson’s niece—she will admit to nothing, even blindness, being more than an inconvenience. And surely one could form a committee to deal with even that. The trouble is, I have never been the least good at waiting. I always thought Milton’s line ‘they also serve who only stand and wait’ the silliest sentiment in all literature. Now I know it so.” He pushed his chair back abruptly and rose to his feet with a jerk. He began pacing a small area in front of the corner bookshelves.
    Jennifer held her breath lest he crash into the furniture. Should she rescue the porcelain urn from the pedestal next to the chair on the far wall?
    “Richard—”
    He seemed to sense her uneasiness. “What? Are you fearing for the family porcelains? A priceless collection, as is appropriate for a pottery owner, Aunt Charlotte will tell you. Relax. I can see shapes well enough to identify objects. I can tell a cat from a dog, a horse from a cow, and a man from a woman quite readily. Useful knowledge to possess. The trouble is, I can only bear to look at anything if the room or weather is too dark for even a clear-sighted person to see well. So what it comes to is that I could see a meager amount if I could bear to see at all.”
    “So Livvy’s optimism isn’t entirely without foundation?”
    “That depends on what one is being optimistic about. It’s clear I’ll never be of use to my regiment again.”
    “And therefore you can never be of use to anyone?” If Jennifer had hoped to goad him into moderating his position, his next words made it clear that she had failed.
    “It’s hard to see how. I certainly have no desire to join the Inns of Court and qualify as a solicitor. And my brother George will take over the pottery one day.” He flung his lanky form into a wing-backed chair. As if to demonstrate his imperfect vision, he hit the chair slightly sideways and knocked it into the bookshelf, but did not fail to find the seat. Ignoring the ruckus he made, he continued, “Since you went to such considerable trouble to save my life, I suppose I owe it to you to explain this the best I can. It is as if I had ridden Legend at a full gallop