Carousel of Hearts by Mary Jo Putney Read Free Book Online Page A

Adam would marry someday, but that had been sheer lack of imagination on her part.
    Later she’d experienced the usual girlish infatuations, but had never felt that the objects of her fervor were destined to become her life’s companion. She had cherished a secret belief that there would be one special man for her, a man worth waiting for, who would love her as deeply as she loved him.
    As the years went by, she lost that certainty.  Since girls were raised to be bird-witted romantics, she came to believe that she had been deluding herself.  That was why, in a burst of pragmatism, she had accepted an offer from Lord Ramsay.  When pragmatism faded, she’d jilted from a growing conviction that marriage to that particular man would be a disastrous error.
    As the years passed with ever-increasing speed, she had begun to worry that she had waited too long, that her foolish fantasy would keep her a childless spinster. And then Simon had appeared and her life had snapped into focus.
    The moment she saw him, she had known that she had been right to wait. What if she had married Adam, then Simon had come to visit them? To meet the love of her life when she was married to another man for whom she cared deeply… The mere thought of such a tragedy caused her to shudder.
    Simon caught her involuntary movement out of the corner of his eye. “Are you cold? I’m a selfish beast for keeping you out here in the wind.’’
    She smiled sunnily. “I’m not cold in the least. My guilty secret is that I’m as tough as a cavalryman, without a trace of female delicacy either mental or physical.”
    He looked disconcerted before he returned her smile, his blue eyes humorous. “You make it hard for me to admit what a frail fellow I am, Lady Antonia. Will I be utterly sunk in your opinion if I suggest that it is time we ate and that that stone wall will protect my feeble bones from the wind?” 
    Antonia laughed at how neatly he had maneuvered her to a warmer spot.  She had to admit that the breeze was a trifle overfresh. Lifting the skirts of her navy blue riding habit, she collected their al fresco meal from her horse’s saddlebags.
    One of the things she loved about Simon was his quiet, self-deprecating humor. Any other man so handsome would be unbearably conceited, but he seemed oblivious to the effect he had on women. Instead, he was almost diffident in the way he treated her, as if not quite believing she welcomed his attentions.
    The protected spot by the stone wall was sunny and warm, and commanded a spectacular view north to the rugged hills of the high Peak country. There was a delightful intimacy in sitting so close together on a blanket, sharing wine, pate, cheese, and fresh crusty bread.
    After hunger was appeased, Simon leaned back against the stone wall, his long legs crossed at the ankle, a glass of red wine clasped in one hand. “Is one of those hills the Peak?”
    She shook her head. “No, in spite of the name, there isn’t any one peak. Even Kinder Scout isn’t a real mountain, though it is the highest point in the district. This country is more like the Scottish Highlands or the Yorkshire moors.”
    She studied the prospect, trying to imagine how it looked to someone who had never seen it before. “Some parts are too barren even for grazing, fit only for grouse-hunting. I know it looks bleak to some people, but I find it beautiful, even though almost half of Thornleigh isn’t arable.”
    “It is beautiful, and dramatic as well.’’ Simon had a slow, quiet manner of speaking, every syllable clear and considered. “Once this land lay beneath the sea. Marine creatures lived and died, leaving their intricate forms for us to marvel at.
    “Later the seas retreated and there were plants like the ferns, perhaps an exotic tropical jungle with creatures we can’t even imagine. Then the earth lifted, the layers of stone folding over on themselves like lengths of velvet.”
    He gestured at the valley, his blue eyes