Read Online The Baron by Sally Goldenbaum - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sally Goldenbaum
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softly. “All the kids in the neighborhood would try to climb the fences and hide behind bushes to see the fine cars coming up the drive.” She laughed. “I got caught once by the gardener and thought I’d die. Somehow my torrent of tears softened his heart and he let me go.”
“I can imagine!” Nick laughed. “So you grew up around here?”
Halley nodded. “Born and bred on the Hill.” She looked out the window at the neatly kept white frame houses and small, familiar stores. It was a world in itself, old, comfortable, secure, and light-years away from the world of Nicholas Harrington.
“Well, looks like we’re here.” Nick slowed the car and turned onto a tree-lined, curving drive that led up to the great mansion. He followed it slowly, taking in the small roads that led off to the gate house, the greenhouse, and the stables. “I remember now,” he said as memories flooded back.
They’d all come to the Thorne Christmas party. All the wealthy leaders of the city, as well as their wives and children, had come to the lower-class neighborhood where Leo Thorne had staunchly remained in the huge estate left him by his father. They’d driven through the neighborhood on their way to the party, and Nick remembered watching the kids playing on street corners and having snowball fights. And he remembered, all these years later, being struck by the porches. Every house had a friendly porch that stretched wide across the front of it, and in the dead of winter, rocking chairs and gliders still sat thereempty, except for a coating of snow that made them look like pieces of sculpture. He shook his head. Funny the memories he’d hung on to …
“The library is on the main floor of the house,” Halley said, forcing his memory to fade. He parked the car at the turn in the wide drive and they got out.
“It’s amazing how everything has been kept intact.”
“That was one of Leo’s goals when we started planning all this. When his father died, neither Leo nor his brothers and sisters wanted the house, but no one wanted to sell it, because they were afraid it would be torn down and the land divided up. That’s when we thought of the library. Keeping everything intact was a priority for all of us who were involved. Come, let me show you.”
She took his arm, and together they walked up the wide marble steps. The leaded glass doors were held open today to catch the pleasant fall breezes, and the two walked into what was once the entry hall of the Thorne’s family home. It was huge and elegant and now housed the main library desk that Leo had carefully selected. The dark, highly polished wood perfectly matched the woodwork and looked like a part of the house. Behind the desk was the door to Halley’s office, and to the right and left were warm, spacious parlors that now housed thousands of volumes of books. She led Nick through every room, explaining as she went. They toured the small rooms in the back, which were used for reading, and on the upper floors they moved in and out of bedroom suites that now hosted meetings and craft groups, art classes and reading clubs.
“Well, do you recognize it all?” Halley asked as they returned to the main entry hall.
Her expression lovingly reflected the pride she had in the library, and Nick smiled. “Strangely enough, I do. You’ve done a beautiful job.” He walked over tothe winding staircase and looked up at the glistening chandelier. When he turned back to Halley, she was standing by the huge desk, shuffling through a pile of messages the assistant librarian had handed her.
“Looks like you work hard, Ms. Librarian.”
Halley looked at him over the rim of her glasses and nodded. “It’s a Finnegan trait. A curse, my mother says. We’re not content unless we’re knee-deep in some project or another.”
“So this is your project …”
Halley didn’t answer. Her attention had shifted to a muddy-shoed, freckle-faced six-year-old who had rushed in the door
“I can imagine!” Nick laughed. “So you grew up around here?”
Halley nodded. “Born and bred on the Hill.” She looked out the window at the neatly kept white frame houses and small, familiar stores. It was a world in itself, old, comfortable, secure, and light-years away from the world of Nicholas Harrington.
“Well, looks like we’re here.” Nick slowed the car and turned onto a tree-lined, curving drive that led up to the great mansion. He followed it slowly, taking in the small roads that led off to the gate house, the greenhouse, and the stables. “I remember now,” he said as memories flooded back.
They’d all come to the Thorne Christmas party. All the wealthy leaders of the city, as well as their wives and children, had come to the lower-class neighborhood where Leo Thorne had staunchly remained in the huge estate left him by his father. They’d driven through the neighborhood on their way to the party, and Nick remembered watching the kids playing on street corners and having snowball fights. And he remembered, all these years later, being struck by the porches. Every house had a friendly porch that stretched wide across the front of it, and in the dead of winter, rocking chairs and gliders still sat thereempty, except for a coating of snow that made them look like pieces of sculpture. He shook his head. Funny the memories he’d hung on to …
“The library is on the main floor of the house,” Halley said, forcing his memory to fade. He parked the car at the turn in the wide drive and they got out.
“It’s amazing how everything has been kept intact.”
“That was one of Leo’s goals when we started planning all this. When his father died, neither Leo nor his brothers and sisters wanted the house, but no one wanted to sell it, because they were afraid it would be torn down and the land divided up. That’s when we thought of the library. Keeping everything intact was a priority for all of us who were involved. Come, let me show you.”
She took his arm, and together they walked up the wide marble steps. The leaded glass doors were held open today to catch the pleasant fall breezes, and the two walked into what was once the entry hall of the Thorne’s family home. It was huge and elegant and now housed the main library desk that Leo had carefully selected. The dark, highly polished wood perfectly matched the woodwork and looked like a part of the house. Behind the desk was the door to Halley’s office, and to the right and left were warm, spacious parlors that now housed thousands of volumes of books. She led Nick through every room, explaining as she went. They toured the small rooms in the back, which were used for reading, and on the upper floors they moved in and out of bedroom suites that now hosted meetings and craft groups, art classes and reading clubs.
“Well, do you recognize it all?” Halley asked as they returned to the main entry hall.
Her expression lovingly reflected the pride she had in the library, and Nick smiled. “Strangely enough, I do. You’ve done a beautiful job.” He walked over tothe winding staircase and looked up at the glistening chandelier. When he turned back to Halley, she was standing by the huge desk, shuffling through a pile of messages the assistant librarian had handed her.
“Looks like you work hard, Ms. Librarian.”
Halley looked at him over the rim of her glasses and nodded. “It’s a Finnegan trait. A curse, my mother says. We’re not content unless we’re knee-deep in some project or another.”
“So this is your project …”
Halley didn’t answer. Her attention had shifted to a muddy-shoed, freckle-faced six-year-old who had rushed in the door
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