Contrary Cousins
Page 27
Cuffs raised an eyebrow. “I am glad you said that! I never saw him but twice, but he always seemed to me a dastardly bloke.”
“He was absolutely horrid to Antonia—and to me, once it came out that I had no intention of marrying St. John. He swore he should never speak to either of us, if we remained upon English soil!”
“Thank God for that,” breathed Cuffs. “Then I suppose we shall be spared any visits from your relations?”
Serena smiled rather quizzically. “We shall not be rude to them, of course, if they do come.”
“Oh, my love! Rude? Heaven forbid it! We shall simply take place over them—it never occurred to me before, how useful a dukedom could be!”
For a while, they were silent, walking with their arms interlaced, as if any distance whatever could threaten their new-found happiness. In the distance a setter ran in and out of the gorse, chasing some invisible insect.
“There shall be an exception for Lady P., of course,” said Cuffs at last. “She may come whenever she pleases, so long as she leaves her schemes behind—and her dressmaker,” he added, glancing down at the plain green cloak about Serena’s shoulders. “I like you ten times better without a hundred frills! You are such a handsome woman—how could you get yourself up like that?”
Serena laughed, putting back her head. Her hair, drawn loosely up, fell in waves of heavy auburn about her neck. “I wish Antonia could hear you say that!”
“Well, ’tis true,” replied Cuffs defiantly.
“This is my old driving cloak, for going about the land, and seeing how it grows!” she replied happily.
“And it shall suit you admirably, going about this land!”
Cuffs glanced about him—at the hills and softly slanting downs, the lovely thorny gorse, that he had loved since earliest childhood. Upon a rise, just opposite, he glimpsed the running figure of a young man and woman, chasing each other into a patch of tall grass.
“But what about Antonia?” he demanded, keeping his eyes upon them.
Serena followed his glance, and smiled. “They are quarreling, as usual,” she replied. “I think they shall make a lovely couple.”
Cuffs sighed. “Well, I am glad I have not such a wife! What a good thing Lady P. has decided to leave Freddy all her money—Antonia looks like an expensive habit!”
Serena only smiled, for reply.
About the Author
Judith Harkness is the author of five classic Regency Romances: The Montague Scandal, The Admiral’s Daughter, The Determined Bachelor, Contrary Cousins, and Lady Charlotte’s Ruse, all originally published by Signet. She is the co-author of a screenplay, EMMA in New York, an updated version of the classic Jane Austen novel set in contemporary Manhattan. As J.H. Richardson, she writes non-fiction on subjects ranging from children with learning and developmental issues to profiles of notable creative artists. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband, Will Taft.