Free Patricia Veryan - [Sanguinet Saga 04] - Love's Duet by Patricia Veryan Page B

snug waist below which the full skirt swept out over
several petticoats. She wore no jewellery save for a large amethyst
ring that had been a gift from her brother. She touched it tenderly,
wondering how he was faring on this beautiful autumn morning.
    In the Great Hall a polite but decidedly unfriendly Thompson
informed her that the master had not gone riding. His advice as to
where "the master" was was lost in a burst of shouting and hammering
that emanated from a room at the head of the south wing. Sophia gave
him one of her most bewitching smiles and made her way to the rear
terrace.
    It was a heavenly morning, the sunlight warm, the air like wine. She
felt refreshed and lighthearted as she wandered down the steps and
across the lawns toward the flower beds. She turned back then to survey
the house. From this vantage point it appeared even larger than she had
supposed and much less gloomy. The lawns rose humplike behind each wing
of the house in two long mounds that stretched out beyond the slope of
the hill like crumbling arms, digging deep into the ground.
    "Those," said a familiar deep voice at her elbow, "are the upper levels of the catacombs."
    The Marquis wore dark-brown corduroy breeches and an open-throated
white shirt, the collar folding back over a leather hunting jacket. He
carried a gun over his left arm but had no game bag, nor was he
accompanied by either loader or dog, which she thought peculiar.
    He scanned her appreciatively and observed that she appeared to have
enjoyed a good night's sleep despite its interruptions. She assured him
that she had scarcely slept a wink, but the twinkle in his eyes so
flustered her that she added hurriedly, "Is it not rather unusual to
name a home after a crab?"
    "Perhaps. But it was built in reverse, you see. The kitchens and
servants' halls are at the front. The main rooms of the house, to the
rear."
    He turned as he spoke to survey the rambling building. Pride came
into his face, and she realized he loved the Priory. With an effort she
tore her gaze from him and turned, also, to the house. "Surely it was
built to embrace the view," she mused. "Whoever designed it catered to
beauty rather than custom. And very wisely. It is much prettier to the
west."
    He was silent, but she sensed that he was pleased. His eyes were on her again, and her heart began to beat faster.
    With nervousness, of course. "The rooms you have remodelled are
perfectly lovely," she remarked. "Do you really intend to restore the
entire building?"
    "Money thrown away?" he asked, with a faintly sardonic smile.
    She thought of the fortune her father had squandered and of Esther
Clay's foolishness that now caused her husband to be shadowed by the
fear of shame and imprisonment, and a frown touched her brow.
    "Alas," he sighed. "Again, you do not approve."
    Irritated, she flashed, "I can think of no reason why you should seek my humble opinion, my lord."
    "No more can I," he shrugged carelessly.
    She gave an outraged gasp, then saw that his eyes twinkled at her
through those long thick lashes and that a grin hovered about the
corners of his mouth. He looked at her fully, his smile widening.
"However," he went on, "in view of my advancing years and our
relationship, humour your poor old uncle, I beg."
    Why must he be so changeable? One moment cold and insulting, and in
the next, displaying such devastating charm? He had maggots in his
attic, that was the reason! He belonged in Bedlam! She determined to
toss her head and walk regally away and was considerably surprised to
hear herself saying, "I think it would be tragic to let it decay
further. Already the library is delightful, the music room very fine,
and the main dining room a joy."
    Delighted, he asked with boyish eagerness, "Which is your favourite?"
    She was tempted to answer "the Great Hall," which had not been
restored and which she thought hideous. But for Clay's sake, she
considered and said at last, "My bedroom. It especially has been
decorated with