Read Online Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware - Free Book Online

willing to have a thorough look around and give me your honest opinion?" he queried earnestly. "Could it work? It seems clear that I shall be forced to make some decisions before the summer is out, so I'd consider it a very great kindness if you'd offer a candid appraisal of the notion," he finished, masking some emotion Blythe couldn't quite define by retrieving his cold cup of tea and sipping it slowly.
       She gave the sitting room another cursory glance. Despite the manor's down-at-the-heels appearance, her practiced eye saw a host of possibilities. She reflected on the fairy-tale spell that the Barton estate's rounded castle walls had cast upon her when her car had driven down the stately, tree-shrouded entrance. Modernized and glamorized inside, it was just the kind of place that would appeal to wealthy Americans on vacation, especially those seeking the elegance and romance of a bygone era.
       Her glance was drawn to the antiquated electrical outlets and well-worn furnishings. There was little doubt, however, that bringing it up to five-star standards could cost a fortune. And despite Mrs. Quiller's glorious scones, the woman was obviously getting on in years and could hardly be expected to dish up eighty to a hundred meals a day.
       Barton Hall's glorious gardens, on the other hand, offered some very interesting commercial opportunities, she mused. Then Blythe pulled herself up short.
       "And is Mrs. Teague keen on the idea?" she asked quietly.
       "She was, actually. I lost her eighteen months ago… to cancer."
       "Oh, I'm terribly sorry…"
       Blythe's host accepted her embarrassed condolences with a brief nod. Then, once again, he solicited her professional opinion on the merit of his proposal.
       "Well… perhaps this is the moment to conduct me on the Gold Star Tour?" She smiled, avoiding giving him a direct answer until she had a thorough look around.
       "Not before I get you to sign your lease, Ms. BartonStowe," Lucas announced firmly, conferring on her a hyphenated double-barreled surname in the English manner. Blythe watched as her host crossed to a small desk tucked in a rounded alcove that was surely the ground-floor section of one of the stone turrets outside. "Can't have my adviser slipping away."
       He pulled a legal-looking document from the desk drawer. "I noticed your middle name—Barton—in the letter from your travel agent when she first contacted me. Are you aware that the Barton-Trevelyans were the original owners of the house? You must have a look at my genealogical chart in the library and see where your American branch might fit in."
       "It was probably just a fancy of my grandmother's," Blythe replied briskly, "but her stories that we originally came from this part of Cornwall were what prompted my decision to spend some time in this area."
        That, and the fact that my husband jilted me for my sister , she added silently.
       "Your curiosity is my good fortune, then." Lucas Teague grinned, transforming his slightly forbidding features into those of a man possibly possessing a very potent measure of charm.
       Charm. It had been the quality she'd grown to like least in Christopher Stowe.
       Lucas Teague indicated the sheet of paper lying on his desk. "This is merely an addendum to your original lease for the cottage."
       Blythe glanced at the one-page document and then looked longingly at the telephone perched on the desktop. Perhaps Lisa had overreacted to whatever had happened in Los Angeles. Blythe couldn't imagine what could have prompted her lawyer to arrange for such a prolonged stay in this remote part of Cornwall. In fact, she realized suddenly, the woman's high-handedness annoyed her quite substantially.
       Meanwhile Lucas was holding out a silver-plated fountain pen that was probably manufactured at the turn of the last century. Still Blythe hesitated. She shifted her gaze to a seascape hanging above the mantelpiece