Since the knocking showed no sign of abatement, Dominic swung his legs to the floor and took stock. Where the hell was Clement? Damn, his valet was still in the country visiting his ailing mother. A good evening, but he’d pay for it all day.īelatedly he realized there was pounding on the door as well as in his head. He came awake slowly, knowing he shouldn’t have drunk so much at the boxing match the night before. Such a pity.ĭominic Renbourne’s head was pounding like a regimental drum. But such a pity what had happened to her. When news of the small heiress was released, people talked about what a miracle the child’s survival was. It was the least-and the most-her uncles could do. But Amworth was right she could be kept in comfort. He doubted that Lady Meriel Grahame, only child of the fifth Earl Grahame, would ever regain her sanity. As an army officer he’d seen madness and knew it came in many forms, including total withdrawal from the real world. Grahame shook his head but didn’t argue the point. In a safe, happy home, she may gradually improve.” Find a kind widow among the family connections to look after her. We must set up a household for her at Warfield. “We can’t put her in some filthy madhouse. If she were going to recover, surely there would be some sign by now.” Grahame’s face was almost as pale as Amworth’s. “It’s been over two years since her parents died, the better part of a year since she was returned to English hands. Perhaps… perhaps someday she might regain her wits.” “Dear God, what a tragedy! She was such a bright, sweet child. Looking shaken, Lord Amworth allowed himself to be guided back to the sitting room by Lord Grahame. Since she didn’t want to be separated from the fellow, it was decided to bring him to England. The maharajah chose him to escort Lady Meriel to Cambay. Madison explained, “He’s a eunuch, you know. In a whisper that penetrated more thoroughly than a regular voice, Mrs. When the English lords looked in his direction, he pressed his hands together in front of his chest and bowed, but he was as silent as Meriel. Madison nodded toward the corner of the room, where a turbaned and bearded young Indian watched in silence. “She notices Kamal a bit, but no one else. Apparently she was sorting the blooms by color and size. She pulled her hand away as if he didn’t exist and carefully placed a lily next to a yellow rose. Remember the pony rides in the garden at Cambay?” Taking one tiny hand, he said intensely, “Meriel, it’s your uncle Francis, your father’s brother. She was only an infant when her parents left England, but she knew me when she was five.” Grahame also knelt within the girl’s line of sight. The physicians who examined her in India said she’d always be a child.” “Not deaf, but her wits are gone, destroyed by the horrors of her captivity. “Meriel, do you remember me? Your uncle Oliver?” “Is she your niece?”Īmworth exclaimed, “It’s Meriel! She’s the image of my sister at that age.” He dropped on one knee by the bed. “Such a pity what happened to her, but she’s never a bit of trouble,” Mrs. There was only the faintest flicker in the pale green depths before she dropped her gaze to the flowers again. She glanced up, revealing elfin features and widely spaced eyes.
On the bed, a small, fragile girl was solemnly arranging cut flowers in an arc in front of her, a cascade of hair so pale it was almost white falling about her face. They crossed the sitting room and looked through the open door. Madison.” Grahame’s restless gaze scanned the receiving room. “And it was very good of you to accompany the child back from India, Mrs. One sharp knock and a plump, elderly woman admitted them. They reached the upper hall and walked to the room where the newly arrived party was staying. No one, much less a five-year-old child, could have survived the massacre and fire.” “I saw the ruins at Alwari when they were still smoking, Amworth. The lines in Lord Grahame’s harshly weathered face deepened. “How many lost blond English girls can there be in northern India?” “Of course it’s Meriel,” Lord Amworth retorted. His taller companion touched his arm in warning.
#Online into the wild book full
I met a lady in the meads Full beautiful, a faery’s child Her hair was long, her foot was light, And her eyes were wild.Īs the two men climbed the steps inside Grillon’s Hotel, the slighter one pushed ahead impatiently. To libraries and librarians: God bless you, every one
0 kommentar(er)
