Cardiff Siblings 01 - Seven Minutes in Devon Read Free

only thing, as far as Emma could tell,
that hadn’t changed at all was the Parquet flooring. Since it was
already both elegant and serviceable, she supposed there had been
no reason for alteration. The Aubusson rugs covering it, however,
had been replaced with others to suit the blues and creams which
now adorned the walls and the upholstery.
    There had been no single moment of
transformation according to Vanessa’s letters. In the three years
since the first and only house party she and David had hosted,
Vanessa had simply placed more touches of herself—of the quiet,
reserved manner in which the two sisters had been reared—into that
room, in particular, and into Heathcote Park as a whole.
    Standing here now, so far removed from
the dark moment in time she’d prefer to forget, Emma was baffled
that almost nothing remained of the frilly, overly opulent
décor.
    And yet the view outside the great bay
window remained untouched. The estuary, which had been the scene of
the strongest, most violent parts of the memories, remained
thoroughly unchanged—a permanent reminder of all she’d tried so
desperately to banish from her memory. Emma supposed only God
himself could rearrange that scene. She couldn’t very well expect
Vanessa and David to rip out the River Exe and build an orangery in
its place, after all. If such a feat were humanly possible, she had
every reason to expect they would have undertaken the task with
similar vigor to that required for the transformation of the manor
house.
    As though to ward off the
biting chill of the river, Emma hugged her arms over her chest and
gave her back to both the bay window and the memory. She filled a
cup with steaming tea from the service, adding two sugars and just
a drop of cream. On such a pleasantly warm day, no fire burned
behind the fire screen, but positioning herself there she could
avoid looking out the window—something she would prefer to do at
all costs—as she waited for her sister’s arrival. She sat on the
settee by the hearth. With a sigh, she sifted through her reticule
for the book she’d brought along for the journey. Waverley , again. She’d
already read it a dozen times or more, but beggars couldn’t be
choosers.
    A dog’s bark momentarily drew her
attention outside. The hound raced along the open yard and then out
of sight. How odd—she didn’t think David had any dogs as pets here
at Heathcote Park. Perhaps she’d been mistaken.
    Emma pulled her legs up beneath her in
a thoroughly unladylike fashion, leaned back, and opened the book
to where she’d left off. Edward Waverley had just been accused of
both desertion and treason. Highly troublesome, that, particularly
since it meant he was to be arrested. Within moments, she was lost
in the Highlands again.
    “ Good Lord in heaven, Emma,
you should be thankful David didn’t walk in here before I did,”
Vanessa said.
    The intrusion stopped Emma’s reading
just as Waverley arrived at Holyrood Palace to meet with Bonnie
Prince Charlie. She replaced the ribbon between the pages to mark
her spot and grinned up at her sister.
    Vanessa frowned in return. “I can see
half your legs, at least.”
    “ David wouldn’t care one
whit if he saw my legs. They aren’t nearly as shapely or nice to
look upon as yours.”
    “ That’s hardly the
point.”
    “ No.” Emma set the book
beside her cold, forgotten cup of tea and stood, smoothing her
skirt back into its proper place. “But it amuses me to see you in
pique.”
    Vanessa narrowed her eyes, taking
obvious pains to keep all trace of amusement from her expression
but failing spectacularly. Then she stopped trying and smiled. “You
arrived sooner than we expected. I suppose your travel was
favorable? David is still meeting with his secretary, and I was in
the nursery with Patrick and Danielle when Baxter informed me you
were here.” She crossed the room and pulled Emma into a full hug,
then tugged her down to the settee again. “I miss