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(the one with the penchant for practical jokes, who liked nasty
presents from his uncle Jonty) had been out in it at midnight, quite
without parental permission, and broken his foot. This particular
branch of the Stewarts was staying put for the present.
Sheridan was travelling to his wife s family for the festive
season, which left Lavinia, the sole girl in the brood. She lived
near Brighton and had every intention of getting back to her
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Lessons in Discovery
mama s for Christmas day or so she informed her in a call which
ended abruptly when a fall of snow from a tree took the line
down.
 It ll be a bit quiet without the grandchildren. Richard
Stewart looked rather disappointed. He d played with his own
children and now took great delight in chasing Clarence s and
Sheridan s little wombats around the house, pretending to be a
crocodile. Lavinia had yet to produce progeny, although she d had
such an unfortunate time of it on her wedding night that Jonty was
convinced she now slept in a chastity belt, which was harsh if
quite probably true.
 We ll make the most of it, we always do. You could
pretend to be a kangaroo and hop at Orlando.
Orlando looked aghast at this, the suggestion having been
made by Mrs. Stewart as opposed to her son. It wasn t the only
time that day the elder Stewarts surprised them. Just after
luncheon, when the  lads were approaching the drawing room in
search of a pack of cards to play Chinese patience, Jonty suddenly
put his fingers to his lips, beckoning for Orlando to come near
without a sound.
The door was slightly ajar, enough for them to have a clear
view of their host with a sprig of mistletoe held high above his
head embracing their hostess. To the men s astonishment, the
kisses they saw exchanged weren t at all what they expected from
a pair of grandparents. These were the sort of kisses that young
lovers shared, that they shared, deep and passionate, full of carnal
joy and wonder. Embarrassed at intruding upon such a tender
moment, a swift escape to the library was in order.
 Hot stuff, eh, Orlando? Didn t think they could still have it
in them.
 Jonty! Orlando still couldn t adjust to the freedom with
which his lover referred to and addressed his parents. Such things
would never have been done in the Coppersmith household.
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Charlie Cochrane
 I bet they kissed like that the night he proposed.
 It wasn t the night of a thousand proposals, was it?
Orlando giggled like a silly schoolgirl, employing the term that
they d invented for the disastrous evening at the ball which
Helena had described to them a month earlier.
 No, it was here, one New Year. The earl and countess, my
maternal grandparents, were visiting and didn t notice that their
only daughter had slipped into the gardens with the son of the
house. Terribly daring it was of Papa, eluding the chaperone and
all.
 Cold too, I d have thought.
 Ah  Jonty s eyes lit up with affection,   they had their
zeal for each other to keep them warm, of course. My father has
always told us the words he used but I never understood them
until that Sunday when Mama spilled the beans. I couldn t work
out why he felt the need to say  If I ask you to marry me, Helena,
you won t knock me out, will you? 
 Not daft, your dad, is he?
 No, and he s a shrewd judge of character. That s why he
likes you so much. Mama has always been besotted from the first
time you met, but father takes his time to come to a conclusion.
He approves, be assured.
Orlando, as always when embarrassed, studied his shoes.
 I m pleased, he said at last, but the reaching of his hand to take
a surreptitious squeeze of Jonty s was interrupted by the young
lovers who had vacated the drawing room in favour of the library
as they needed liquid refreshment of a stimulating kind after their
endeavours. They smiled shyly at their two favourite boys and
Mr. Stewart slipped the twig of mistletoe he was still holding into
Orlando s hand, with a wink.  Go and chase the housemaids.
Orlando felt his cheeks colouring, but managed to make a
riposte.  We find the housemaids too fleet of foot so we ll have to
make do with the kitchen maids.
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Lessons in Discovery
Mrs. Stewart chuckled, appearing more and more like a
schoolgirl. Orlando began to speculate whether Jonty had
inherited his ability at kissing from his father, the end result being
that the recipient was turned into a giggling, mushy heap.
 Now, Orlando, I have a question about these papers. Mr.
Stewart tried to change the conversation to his present favourite
topic, but his wife raised her hand.
 Can t we have one day in which there is no mention of the
Woodville Ward? I m heartily sick of the doings of the Tudors
and the Yorks and goodness knows who else. Mrs. Stewart
appealed to Orlando, who could hardly resist the petition.
 Perhaps we could hold things in abeyance for a day or two.
What do you say, Jonty?
 Well, I ll be so full of church tonight and goose tomorrow
that you ll get no sense from me anyway. Let s call a moratorium
until the twenty-seventh, shall we? He saw his mother s look of
relief and mischievously added,  Then we can get Lavinia s
Ralph in on the game.
Mrs. Stewart shuddered.  If you must, dear. I dare say the
sooner these things are translated the sooner we ll be done with
it.
Mr. Stewart reluctantly agreed, although he insisted on one
last question.  What I can t come to terms with is the cache of
letters. I understand that Shaa wanted someone to know, at some
point, everything he d done, especially if he was sufficiently
confident of being far away when the furore was raised. That
smacks of conceit and self-satisfaction. But it s the specifics, like
how the variety of papers got into the hoard. Did Charles stash
them away and if so why are there letters to Breton among them?
Did someone else accumulate them for safekeeping, perhaps
Breton himself?
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Charlie Cochrane
 That s more than one question  Mrs. Stewart held up her
hand to stifle protest,   and you won t get any answer for two
days. She sighed happily.  Now who ll play me at whist?
Lavinia and Ralph Broad appeared just as the family was
preparing to trudge through the snow, gloved and booted, to the
midnight service. They d spent the previous night near
Chichester, having been convinced days ago from the sudden
appearance of fieldfares in their garden that bad weather was on
the way. They d progressed to a friend s house before the blizzard
set in and had made the rest of the journey by a combination of
horse, cart and shanks pony, carrying their own bags. Lavinia
took after her mother in spirit and her father in intelligence, if not
after either of them in a liking for carnal pleasures. They were
sent in to be given hot drinks and excused attendance at church,
something that wasn t extended to Orlando, who had subtly
offered to stay at home in case.
 I know church isn t to your liking, young man, but one has
to do one s duty, Mr. Stewart had adjured him.  Anyway, he
added in a whisper,  Jonty would be so disappointed if you didn t
come along.
The object of their discussion was up ahead with his mother,
holding her prayer book and laughing like a little boy on the way
to the circus. Orlando merely nodded, not daring to answer his
host s remark in case he got choked up or said something too [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]