Read Online Amy (The Daughters of Allamont Hall Book 1) by Mary Kingswood - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mary Kingswood
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She had never noticed the preference herself, but she was not a very observing person in that way. And if Connie had a preference for him, in return, then there was no more to be said. She could not set her own barely-formulated hopes against Connie’s happiness.
It was dispiriting, however. Now that the very possibility of a match was lost, she was sure that Mr Ambleside would have suited her very well, and she would have liked to marry him above all things. Such an amiable man, and always so kind to her. Then there was his lovely house, and the gardens — oh, the gardens! So much better situated than at the Hall, and with a better aspect, and not much done to them yet. She could see so many possibilities — a stream here, a rose garden there, a shrubbery walk, some woodland… How wonderful it would have been to have the ordering of it.
But it was not to be. Her list of suitors was diminished. Not that she had any expectations of Sir Osborne, nor of Mr Wills, either, who had gone to London. Only her cousin James, who seemed to have no shame, regularly paid court to her in the most outrageous fashion, finding some excuse to ride over almost every day.
“I have brought you a new book just come from town,” he would say cheerfully, forgetting that they were not permitted novels. Or perhaps, “Here is a piece of music I thought you might enjoy learning.”
“Why do you do such things?” she said to him crossly. “This music is for the pianoforte, and I am trying to master the harp.”
“Well, that is prodigiously funny!” he said. “I have brought entirely the wrong thing. But it is of no consequence. I will take it away again. What do you like? You must tell me, so that I can woo you in proper form, coz.”
“I wish you would not woo me at all. You never looked at me until I had seventeen thousand pounds.”
“And the Hall,” he said, his expression serious for a change. “Never forget the Hall, Amy. Should you not like to be mistress of Allamont Hall? You would not even have to change your name, and we would get along famously, you and I. What could be better?”
“Almost anything,” she snapped, her patience quite exhausted, but he laughed at her again, his good humour irrepressible. She went on, “Besides, my brothers are to inherit the Hall. There is still hope that they will be found. Mr Plumphett has put notices in all the newspapers.”
“Ha! Ernest and Frank? They are gone for good, I wager. Off to the New World to make a better life for themselves. That is what I should do, if ever I were to run away from home. Stow away on a ship going to the West Indies, and then become very rich. They have slaves there, you know, so everyone is rich.”
She was too cross to answer him. If only she could consider Mr Ambleside a suitor! Her cousin’s attentions would not plague her half so much if she felt there was even the smallest chance with Mr Ambleside. But it seemed he was lost to her, and the disappointment made her short-tempered.
~~~~~
Amy had dutifully reported Lady Hardy’s words on the indulgence of grief to her mother, who accepted them with her usual placidity.
“Lady Hardy is all consideration,” she murmured. “Her care for me is beyond anything. I cannot conceive how I should go on without her guidance.”
She did, however, exert herself to attend church thereafter, and occasionally accompanied her daughters on their visits in the neighbourhood.
Amy had no expectation of seeing Sir Osborne or his mother again for some time, since the two families were not on regular visiting terms, and the Hardys had their own chapel to keep them at home on Sundays. To her astonishment, however, Lady Hardy condescended to visit Lower Brinford church the very next Sunday, throwing Mr Burford into spasms of nervous stuttering, and rendering even Mr Endercott less than articulate. The presence of two titled ladies at once overwhelmed their ability to form coherent sentences.
Emerging from the
It was dispiriting, however. Now that the very possibility of a match was lost, she was sure that Mr Ambleside would have suited her very well, and she would have liked to marry him above all things. Such an amiable man, and always so kind to her. Then there was his lovely house, and the gardens — oh, the gardens! So much better situated than at the Hall, and with a better aspect, and not much done to them yet. She could see so many possibilities — a stream here, a rose garden there, a shrubbery walk, some woodland… How wonderful it would have been to have the ordering of it.
But it was not to be. Her list of suitors was diminished. Not that she had any expectations of Sir Osborne, nor of Mr Wills, either, who had gone to London. Only her cousin James, who seemed to have no shame, regularly paid court to her in the most outrageous fashion, finding some excuse to ride over almost every day.
“I have brought you a new book just come from town,” he would say cheerfully, forgetting that they were not permitted novels. Or perhaps, “Here is a piece of music I thought you might enjoy learning.”
“Why do you do such things?” she said to him crossly. “This music is for the pianoforte, and I am trying to master the harp.”
“Well, that is prodigiously funny!” he said. “I have brought entirely the wrong thing. But it is of no consequence. I will take it away again. What do you like? You must tell me, so that I can woo you in proper form, coz.”
“I wish you would not woo me at all. You never looked at me until I had seventeen thousand pounds.”
“And the Hall,” he said, his expression serious for a change. “Never forget the Hall, Amy. Should you not like to be mistress of Allamont Hall? You would not even have to change your name, and we would get along famously, you and I. What could be better?”
“Almost anything,” she snapped, her patience quite exhausted, but he laughed at her again, his good humour irrepressible. She went on, “Besides, my brothers are to inherit the Hall. There is still hope that they will be found. Mr Plumphett has put notices in all the newspapers.”
“Ha! Ernest and Frank? They are gone for good, I wager. Off to the New World to make a better life for themselves. That is what I should do, if ever I were to run away from home. Stow away on a ship going to the West Indies, and then become very rich. They have slaves there, you know, so everyone is rich.”
She was too cross to answer him. If only she could consider Mr Ambleside a suitor! Her cousin’s attentions would not plague her half so much if she felt there was even the smallest chance with Mr Ambleside. But it seemed he was lost to her, and the disappointment made her short-tempered.
~~~~~
Amy had dutifully reported Lady Hardy’s words on the indulgence of grief to her mother, who accepted them with her usual placidity.
“Lady Hardy is all consideration,” she murmured. “Her care for me is beyond anything. I cannot conceive how I should go on without her guidance.”
She did, however, exert herself to attend church thereafter, and occasionally accompanied her daughters on their visits in the neighbourhood.
Amy had no expectation of seeing Sir Osborne or his mother again for some time, since the two families were not on regular visiting terms, and the Hardys had their own chapel to keep them at home on Sundays. To her astonishment, however, Lady Hardy condescended to visit Lower Brinford church the very next Sunday, throwing Mr Burford into spasms of nervous stuttering, and rendering even Mr Endercott less than articulate. The presence of two titled ladies at once overwhelmed their ability to form coherent sentences.
Emerging from the
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