Read Online The Lady of Lyon House by Jennifer Wilde - Free Book Online Page A

a brisker trot.
    We were passing along a lovely avenue of elm trees, growing tall and graceful behind a white wooden fence on either side of the road. I could see green slopes behind them and, farther off, the crest of a mountain that was merely a purple haze, like a cloud. Edward Lyon told me that we were almost at Lyon House now, and I felt my pulses quicken with nervous excitement.
    â€œI am a little apprehensive about meeting Mrs. Lyon,” I confessed. “I feel like I am imposing on her, coming like this.”
    â€œNonsense. Corinne went into fits of excitement when her friend wrote her about you. Lyon House gets pretty lonely sometimes. There is no one but the servants and Agatha and me to keep the old lady occupied during the day. She’ll welcome you with enthusiasm. You’ll be a diversion for her.”
    â€œWhat is she like?”
    â€œCorinne? She’s a dragon. Terrifying until you get to know her. She always has been. Bossy, temperamental, autocratic, but grand. She is gracious and generous and warm hearted, despite appearances, but she is determined to have her own way about everything. She usually does. There is no one in the county with guts enough to defy her. She loves to shock people and feels she must fly off the handle two or three times a day just to keep in shape.”
    â€œOh dear, you’re making me nervous,” I said.
    â€œDon’t be. Stand up to her and snap back, and Corinne will love you. She has spirit, and she loves spirit in others. She’s a bit larger than life, a grand old eccentric of the old school. I adore her. She tolerates me.”
    â€œShe’s a widow, isn’t she?”
    â€œYes, my uncle died five years ago. People of the county expected his death to tone her down some, but Corinne was out riding the morning after his death, charging over the hills and galloping down the roads on her fine white stallion. The people were scandalized, horrified at her lack of respect, but it was the kind of gesture they had grown to expect from Corinne. Anything less spectacular would have disappointed them.”
    â€œDoes she still ride?”
    â€œEvery morning at seven. She’s in her middle fifties, but she’s aglow with health. She wears a tan riding habit and a tan derby with a long moss green veil that flies behind her like a banner. It’s one of the famous sights of the county.”
    â€œShe sounds formidable.”
    â€œShe isn’t, not after the first shock has worn off. Everyone loves her, in spite of her shrewish temper and scalding tongue. The tenants of Lyon House worship her. There are no finer farms in this part of the country, and that’s because the people are happy and work well.”
    â€œTell me about Agatha Crandall. She’s a paid companion, isn’t she? I think Mattie told me that.”
    Edward Lyon frowned. I saw a dark line crease his brow; and his eyes grew dark. He scowled, and his face was suddenly unpleasant like that of a petulant schoolboy.
    â€œAgatha was a girlhood friend of Corinne’s. They went to school together. Agatha’s husband died shortly after my uncle, and she came to Lyon House for a visit. She was penniless, had no place else to go, so she just stayed on. Corinne took her in like you would take in a stray cat. Mrs. Crandall isn’t much companionship. She spends most of her time in her room, wearing Corinne’s cast off clothes and drinking the cellar dry.”
    â€œYou don’t like her?”
    â€œLet’s just say I don’t approve of her. If Corinne wants to have her around, that’s her business.”
    â€œHow many servants are there?” I asked.
    â€œThe cook, the housekeeper, two maids and the gardener. They are all new, haven’t been at Lyon House a month. Corinne runs through servants rather quickly. A few of her tantrums and they ask for their pay and leave. I’m hoping this new batch will prove more