Dare To Love Read Free Page A

inside.
     
    Gwendolyn had never been so nervous before!
In anticipation of what, she had no idea, but her stomach was in
knots and her hands could not stop trembling. The two women walked
arm-in-arm down the long corridor, peaking through glass windows
and halting at the door of their intended goal. An engraved
nameplate of “ARCHWALD” on its glass face caused Gwendolyn’s pulse
to race with further anxiety. She looked down at her hands…they
were shaking again. Why should a reading of a will make her so
uneasy?
     
    Once inside, a stunted man stood up
immediately. “Mrs. Hollinger?” He asked openly, receiving his
confirmation when Gwendolyn nodded her head, “So sorry to hear
about your Great-Aunt.”
     
    Gwendolyn studied her Great-Aunt’s solicitor.
Mr. Stewart Archwald owned kind eyes, a hefty build and baldhead.
He wore glasses on the edge of his nose that appeared to be too
snug a fit and pinched his skin to redness. “Thank you Mr.
Archwald,” Gwendolyn acknowledged, trying not to laugh at his
cheery beak, “She always had kind things to say about you.”
     
    Mr. Archwald accepted the praise with
dignity, “Thank you Mrs. Hollinger, and may I extend my gratitude
to you for making this long journey. If it was not for my brother’s
hospitality, I would not have been able to use his fine office here
in town. Several other wills in London I must recite, so sorry to
confess, otherwise, I would have met you in Kettlewell.” He then
extended out his hand to show her a chair. “Please—please, do sit
down,” he asked of her, eyeing Phyllis in the background.
     
    “And who is this charming lady?”
     
    Gwendolyn arched her brow and eyed Phyllis,
“My friend, Miss Phyllis Tallymen, Mr. Archwald, my Great-Aunt’s
solicitor.”
     
    Mr. Archwald received Phyllis’s gloved hand
and kissed it respectively, “So nice to meet you Miss
Tallymen.”
     
    Phyllis Tallymen, fifty-two winters with
violet eyes and peppered hair, was spellbound.
     
    Mr. Archwald took his seat and then met eyes
with Gwendolyn. This was no country girl; in fact, she was the
epitome of classic beauty and imagined she would have made a fine
prize for any titled gentry but had been wasted away in the
countryside for far too many years. Properly dressed in a cobalt
bonnet with ribbon fastenings, she wore a navy blue pelisse over a
thin white chemise. Deep russet curls framed a pair of heavily
lashed brown eyes that were concentrated and hypnotic. She was
absolutely stunning, just stunning, but his inspection of her went
on far too long however, and he fidgeted in his chair trying to
clear his embarrassment. He gave Phyllis a momentary look before,
“Let us proceed, shall we?”
     
    “Mr. Archwald, pardon my interruption, but I
want to make sure that my Great-Aunt’s cottage will not be sold at
auction. If there is anything that can be done, I wish to keep
residing there. I do not have much money, but please, kind sir, I
have come to love its simplexes and wish to remain its lessee.”
     
    “I was hoping you would say that, Mrs. Holl—”
he wheezed, pounding his chest repeatedly, coughing up phlegm.
     
    Gwendolyn and Phyllis both leaned away from
him in their chairs, the reaction sounded consequently painful.
“Mr. Archwald”
     
    “A bit of a cold…so sorry,” he coughed again,
grabbing the middle of his chest.
     
    “You should see a doctor, sir.”
     
    “Yes—yes,” he agreed, shuffling papers on his
desk. “Now, the cottage is yours Mrs. Hollinger, along with your
Great-Aunt’s extensive book collection,” he pronounced, clearing
his throat for the fourth time, “But asked specifically that your
daughter receive the zinc and limestone assortment once belonging
to your Great-Uncle.”
     
    “Oh Mary will love that!” Gwendolyn gushed,
gazing at Phyllis apparently immersed by Mr. Archwald’s poor
health.
     
    Mr. Archwald met eyes with Phyllis and then
continued on, “Your Great-Aunt and Uncle were very