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Since the choice was out of his hands, he ought to concentrate on behaving as prudently as Miss Antinori Mrs Randall had finished her repast, her charge had pushed the food back and forth on her plate a sufficient number of times and heaven knows, he couldn’t choke down another bite Best to get them back on the road to his estate, the sooner to expose to his guests the full extent of his unsuitability, so that he s

And though the hiring of the carriage to bring them here today had severely diminished his reserve of coins, he vowed he would rent a horse to ride on the return journey even if it s were available at various gaht for a month

WILL FOUND HIS NERVES winding tighter with every mile they drew closer to Brook On the other hand, each turn along the now-faht into vie vistas into woods he’d explored and streams he’d fished on his infrequent but prized holidays here, evoking a flow of fondin a place in which he’d spent comparatively little tihtforward acceptance the Phillipses had always accorded him that made the manor and its land so dear to him

But drawing nearer also speeded hiird hiusted reaction of the ladies, once they viewed the true extent of Brook’s decrepitude

The carriage turned off theriver “The gatehouse is just ahead,” he infor with anticipation and dread

“Is this the brook for which the estate was nara asked “’Tis lovely, and the woods also Will we be able to see the manor house from the drive?”

“Not until we are al view of the surrounding countryside, fro able to see to the hilltop”

The carriage made a sharp turn to enter the drive Will sucked in a breath, fending off the tug ofto see Brook as his visitors must

The tall brick wall that led away fro atehouse, its s elass and part of its roof fallen in Only the drive, which received enough traffic to keep the grass beaten down, didn’t look the picture of neglect

They passed fields that had once, he vaguely re rows of wheat, non up in weeds and bracken As they climbed steadily upward, the tenant farardens neatly tended and new thatch on the roofs, the latter courtesy of a run of good luck he’d had at the tables in the early fall

“The farood heart,” Mrs Randall said

“I believe the land is quite fertile,” he replied “Not that I know riculture”

Before she could answer hie crested the rise and suddenly, across an untidy meadohich had once been an expanse of parkland, he saw in the distance the stone and half-timberedin the sun as if waving a greeting Despite the trial to coh Will

“How charra exclaimed

“You’ll probably not find it so char-room roof,” he replied, the need to squelch his pleasure at her coh you mustn’t fault the caretakers Mr and Mrs Phillips have done all one could expect hat little funds were available to prevent the whole place fro into ruin They will have marshaled all their resources to provide as co you will not hold them responsible for Brook’s deficiencies”

Though Mrs Randall looked a bit uneasy after that daunting speech, Allegra replied, “I ahtful”

Recalling the Adaance of Lynton House, Will wasn’t so sure The churning in his gut intensified and suddenly he regretted the crackbrained idea of inviting her here, exposing Brook to her discerning eyes in all its shabbiness He thought of the humble accommodations in the kitchen and the sh repair to receive guests, the fors in tatters, their wall coverings spotted with da his face, he had the crazy desire to order the barouche to turn around immediately and head back to Hemley