Mask of Duplicity (The Jacobite Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free

frown creasing his brow. “You have made me look ridiculous. And in front of the stable boy, too. I assume he is the stable boy, and not some visiting dignitary?”
    In anyone else this last statement would have shown that the victim had seen the humour in the joke, but Richard’s tone was formal, and she realised with a sigh that the young boy she had last seen when he was sixteen might have grown up, but he had not learned to take himself any less seriously.
    “Yes, John is the stable-boy,” she answered. “I’m sorry, I had no intention of making you look ridiculous.” You did that by yourself, with your pompous manner, she thought. “But when I realised you hadn’t recognised me, I couldn’t resist playing a little joke. Forgive me,” she added, going for the conciliatory approach. “Let’s start again. Shall I run down to the kitchen and see what I can find to eat? I’m sure you must be hungry.”
    He agreed, but by the time she returned, carefully balancing several plates of cold meat and cakes in her hands, his mood had not improved; one glance at his face told her that.
    “Here we are,” she said gaily, ignoring his brooding look and setting the plates on the table. “There’s a bottle of claret in the cupboard here.” She bustled about gathering all the necessary things together, before throwing herself down in a chair, careless of her fine satin dress. He sat down more carefully opposite her and helped himself to a glass of wine.
    “I’ve been expecting you to come for three months,” she said. “Didn’t you receive my letter?”
    “Yes, I did,” he said. “It reached me too late for Father’s funeral, but I did receive it eventually. I couldn’t take leave from my regiment at that time, though. We have gone into barracks for the winter now. This was the first chance I have had to come.”
    “I see,” Beth replied thoughtfully. “Have you been in the Low Countries then?” The war of the Austrian succession had broken out the previous year and many European countries were becoming involved, including England’s traditional enemy, France. A large force of British troops, amongst others, had been sent abroad and was now awaiting action. If Richard had been amongst them, it was quite understandable that he would not have been able to get leave, although he should at least have been able to write, which he had also not done. However, if he had been stationed in England all that time, she thought it unlikely that any commander would deny a soldier bereavement leave.
    “No,” Richard answered, confirming Beth’s suspicions that he had stayed away voluntarily. “But I am here now, and I see there is a lot to be done. You have let things slip, Beth. The house is not in a fit state to receive visitors.”
    Beth’s conciliatory mood evaporated instantly.
    “Have you read Father’s will?” she asked.
    Richard nodded, and opened his mouth, but Beth continued before he could speak.
    “Then you will know that he left everything to you, except for the sum he set aside for my dowry, which is considerable, I admit, but also inaccessible unless I marry or reach the age of thirty, neither of which I have yet done. Father was ill for some years before he died,” she explained, her voice catching a little, “and he was not able to keep up with repairs.”
    “I didn’t know that,” Richard said testily.
    “No, well, you wouldn’t, would you? You have had no contact with the family at all since you disappeared into thin air thirteen years ago. The only reason we knew you were in the army was because Sam the farrier saw you and told us. Mother and Father were beside themselves with worry until then. They thought you’d been murdered or had met with a terrible accident. You could at least have let them know you were safe. You must have known how distressed they’d be.”
    “How would I know that?” Richard replied hotly. “Father never took any notice of me at all after he married your