Read Online Alice-Miranda In New York 5 by Jacqueline Harvey - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jacqueline Harvey
Tags: Child fiction
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sketchy to say the least. He was only five when it happened. And almost straight afterwards heâd been sent away to school and the topic was barely spoken of again.
Hugh finished his lunch and pulled the book from its covering. He opened it to the first page and scanned the ornate script, wishing that it was easier to read. The dates were most helpful. Martha Annerley Bedford had been employed by his parents as a nanny to their first-born son Xavier some fourteen years before Hughâs arrival. The early years seemed to document mostly happy times, helping with the baby and then as he grew into a toddler.As time passed it seemed his brother and father did not always see eye to eye; Nanny Bedford spoke of terrible rows and times when the master did not speak to his son for days on end. But his mother adored him.
Hughâs impending arrival sent the household into a spin. A new baby was apparently the last thing anyone expected. By the time Hugh was born, his brother had been away at boarding school for many years, so the two had little to do with one another, except when Xavier came home to Pelham Park for the holidays â and Hugh couldnât remember much about their time together.
On a terrible rainy night, Hugh had stood in the window of the nursery and watched the lights of the car flashing down the drive. He hadnât wanted his mother to go. She had seemed sad and he wanted her to stay close. He could still remember her perfume â that musky scent that stayed with him for years after her death. He hadnât seen his brother get into the car, but in the morning, Nanny Bedford, whose red eyes were rimmed from the hundreds of tears she had already shed, took Hugh to his fatherâs study, where he was informed that his mother and his brother would not be returning toPelham Park.
Hugh had asked his father where they had gone. The old man had blistered with rage.
âThey are dead, you stupid child, dead!â
Hugh could still remember those words ringing in his ears. He had run towards his father and thrown himself at his knees.
âTake the boy away,â his father had instructed Nanny, his voice icy, his touch even colder.
Hugh sobbed for days, taking comfort from the one person who he felt loved him at least as much as his own mother.
On a bitter day, he stood beside his father and Nanny as they lowered his mother and brother into the ground on the hill overlooking the estate. Almost immediately his father had a lavish crypt built over the gravesite. The memorial to his mother recounted his fatherâs devotion. His brother warranted only a name and a date.
Hughâs heart pounded as he scanned Nanny Bedfordâs private recollections. She had disappeared from his life not long after his mother and brother. Hugh was sent away to school where his days were brightened by a slew of clever teachers and a kindly housemistress, Mrs Briggs, who dedicated herself toher young charges and was particularly fond of her youngest.
Holidays had been spent roaming the estate at Pelham Park, hunting and fishing, often with friends who preferred to spend their break with Hugh rather than brave going home to their own families. Hugh had grown into himself without the aid of parents.
His father remained a distant figure until Hughâs thirteenth birthday, when he decided that it was time for the young lad to be taken into the family fold. From that time on, Hugh had spent his school holidays working alongside his father at Kenningtonâs, learning the grocery business from the ground up. Hugh had loved it from the very first day. And his love for Kenningtonâs inspired more attention from his father than he had ever known.
On the few occasions that Hugh felt confident enough to ask his father about his mother and brother, his queries had always been met with a sharp rebuke, as though the mere pronouncement of their names tore open a wound that had never healed.
Hugh felt like a
Hugh finished his lunch and pulled the book from its covering. He opened it to the first page and scanned the ornate script, wishing that it was easier to read. The dates were most helpful. Martha Annerley Bedford had been employed by his parents as a nanny to their first-born son Xavier some fourteen years before Hughâs arrival. The early years seemed to document mostly happy times, helping with the baby and then as he grew into a toddler.As time passed it seemed his brother and father did not always see eye to eye; Nanny Bedford spoke of terrible rows and times when the master did not speak to his son for days on end. But his mother adored him.
Hughâs impending arrival sent the household into a spin. A new baby was apparently the last thing anyone expected. By the time Hugh was born, his brother had been away at boarding school for many years, so the two had little to do with one another, except when Xavier came home to Pelham Park for the holidays â and Hugh couldnât remember much about their time together.
On a terrible rainy night, Hugh had stood in the window of the nursery and watched the lights of the car flashing down the drive. He hadnât wanted his mother to go. She had seemed sad and he wanted her to stay close. He could still remember her perfume â that musky scent that stayed with him for years after her death. He hadnât seen his brother get into the car, but in the morning, Nanny Bedford, whose red eyes were rimmed from the hundreds of tears she had already shed, took Hugh to his fatherâs study, where he was informed that his mother and his brother would not be returning toPelham Park.
Hugh had asked his father where they had gone. The old man had blistered with rage.
âThey are dead, you stupid child, dead!â
Hugh could still remember those words ringing in his ears. He had run towards his father and thrown himself at his knees.
âTake the boy away,â his father had instructed Nanny, his voice icy, his touch even colder.
Hugh sobbed for days, taking comfort from the one person who he felt loved him at least as much as his own mother.
On a bitter day, he stood beside his father and Nanny as they lowered his mother and brother into the ground on the hill overlooking the estate. Almost immediately his father had a lavish crypt built over the gravesite. The memorial to his mother recounted his fatherâs devotion. His brother warranted only a name and a date.
Hughâs heart pounded as he scanned Nanny Bedfordâs private recollections. She had disappeared from his life not long after his mother and brother. Hugh was sent away to school where his days were brightened by a slew of clever teachers and a kindly housemistress, Mrs Briggs, who dedicated herself toher young charges and was particularly fond of her youngest.
Holidays had been spent roaming the estate at Pelham Park, hunting and fishing, often with friends who preferred to spend their break with Hugh rather than brave going home to their own families. Hugh had grown into himself without the aid of parents.
His father remained a distant figure until Hughâs thirteenth birthday, when he decided that it was time for the young lad to be taken into the family fold. From that time on, Hugh had spent his school holidays working alongside his father at Kenningtonâs, learning the grocery business from the ground up. Hugh had loved it from the very first day. And his love for Kenningtonâs inspired more attention from his father than he had ever known.
On the few occasions that Hugh felt confident enough to ask his father about his mother and brother, his queries had always been met with a sharp rebuke, as though the mere pronouncement of their names tore open a wound that had never healed.
Hugh felt like a
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