Read Online A Simple Lady by Carolynn Carey - Free Book Online Page B

in the orchard that day, although her escort appeared more interested in attacking a flawed apple than in consorting with her. With laughing eyes, Elizabeth admonished her newest companion, a kitten she had rescued several days earlier from one of the apple trees.
    “Take care, Apollo,” she called to the little yellow ball of fur. “A couple of wasps appear to fancy that apple too, you know.”
    Elizabeth’s attention was diverted from her kitten by a sudden gust of wind that tore at her skirts and plastered the thin muslin against her thighs. Turning quickly, she lifted her face toward the sky and closed her eyes, reveling in the coolness of the damp air that caressed her face and ruffled her hair.
    “Ah, the poor child. The poor, poor child!”
    Elizabeth thought for a split second that the wind had murmured those sorrowful words. But common sense immediately informed her that while the wind might moan, it never talked, and so she spun around looking for the source of those pitying words.
    A strange woman stood alone at the edge of the orchard, firmly gripping her bonnet in one hand and futilely attempting with the other to keep her green traveling dress from being twisted around her slender legs. The rising wind had teased the lady’s soft grey curls into a mass of disarray that very much became her little heart-shaped face, but she seemed totally unconcerned with her own appearance. Instead, she was staring at Elizabeth in consternation, her large blue eyes reflecting both compassion and deep despair.
    Aware of the image she must have projected, standing with her eyes closed and her face lifted toward the sky to catch the breeze, Elizabeth had no difficulty in guessing the reason for the stranger’s concerns.
    “My dear lady,” Elizabeth said, hurrying to the woman’s side. “I see that my silly behavior has upset you. Never fear. I am quite sane. ’Tis merely that I enjoy the smell of the coming rain and a brisk breeze on my face. May I be of service to you?”
    The woman frowned, her expression of despair quickly changing to one of confusion and then of embarrassment. “Forgive me,” she said, biting her lip as her face flushed a deep rose. “I thought you were someone else. I beg your pardon for intruding upon you.”
    Elizabeth’s concern deepened. The poor woman must be a misdirected traveler, although it was difficult to imagine anyone stumbling upon Cramdon Cottage, even by accident.
    “There’s no need for apologies, ma’am,” Elizabeth assured her quickly. “I was ready to go inside anyway. I fear the rain will arrive shortly. Will you take a cup of tea with me?”
    “Oh my, that sounds lovely,” the woman said, smiling for the first time. That she had once been a beauty was obvious. Her face, although lined, showed evidence of the exquisite bone structure that had surely defined her as a diamond of the first water when she was a girl.
    “Having a guest for tea will be lovely for me, too,” Elizabeth assured the stranger, placing her hand on the lady’s elbow to steer her toward the house. “Cramdon Cottage is often lonely. But what am I thinking? I cannot return without Apollo.”
    The stranger jerked her arm from Elizabeth’s gentle grasp and whirled to stare at her with horrified eyes. “Cramdon Cottage?” she repeated, her voice shaky. “Apollo?”
    Elizabeth stared too, amazed that the lady seemed so overset for so little reason. “Why yes,” she said, striving to sound calm. The poor little stranger’s intellect was a bit disordered, she feared. “Cramdon Cottage is the house you can see through those large oaks, and Apollo is my kitten. Do you dislike cats? Some people do, I know. My own mother is terrified of them. I’ve seen her practically faint when a cat merely brushed up against her leg.”
    “Who are you?” the woman demanded, continuing to stare at Elizabeth with wide and leery eyes.
    Elizabeth stifled a sigh and smiled gently. “Forgive me for not having