Hearts of Gold Read Online Free

the last of its wild days.’
    Magnus had laughed at that. ‘I will be forever looking at things and wondering which pirate brought home that, and which smuggler risked his life with the revenue men. You must consider me tame compared with yourself and my ancestors.’
    ‘Not tame, just honest, and there’s a certain bravery in that. You enjoy life, and you have a reputation amongst the fairer sex as well as being an astute judge of mankind. You deserve a house such as this one. It wears its current reputation badly, and needs someone like you to bring it some dignity. It punished me, but it will treat you kindly if you do the same by it. I promise you, Fierce Eagles will give you a huge amount of prestige, which will attract the most deliciously naughty of the damsels to your side. They will like the reputation of your ancestry, and secretly hope you make as dangerous a husband as you look as if you might.’
    Magnus had tried to hide his grin. He’d never have thought that his uncle would wax so poetic. ‘You’re trying to shackle me before I’ve finished sowing my wild oats. You should take your own advice.’
    He remembered the sadness that had come into his uncle’s eyes. ‘I’ll never be able to live at Fierce Eagles again. I’m off on my last adventure, before the final one calls me. If I grow tired of wandering I’ll return and reside in the house I bought in Bournemouth. I’ll gaze at the sea and the coast and dream of the time your father and grandfather, and every other Kern before us, lived a life of adventure and took on the authorities and won.’
    ‘Except for my father.’
    ‘Aye lad, and to my infinite sorrow, for I loved my brother dearly. But he gave me you to care for, and I’m so proud of you. If he’s looking down, or looking up, whichever is appropriate, he’d be extremely proud of his son, too. As for me, who would have thought that John Kern would eventually earn his living by his wits and the sweat of his brow.’
    ‘Good luck with the venture. Keep me informed of your progress.’
    Magnus had been taken in a bear hug, and his uncle’s voice had been thick with the emotion of the parting. ‘You’ll know when I’ve struck it rich. I’ll send you some gold. Look after my dog.’
    With that John Kern had turned away and strode off. Now and again Magnus received a letter from him, but they were few. He gazed down at his uncle’s elegant hand.
    Life is interesting, if nothing else. Like most people here I live for the moment I discover a significant gold strike. Odd how a search for riches takes a hold of a man. But it’s not the gold I want, but just to unearth it from where it hides in its bed. They call it gold fever. I keep my eyes to the ground when I walk in case I inadvertently uncover a large nugget with my big toe and cover it up again with my heel. How ironic an act that would be.
    I hope you are well, Magnus. Wed yet? I think not. Time has a habit of slipping by, and there’s nothing quite so sad as an ageing roué. Remind yourself that you need to get yourself an heir for Fierce Eagles. In the meantime I’ll console myself with the fact that you enjoy the company of women, and will be firmly hooked by some fluttering miss one day.
    At twenty-four he was hardly an ageing roué yet, Magnus thought, and he grinned. He couldn’t imagine marrying a woman who fluttered.
    If this letter arrives in time, I wish you and the staff a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. There’s a brace of brandy bottles in the cellar that I laid down fifteen years ago. You’ll know the ones. Open them for the staff with my felicitations. Yes, yes! I know the house and contents are now yours. Humour me on this occasion, and drink to my health with the staff.
    If this letter doesn’t arrive in time, it’s bound to get there by your birthday in April, if not, the one after. So, happy birthday.
    From your affectionate uncle,
    John Kern.
    The letter was dated a year after John’s uncle