Abbeyford Inheritance Read Free Page B

old thing, you’re sure hot, aren’t you?” She sighed. “ So am I.” She looked down at her old skirt, dusty and badly stained. “ I can hardly meet my grandfather like this,” she murmured, “but I guess there’s not much I can do about it.”
    Although she had been confiding her thoughts to the mule, the tinker’s sharp ears missed nothing.
    â€œâ€™Ere, ain’t you no other dress but that ’un?”
    Adelina grinned up at him. “ I’m afraid not. He’ll just have to take me as I am.”
    The tinker sniffed and rummaged in a box behind him. He pulled out a pale blue silk dress, high-waisted with puffed sleeves and a low neckline. “Will this fit you?” He pushed it at her.
    She held it up before her, her eyes sparkling. It was crumpled and had a small tear at the hem, but it was a vast improvement on the garments she wore. “Yes – but I’ve no money.” She held it out to him. “ I’m sorry – I can’t pay you.”
    â€œG’arn,” he sniffed. “You’m been company on the road here from Liverpool. Tek it.”
    â€œAre you sure?” Adelina said doubtfully, but still holding the garment, secretly longing to keep it, but the tinker looked scarcely any wealthier than herself!
    He grinned toothlessly at her. “ Well, I ain’t no use for it, an’ folks round here won’t buy it, it’s a sight too fancy for country women.”
    â€œWell – if you’re sure – thanks a lot.”
    The dry dust rose in little puffs as she walked along the meandering lane and Adelina was thankful to reach the shade of the wood. She was so hot and sticky and thirsty. She dropped down into the grass, leant against a tree and closed her eyes, but her mouth and throat were so dry. In the quiet of the wood she listened intently.
    Amidst the birdsong and the rustling of scurrying little creatures through the undergrowth, Adelina could hear the sound of water. She licked her dry lips and swallowed, her throat sore. The sound seemed to come from her left so she rose and followed the narrow, winding path through the trees until the way fell steeply downwards. The noise of the waterfall was louder now. Eagerly, Adelina slipped and slithered down the path and gasped with sheer delight as she came upon the waterfall and the rocky pool.
    Scrambling feverishly over the rocks, she cupped her hands beneath the sparkling water and drank and drank. Then she splashed it over her hot face. Thirst satisfied, she sat down upon a rock and watched the waterfall in fascination. It was cooler here, beside the water and beneath the shade of the overhanging trees, but she still felt hot and dirty. She spread out the dress the tinker had given her on a rock and eyed the deep, inviting pool longingly. Without really making a conscious decision, she peeled off her clothing and jumped into the water. She gave a little squeal of surprise and pleasure, the water was colder than she had expected, but lovely, deliciously cooling! She splashed and dived and shook her head like a playful puppy, enjoying the freedom, the freshness.
    Riding through the wood on his way home, Francis Amberly, seventh Earl of Lynwood since the death of his father twenty-three years earlier, heard faintly Adelina’s squeals of delight. Quietly, he swung down from his horse and leaving the trustworthy animal, he ran softly between the trees until he came out at the edge of the rock face overlooking the pool. For some moments, he watched the lovely naked water nymph splashing in the water. In a patch of sunlight filtering through the trees, she raised her wet face to the warmth, hair plastered darkly to her head, eyes closed, lips parted in sheer ecstasy.
    Lynwood felt a strange constriction in his chest, the scene reeling before his eyes. He grasped hold of the branch of a tree to steady himself.
    No! No – it wasn’t possible!
    He