Lord Barry's Dream House Read Online Free

gave him a guilty look and nodded. “I see now that I ought to have informed you. I did not look at things quite that way before.”
    “She is as capable as many a man in this field,” George inserted, earning an anxious look from his niece. “Her father trained her as well as he might his son, had he been interested. He was not, hence Juliana became an apprentice at an early age. When other girls were playing with dolls or doing needlework, Juliana was practicing her drawing—of house plans—and studying the books in this library. You could do much worse than Juliana,” he concluded.
    Lord Barry rose and strode to the window, looking out into the darkness before turning to face Juliana. “I shall not give comment to the situation until I have seen the house for myself. If I find all is well, I may permit the arrangement to continue. I have the plans with me and shall do a walk through the house with them on the morrow.”
    Juliana thought of all the subtle changes she had made in those plans, and her heart sank to her toes. Gallantly facing the challenge, she nodded and said, “I shall be at your side, if you please.”
    She couldn’t figure out what his answering look meant, but she felt a tiny bit of hope growing within. Perhaps ...

 
    Chapter Two
    T he following morning Edmund walked into the breakfast room to find George Teynham seated with his cup of coffee in hand. Seated next to him, Edmund was surprised to see Henry Scott enjoying a hearty breakfast. His surprise must have been revealed on his face, for Mr. Teynham offered an explanation of sorts.
    “Good morning, Lord Barry. I trust you slept well. Henry has joined me in breaking my fast. We frequently discuss the coming day over our coffee.”
    The two men exchanged looks, and Edmund wondered what had been said before he entered the room. He helped himself to various selections displayed on the sideboard, then also seated himself at the oval cherry table. From their gilded frames, assorted portraits of past ancestors looked down on him with varying degrees of approval.
    “Indeed,” Edmund agreed, “I sleep better when in England. It is pleasant to have wool blankets atop me at night. I missed that while in a warm climate. It is one of the many things I look forward to enjoying once established in my own English home.”
    “You intend to remain here, then?” George said, holding his cup in both hands while studying their guest and patron. He exchanged another glance with Henry Scott.
    “I do. I also intend—in due time—to find myself a pleasant English bride and live the good country life of a solid English citizen.” Edmund gave the two men a wry look, then sipped the hot coffee. He grimaced at the knowledge that he sounded more than a little stuffy. But he had longed for a comfortable, pleasant home in the English countryside for so long it had become an ache within him. And he knew he needed a wife — not only to run the house but to provide him with an heir. Wives were necessary items.
    “An English home, an English bride, and an English life. Methinks you have had a surfeit of life in foreign parts,” George said with a half smile. “You must wish that to be kept mum. I warn you that every matchmaking mother within miles will seek you out otherwise.”
    “I’d prefer a peaceful existence—without that sort of thing, thank you.” Edmund tucked into his meal with a hearty appetite. The food was excellent—a typical English breakfast, the sort he had dreamed about while in Jamaica.
    “We shall take care it is not bruited about, then.” If George thought it unlikely that Edmund would be spared the husband-hunting female, he didn’t give voice to the thought. Edmund felt he was more than capable of finding a wife on his own.
    “Good morning, Uncle George, Henry,” Juliana sang out as she entered the breakfast room with a light step. She stopped suddenly when she discovered the third occupant. “Oh.”
    “Good morning, Lady