Read Online 65 A Heart Is Stolen by Barbara Cartland - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Barbara Cartland
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certainly do not resemble him,” Anthony said to Ivana with a caressing note in his voice.
“I am told I take after my mother,” Ivana replied, “whose family came from Ireland.”
“I was sure of it!” Anthony exclaimed. “Blue eyes set in dark hair! That is very Irish!”
Ivana laughed.
“So I am often told, but I have never been fortunate enough to visit the Emerald Isle;”
She would have led the way from the study, but the Marquis had walked to the window to look out at what he knew was the back of the house.
To his surprise he saw not a garden as he expected, but what was a courtyard and beyond it a huge and ancient barn.
“That seems a strange building to have attached to the house,” he said. “A tithe barn!”
Ivana smiled.
“I see you are not aware, my Lord, that before your grandfather bought Heathcliffe, most of the estate was Wadebridge land.”
“I had no idea!” the Marquis exclaimed.
“The Wadebridges who lived here for several hundred years were rich and important,” Ivana explained, “but over the centuries they spent so much time at sea that gradually they had to sell their possessions ashore.”
“Now I can understand why you hated the Veryans,” the Marquis said. “May I look at your barn a little nearer?”
Again Ivana hesitated and he had the feeling that she was longing for them to leave.
Obstinately he determined that he would not be hurried.
“It’s not possible for you to go inside it as everything is locked up,” she replied. “But you can, of course, look at it from the outside.”
She led the way with almost a bad grace to a door that lay on the other side of the study and which took them straight out into the courtyard.
From this angle the barn seemed almost to dwarf the house.
As the Marquis looked at it, he realised that it was very old, the bricks between the ships’ beams from which it was built were small and narrow and were he knew, either Elizabethan or earlier.
He looked at it for some minutes and then glanced around the courtyard.
He saw on the other side of it there were a number of the white stones like those which decorated the flowerbeds at the front, but which here were arranged in patterns of Naval symbols.
There was an anchor, life-size, gleaming white against the ground on which it had been fashioned, there was a Union Jack, the stripes making it not so effective as the anchor and there was a more ambitious project in the shape of a sailing ship.
“I see you have very nautical tastes, Mrs. Wadebridge,” the Marquis remarked.
“Those were done a long time ago by my brother and his friends when they were at home on leave.”
As Ivana spoke, she turned as if she would re-enter the house, but Anthony gave an exclamation.
“Look!” he said. “What is that?”
He pointed as he spoke to a large lime tree that stood in a corner of the courtyard.
The Marquis followed the direction of his finger and saw to his surprise a flash of brilliant colour amongst the leaves.
For a moment he could not think what it was. Then he quizzed,
“Surely it is a parrot?”
“A parakeet to be correct,” Ivana replied.
“There is more than one,” Anthony said. “Are they tame?”
As if she was amused by his astonishment, Ivana walked towards the tree, then made several low sounds that were the exact replica of a parakeet’s call.
As she did so, she held out her arms and from the tree came fluttering down towards her a number of the small brilliant birds with their crimson and green plumage, which seemed strangely out of place in the English sunshine.
Two settled on her hands, two more on each of her arms and another on her shoulder.
With her green gown she made a strange but very lovely picture as she stood holding them with her head thrown back to look at several other parakeets that were now circling overhead.
Both the Marquis and Anthony stared entranced until she shook herself free of them saying as she did so,
“It’s too early
“I am told I take after my mother,” Ivana replied, “whose family came from Ireland.”
“I was sure of it!” Anthony exclaimed. “Blue eyes set in dark hair! That is very Irish!”
Ivana laughed.
“So I am often told, but I have never been fortunate enough to visit the Emerald Isle;”
She would have led the way from the study, but the Marquis had walked to the window to look out at what he knew was the back of the house.
To his surprise he saw not a garden as he expected, but what was a courtyard and beyond it a huge and ancient barn.
“That seems a strange building to have attached to the house,” he said. “A tithe barn!”
Ivana smiled.
“I see you are not aware, my Lord, that before your grandfather bought Heathcliffe, most of the estate was Wadebridge land.”
“I had no idea!” the Marquis exclaimed.
“The Wadebridges who lived here for several hundred years were rich and important,” Ivana explained, “but over the centuries they spent so much time at sea that gradually they had to sell their possessions ashore.”
“Now I can understand why you hated the Veryans,” the Marquis said. “May I look at your barn a little nearer?”
Again Ivana hesitated and he had the feeling that she was longing for them to leave.
Obstinately he determined that he would not be hurried.
“It’s not possible for you to go inside it as everything is locked up,” she replied. “But you can, of course, look at it from the outside.”
She led the way with almost a bad grace to a door that lay on the other side of the study and which took them straight out into the courtyard.
From this angle the barn seemed almost to dwarf the house.
As the Marquis looked at it, he realised that it was very old, the bricks between the ships’ beams from which it was built were small and narrow and were he knew, either Elizabethan or earlier.
He looked at it for some minutes and then glanced around the courtyard.
He saw on the other side of it there were a number of the white stones like those which decorated the flowerbeds at the front, but which here were arranged in patterns of Naval symbols.
There was an anchor, life-size, gleaming white against the ground on which it had been fashioned, there was a Union Jack, the stripes making it not so effective as the anchor and there was a more ambitious project in the shape of a sailing ship.
“I see you have very nautical tastes, Mrs. Wadebridge,” the Marquis remarked.
“Those were done a long time ago by my brother and his friends when they were at home on leave.”
As Ivana spoke, she turned as if she would re-enter the house, but Anthony gave an exclamation.
“Look!” he said. “What is that?”
He pointed as he spoke to a large lime tree that stood in a corner of the courtyard.
The Marquis followed the direction of his finger and saw to his surprise a flash of brilliant colour amongst the leaves.
For a moment he could not think what it was. Then he quizzed,
“Surely it is a parrot?”
“A parakeet to be correct,” Ivana replied.
“There is more than one,” Anthony said. “Are they tame?”
As if she was amused by his astonishment, Ivana walked towards the tree, then made several low sounds that were the exact replica of a parakeet’s call.
As she did so, she held out her arms and from the tree came fluttering down towards her a number of the small brilliant birds with their crimson and green plumage, which seemed strangely out of place in the English sunshine.
Two settled on her hands, two more on each of her arms and another on her shoulder.
With her green gown she made a strange but very lovely picture as she stood holding them with her head thrown back to look at several other parakeets that were now circling overhead.
Both the Marquis and Anthony stared entranced until she shook herself free of them saying as she did so,
“It’s too early
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