Read Online Swan's Grace by Linda Francis Lee - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Linda Francis Lee
Ads: Link
delivered her message Grayson had actually growled.
Henry had been delighted. She less so. The man's patience was running dry.
Only once, at the end of a long day, had she actually seen him. She was sitting in the drawing room, working through a new cello arrangement of
La Boh è me
on paper, unaware that he was across the foyer in his office. Miss Pruitt had marched out of the library, knocked on the closed double doors, then entered. Sophie glanced over and saw Grayson sitting behind his desk. He was intent on a client who was talking, the man's back to her. The receptionist set freshly typed papers in front of her employer. Without warning Grayson had glanced up and seen her. Their eyes met, locking with unreadable undercurrents, and all the while the client never stopped talking.
Leaning back in his chair, Grayson had studied her over steepled fingers as if he could understand something if he looked at her long enough. She saw the heat in his eyes. The possessiveness.
With a start, she had pushed up from the divan and gone in search of Deandra, hating the way her knees felt weak and her heart leaped in her chest. The incident had left her oddly unsettled.
And still her father wouldn't see her.
Finally, last night, less than two days before the party her father had mentioned, Sophie simply obtained her father's new address and went to his house unannounced. Upon arrival, for one brief second she had forgotten why she was there.
The Fens was beautiful in an ostentatious sort of way, but it was the party decorations that had moved her. If her father was to be believed, the decorations were for her homecoming party. Didn't that mean he cared?
But whatever delight she had felt quickly evaporated. Other than finally getting to see her precious half sisters, the visit was a disaster. Conrad adamantly refused to get Swan's Grace back, saying the deal was done. No amount of arguing swayed him.
He was angry and dismissive until finally she whispered, "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"
Her father sighed, looking suddenly older than his years. "I am doing this because it's for the best."
"Best for whom?" she blurted out, trying to understand.
His anger returned full force. "Best for this family! Now you will do as I say, and move in here to The Fens. And send those… those hangers-on back where they came from."
Angry, Sophie had defied him. She had left The Fens and returned to Swan's Grace, more determined than ever to regain her home.
"What are you doing in here?" Miss Pruitt cried out, breaking into Sophie's thoughts.
The woman's sensible hat was still perched on her head as she entered the library, her reticule clutched in her hands as if she was afraid one of them would steal it.
"Ah," Henry drawled from his favorite cushioned seat in the corner of the book-lined room. "It's our dear Miss Khan. Can we call you Genghis for short?"
Deandra laughed appreciatively, looking up from studying her manicured nails, the layers of her long, shimmering gown rustling as she unhooked her knees from her chair. "Henry, you can be so clever."
Even Margaret had to cover her smile.
Miss Pruitt's lips pursed like a shriveled prune, and her eyes narrowed. But they flew open with dismay when a sudden breeze came through the open windows and played havoc with the papers on her desk.
"Look what you've done!" she cried, dashing to the window to slam the glass panes shut.
"Were those important?" Henry asked, picking up a sheet and starting to read. " 'Mr. James Lampman, formerly of 212 Mount Vernon Street, more recently of 155 Huntington Avenue, wishes to sue for damages after one H. Paul Redman ruined his reputation and his business—' "
The woman snatched the page away so quickly that the paper nearly tore in two. "That is private," she barked. "Now get out of here! Out! Out! Out! This is my office!"
She tried to shoo them from the room, but Margaret stood her ground.
"You can't run us out. Our Sophie needs to play."
Music
Henry had been delighted. She less so. The man's patience was running dry.
Only once, at the end of a long day, had she actually seen him. She was sitting in the drawing room, working through a new cello arrangement of
La Boh è me
on paper, unaware that he was across the foyer in his office. Miss Pruitt had marched out of the library, knocked on the closed double doors, then entered. Sophie glanced over and saw Grayson sitting behind his desk. He was intent on a client who was talking, the man's back to her. The receptionist set freshly typed papers in front of her employer. Without warning Grayson had glanced up and seen her. Their eyes met, locking with unreadable undercurrents, and all the while the client never stopped talking.
Leaning back in his chair, Grayson had studied her over steepled fingers as if he could understand something if he looked at her long enough. She saw the heat in his eyes. The possessiveness.
With a start, she had pushed up from the divan and gone in search of Deandra, hating the way her knees felt weak and her heart leaped in her chest. The incident had left her oddly unsettled.
And still her father wouldn't see her.
Finally, last night, less than two days before the party her father had mentioned, Sophie simply obtained her father's new address and went to his house unannounced. Upon arrival, for one brief second she had forgotten why she was there.
The Fens was beautiful in an ostentatious sort of way, but it was the party decorations that had moved her. If her father was to be believed, the decorations were for her homecoming party. Didn't that mean he cared?
But whatever delight she had felt quickly evaporated. Other than finally getting to see her precious half sisters, the visit was a disaster. Conrad adamantly refused to get Swan's Grace back, saying the deal was done. No amount of arguing swayed him.
He was angry and dismissive until finally she whispered, "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"
Her father sighed, looking suddenly older than his years. "I am doing this because it's for the best."
"Best for whom?" she blurted out, trying to understand.
His anger returned full force. "Best for this family! Now you will do as I say, and move in here to The Fens. And send those… those hangers-on back where they came from."
Angry, Sophie had defied him. She had left The Fens and returned to Swan's Grace, more determined than ever to regain her home.
"What are you doing in here?" Miss Pruitt cried out, breaking into Sophie's thoughts.
The woman's sensible hat was still perched on her head as she entered the library, her reticule clutched in her hands as if she was afraid one of them would steal it.
"Ah," Henry drawled from his favorite cushioned seat in the corner of the book-lined room. "It's our dear Miss Khan. Can we call you Genghis for short?"
Deandra laughed appreciatively, looking up from studying her manicured nails, the layers of her long, shimmering gown rustling as she unhooked her knees from her chair. "Henry, you can be so clever."
Even Margaret had to cover her smile.
Miss Pruitt's lips pursed like a shriveled prune, and her eyes narrowed. But they flew open with dismay when a sudden breeze came through the open windows and played havoc with the papers on her desk.
"Look what you've done!" she cried, dashing to the window to slam the glass panes shut.
"Were those important?" Henry asked, picking up a sheet and starting to read. " 'Mr. James Lampman, formerly of 212 Mount Vernon Street, more recently of 155 Huntington Avenue, wishes to sue for damages after one H. Paul Redman ruined his reputation and his business—' "
The woman snatched the page away so quickly that the paper nearly tore in two. "That is private," she barked. "Now get out of here! Out! Out! Out! This is my office!"
She tried to shoo them from the room, but Margaret stood her ground.
"You can't run us out. Our Sophie needs to play."
Music
Similar Books
