Read Online Dangerous to Love by Elizabeth Thornton - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Thornton
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of her. It wasn’t perfume. That was easily got rid of. This was something darker, and unique to the girl. After a prolonged scrubbing, he paused, resting his arms along the rim of the tub.
Now that he had time to think about it, there were things about Miss Serena Ward that did not add up. He knew of many ladies of fashion who made excursions to dens of vice for the sheer titillation of the experience, but never unescorted. Where, in all of this, was the girl’s escort of last night? He remembered something else. Serena Ward was reputed to be virtually in mourning for a lover, her betrothed to be exact, who had perished at Prestonpans. Many men since had tried to woo her but the lady, as rumor had it, was not to be won. He was glad he had remembered that.
His anger seemed to have cooled along with the temperature of his bath water. Surging from the copper tub, he reached for a towel and proceeded to dry himself vigorously. Having donned a brocade robe, he sprawled on top of the bed and gazed at the intricate plaster ceiling, his eyes tracing the designs on the cornices, over and over, as if to memorize them.
What was there about his family, he wondered, that they should attract the notice of a viperish brood like the Wards? Was it something in themselves, some fatal flaw that marked them out as victims? Was it blind chance, or was it the machinations of a capricious, malevolent fate bent on their destruction? And where would it all end?
It had started in 1715, at the beginning of the firstRebellion, when Sir Robert Ward had taken one look at Lady Harriet Egremont and had promptly offered for her. Lady Harriet was Julian’s mother. The girl’s father, Lord Kirkland, had accepted Sir Robert’s offer against his daughter’s wishes. Sir Robert was everything he wished for in a son-in-law. Their families were both of the Jacobite persuasion. The earl’s heir, Lord Hugo, and Sir Robert were inseparable friends. The only problem with all of this was the lady’s infatuation for a most unsuitable gentleman. This was Julian’s father. William Renney, as he was then known, was tutor to Lady Harriet’s younger brother, James. When Renney was dismissed from his post, the young couple eloped, in defiance of Lord Kirkland, and went into hiding.
As a young boy growing up in Bristol, Julian had known nothing of this. His life was as happy and carefree as any child had a right to expect. His father, with the help of his mother, had opened a school for the sons of the local gentry. As Julian remembered, when he wasn’t at his books, he was off playing with the other boys, reenacting every skirmish and battle of the past Rebellion. Those were the golden years of his life.
He could never quite remember when the turning point had come. What he did remember was that the school failed and within a year or two, after several moves, they were in Manchester, and the only source of the family’s income was the private tutoring his father did at home. By this time, the little family had grown. There were two more mouths to feed, for the twins had arrived when Julian was eight years old.
Mark and Mary were delicate children, and a constant source of worry to their parents. For all their worries, all their shortage of funds, the family was affectionate and close-knit. And when the twins turned three, their circumstanceschanged for the better, or so it seemed at the time.
William Renney had procured a position as tutor to Lord Hornsby’s sons, and Lord Hornsby was a generous employer. There was money enough to send Julian as a boarder to the grammar school in Oxford which his father had attended as a boy. Against all these material advantages, however, was the sad fact that the family was to be scattered. A tutor was not allowed to have a private life, but was required to reside where his charges resided. The Renneys were never to be reunited.
There was one other thing that had troubled Julian. They were to change their name from
Now that he had time to think about it, there were things about Miss Serena Ward that did not add up. He knew of many ladies of fashion who made excursions to dens of vice for the sheer titillation of the experience, but never unescorted. Where, in all of this, was the girl’s escort of last night? He remembered something else. Serena Ward was reputed to be virtually in mourning for a lover, her betrothed to be exact, who had perished at Prestonpans. Many men since had tried to woo her but the lady, as rumor had it, was not to be won. He was glad he had remembered that.
His anger seemed to have cooled along with the temperature of his bath water. Surging from the copper tub, he reached for a towel and proceeded to dry himself vigorously. Having donned a brocade robe, he sprawled on top of the bed and gazed at the intricate plaster ceiling, his eyes tracing the designs on the cornices, over and over, as if to memorize them.
What was there about his family, he wondered, that they should attract the notice of a viperish brood like the Wards? Was it something in themselves, some fatal flaw that marked them out as victims? Was it blind chance, or was it the machinations of a capricious, malevolent fate bent on their destruction? And where would it all end?
It had started in 1715, at the beginning of the firstRebellion, when Sir Robert Ward had taken one look at Lady Harriet Egremont and had promptly offered for her. Lady Harriet was Julian’s mother. The girl’s father, Lord Kirkland, had accepted Sir Robert’s offer against his daughter’s wishes. Sir Robert was everything he wished for in a son-in-law. Their families were both of the Jacobite persuasion. The earl’s heir, Lord Hugo, and Sir Robert were inseparable friends. The only problem with all of this was the lady’s infatuation for a most unsuitable gentleman. This was Julian’s father. William Renney, as he was then known, was tutor to Lady Harriet’s younger brother, James. When Renney was dismissed from his post, the young couple eloped, in defiance of Lord Kirkland, and went into hiding.
As a young boy growing up in Bristol, Julian had known nothing of this. His life was as happy and carefree as any child had a right to expect. His father, with the help of his mother, had opened a school for the sons of the local gentry. As Julian remembered, when he wasn’t at his books, he was off playing with the other boys, reenacting every skirmish and battle of the past Rebellion. Those were the golden years of his life.
He could never quite remember when the turning point had come. What he did remember was that the school failed and within a year or two, after several moves, they were in Manchester, and the only source of the family’s income was the private tutoring his father did at home. By this time, the little family had grown. There were two more mouths to feed, for the twins had arrived when Julian was eight years old.
Mark and Mary were delicate children, and a constant source of worry to their parents. For all their worries, all their shortage of funds, the family was affectionate and close-knit. And when the twins turned three, their circumstanceschanged for the better, or so it seemed at the time.
William Renney had procured a position as tutor to Lord Hornsby’s sons, and Lord Hornsby was a generous employer. There was money enough to send Julian as a boarder to the grammar school in Oxford which his father had attended as a boy. Against all these material advantages, however, was the sad fact that the family was to be scattered. A tutor was not allowed to have a private life, but was required to reside where his charges resided. The Renneys were never to be reunited.
There was one other thing that had troubled Julian. They were to change their name from
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