A Midsummer Bride Read Online Free Page B

help me do it!”

Three
    Harriet awoke in a strange, ornately decorated bedroom, and it took several moments to remember where she was. It all came back in a tumbled heap. She had been accepted by Lord Langley, introduced to the servants, given a hastily prepared welcome dinner, at which she sat at the far end of a long table from her grandfather. They ate in silence with no less than four footmen in attendance. At the end of that odd charade, she had been given her mother’s old bedroom, where she took her first opportunity to write a letter to her parents, and gratefully fell asleep.
    Despite everything that had happened, many of her thoughts circled around one man, and it was not her elderly grandfather. Lord Thornton factored prominently in her thoughts and even her dreams. She had never before been so afflicted, and was not sure what to name this growing interest in a man she had only just met.
    True, Lord Thornton was a handsome man, and true he had been kind to her. Perhaps it was simply finding a friend in a strange land that had her so captivated. That must be it. Yet she found herself anxious to meet her “friend” once more.
    “I see you are awake.” Nellie bustled into the room with a wide smile. “Well now, such doings I don’t know what to make of it. They gave me my old room, can you imagine? Haven’t slept in that bed since I was a young girl.”
    A bit bemused by her maid, Harriet accepted the offered dressing gown. Nellie had been working for the family since before she was born. She knew Nellie had come over from England with her mother, but honestly she had never given it much thought. Everything in London was new to Harriet, but to Nellie it was coming home.
    “I suppose we should make our way to the docks and book passage home,” said Harriet without much enthusiasm. She was accustomed to sailing short trips with her father, but the passage across the Atlantic was not something she relished repeating. And yet, there was only one way home.
    Nellie scrunched up her nose. “His lordship will send a man down to do that for you. If you don’t mind me saying, things are different here in London. Ladies do not visit the docks. Ever.” Nellie was firm on this.
    “I suppose that would be best,” conceded Harriet. “It would allow me time to visit some of the museums I have only read about. Can you imagine? Right now, I am within a short walk of the National Gallery and the British Museum!”
    Once again Nellie shook her head. “Ladies do not scamper about London on foot. Ever.”
    “Perhaps I could borrow one of his lordship’s horses?”
    “Gads, child, no! If you must visit a place, you will ride in a carriage. And you really ought to have a man escort you. I can go with you if there is none other. Or perhaps me and one of the footmen.” Nellie looked up at the ceiling, thinking aloud.
    “Do you think one of the footmen would be interested in visiting the museum?”
    “Interested? No, of course not. But propriety must be observed. You are the granddaughter of an earl and you are in London.”
    Harriet sighed. She hardly knew herself anymore. “Fine, whatever you think is best.” It wasn’t that she objected to propriety; she simply couldn’t spare a moment to think about it. As long as she got to visit the British Museum, the entire staff could tag along for all she cared. Might even be educational for them.
    “Good!” Nellie smiled at her like she was an obedient child. “Now I’ve been through your gowns, and I think the white with the blue sash would be perfect, though now that you are in London, you should consider visiting a modiste to get some frocks in the latest fashion. And your bonnets have been ripped to shreds from all that wind.”
    “Whatever for?” asked Harriet. “I reserved some frocks and bonnets from the rigors of the wind on decks. They should do. Besides, we will not be here more than a few weeks before we can find passage on a ship back to