Read Online Portrait of Jonathan by Margaret Dickinson - Free Book Online Page A

reached the last curve of the staircase which would take her out of sight of the main hall, she glanced down to see her grandfather watching her, a slight frown on his face. As her eyes met his, he smiled swiftly and turned to enter a room to the left of the hall. She felt a sudden fear. Although he seemed pleased to have her here, was she in some way causing him to frown worriedly?
    Lavinia promised herself solemnly that she would devote herself entirely to obeying her grandfather’s every command, and in so doing she would attempt with every day to repay the debt of gratitude she owed him.
    Perhaps, if she concentrated hard enough on other people and other things, she would not find Jonathan so much in her thoughts.
    The days and weeks passed, winter gave way to early spring, and Lavinia grew more contented with each passing hour. She enjoyed wandering through the vast number of rooms at ‘Avonridge’. The long drawing-room had windows down one side, the huge marble fireplace being on the opposite wall. The furniture—chosen with her grandmother’s influence Lavinia imagined—was in the French style, the chairs and small side tables with graceful lines and gently curving legs, and the chairs upholstered in rich brocade or tapestries which, she learnt later, her grandmother had worked. Various portraits lined the walls—ancestors, she presumed. The one immediately above the fireplace intrigued her. The gentle face held some resemblance to herself, Lavinia could see, but the woman in the portrait. Lady Rowan, was beautiful and elegant and the girl who stared up at it with soulful brown eyes envied the face on the canvas.
    Lavinia’s favourite room was the library: its high ceiling with pictures painted on it: the walls lined with books and the comfortable couch where she would curl up with a book and lose herself among its pages forgetting for a time the world of reality.
    Lavinia was happier at ‘Avonridge’ than she had ever been in her life and only one thing was missing to complete her happiness, but at the beginning of May even that was to be remedied, it seemed, for least for an all-too-short weekend.
    The Eldon family were coming to stay at ‘Avonridge’.
    Lavinia’s joy at the thought of seeing Jonathan once more was, however, tinged with fear and dread. She felt so gauche and awkward with him. How she wished she could see him but not be seen by him—but such a thought was ridiculous.
    The time since she had come to ‘Avonridge’ had been the happiest she had ever known. In the company of her grandfather, she had blossomed into a normal, healthy young girl—still very shy, still lacking self-confidence, but her new-found happiness was reflected in her gentle smile and even her brown eyes had lost some of their sadness. Lord Rowan found that Lavinia—though her education had been sadly neglected as she herself had told him—had, nevertheless, a lively and active mind and under his guidance her general education improved rapidly. He himself gave her lessons each morning, and during the afternoon they drove or walked or occasionally rode, though the latter could be considered ‘lessons’ at first, for Lavinia knew not even the rudiments of horsemanship. However, Lord Rowan found her a willing and able pupil, though, unknown to him, her eagerness stemmed from her desire to become a person more worthy of Jonathan’s notice. Whilst she could never seriously think that he could fall in love with her, still there was the unquenchable wish within her to become the sort of woman he would not be ashamed to accompany. Always in her mind’s eye floated the picture of the beautiful Lady Anthea Thorwald whom Giles said Jonathan had once loved.
    During Lavinia’s moments of solitude, when Lord Rowan was engaged in business, she would return to her favourite pastime of sketching. Her grandfather knew of this interest, but she had never, even