Free Echoes of Pemberley by Cynthia Ingram Hensley Page B

a teacherly nod that seemed older than his years and then kept his eyes trained forward the rest of the way.
    Percival was standing in the stable yard when they rode back in and threw up a hand in greeting as he approached the horses. “Afternoon, Percival,” Sean said warmly as he drew his horse to a stop and swung out of the saddle.
    “Afternoon!” Percival returned. “Can I take your horse?”
    “Thanks, mate.” Sean passed his reins over to Percival’s big, calloused hand and then turned to Catie, who was just dismounting. “Give Chloe a good brush down and a warm wash after you remove her saddle, aye.”
    She spun around to face him and opened her mouth to object, but he stopped her.
    “And mind that you do a good job of it because I’ll be checking behind you.” Ignoring her flabbergasted expression, he made a friendly parting comment to Percival and started off.
    “Where are you going?” she demanded.
    Sean stopped and turned around. “It’s a hot afternoon, Miss Catie, and I fancy me a pint at the Green Man. Is something amiss, miss?” He grinned at his own cleverness.
    Still flushed from her ride, Catie’s face went almost scarlet. “Yes, something’s amiss! Why is it that Percival can see to your horse but not mine?”
    He held his arms out to his side and gave his shoulders an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, but I have long since mastered the gallop.”
    “And what does that have to do with it?” Now thoroughly enraged, Catie folded her arms tightly over her chest and glowered at him.
    “As I said earlier, to improve your skills,” he said then gallantly bowed. “Till tomorrow, m’lady.”
2 August, 1918
He was waiting by the river again today. He smiled when he saw me. My heart is Arthur’s. Taking my hand, he led me into the woods and kissed me tenderly, then harder. I thought I might fall through a hole in the earth or float over the forest canopy. He brushed my cheek and brought his lips to mine again. The sound of a carriage startled us. He grasped my elbow and together we ran farther into the woodlands. I would have run all the way to Scotland had he asked me.
    “ All the way to Scotland . . . how romantic.” Catie rolled onto her back and looked dreamily at the vast blue sky overhead. In the next few pages, Arthur and Mary’s romance heated up rather quickly, and the clandestine nature of the affair only added to its intrigue. Biting her lip in constant apprehension of the lovers being discovered, she read breathlessly until she heard the hum of Ben’s car speeding up the approach road. “Finally!” she said, slamming the diary closed.
    “Good Heavens, child, you smell like a barn,” Rose fussed and stirred the air with a tea cloth when Catie entered the kitchen.
    Catie sniffed, wrinkled her nose, and headed straight for the sink. “Thank your nephew. He has had me doing everything but mucking stalls these last few days.”
    Rose nodded with understanding. “Oh, he is a hard one, that boy, just like his father. Not a day goes by that my dear sister doesn’t have to work just to keep on equal ground with that man.”
    “Is he cruel to her, Nan?” Catie asked as she turned off the tap and accepted the towel Rose offered.
    “Oh, no.” Rose shook her head. “As a matter of fact, Seamus and Emma Kelly have a passionate love that you will rarely find these days, Catherine.”
    “Really?” Catie’s eyes widened. Sean Kelly had only mentioned his father a couple of times, but from his reports, Seamus Kelly didn’t sound very romantic.
    “Mm-hmm.” Rose nodded. “But the man can be impossible. I have known my poor sister to be driven to take a drink well before lunch time. It will most certainly take a strong woman to stand beside my nephew in life. Kelly men are a fiery, Irish lot and notorious for being difficult to live with.”
    Strong , Catie thought sarcastically. She’d more likely have to be stupid to want to marry Sean Kelly. But she wisely held her tongue on