Anita Birt - A Very Difficult Man.pdf - Anita Birt - SilverWitch

A Cerridwen Press Publication

www.cerridwenpress.com

A Very Difficult Man

ISBN 9781419907913

Edited by Helen Woodall.

Cover art by Syneca.

Electronic book Publication: February 2007

With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in

part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc.,

1056 Home Avenue, Akron, OH 44310-3502.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales

is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Cerridwen Press is an imprint of Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.®

A V ERY D IFFICULT M AN

Anita Birt

Dedication

For Bill, my wonderful husband, for his encouragement and unfailing good humor. And my

critique partners: Jo Beverley, Naomi Bellis, Solveig McLaren, Lee McKenzie-McAnally and

Shereen Vedam.

A Very Difficult Man

Chapter One

England 1855

Her shoulders hunched against the storm, Catherine wiped her stinging eyes with a

gloved hand. Gale force winds swept drenching rain through the bare branched trees

bordering the drive to Glenmore Manor. Why had no one met her at Abbeyleigh station

as promised? She hadn’t mistaken the day. Her duties were to commence on March

first. Lady Glenmore’s letter had confirmed the arrangements.

She was too fatigued to climb the wall again and return to the road. The village,

three miles distant, might as well be thirty or three hundred—there’d be no shelter this

late in the day and no London train until morning.

Her mother had begged her not to accept employment as a companion. “You’ll be

spurned by society, gossiped about at parties. You’ve been out for a year and you’ll not

find eligible gentlemen in a country parish. I don’t know what’s to become of you.”

A sudden gust snatched Catherine’s bonnet and hurled it into a puddle. She

swooped down, grabbed the bonnet and battled the weather to save it from total ruin.

The pretty violet posy she’d pinned under the brim before leaving London flew across

the grassy park and disappeared into a rising mist.

Huddled into her sodden coat she trudged on. Freed from the bonnet her tangled

wet hair dripped chilly water down her neck. Wretchedly unhappy she peered ahead

into the gathering gloom. Distant lights flickered in the manor windows.

A hound bayed in the distance, joined by another close by. Terrified they might

attack she picked up her feet and ran, praying the storm would throw them off the

scent.

Close to collapse, gasping for breath she stumbled up the stone steps to the manor

and pulled the bell. Within minutes a liveried footman opened the door. Nose

twitching, lips pursed, he studied her.

“Yes?”

The last of Catherine’s strength gave way and she burst into tears. “I’m Catherine

Thurston, engaged as a companion by Lady Glenmore. No one met me at the station.

The manor gates are locked. I had to climb the wall to get in. I’m wet and cold and I

want to go home.”

“Oh dear, oh dear. What is this?” A white-haired elderly gentleman with sparkling

blue eyes peeked around the vestibule door.

“The young lady says she is Miss Catherine Thurston.”

Stepping around the footman, the gentleman approached Catherine. “Are you

really Miss Thurston?”

Anita Birt - A Very Difficult Man.pdf

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: