Echoes of Pemberley by Cynthia Ingram Hensley Read Free Book Online Page A

watched from a rocky outcrop as she came up the horse path to the stables. Sean put a hand to the horse’s nose to discourage any further snorts that might expose him. As she grew nearer, he heard sniffing and faint sobs. Then she stopped and he held his breath, fearing she had seen him. Sean swallowed hard as he watched her raise her hand and wipe her cheeks. He closed his eyes and then looked once more, but his eyes had not deceived him. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were rimmed red. “You’re an arse, Seany,” he whispered to himself and then for good measure added, “a real arse.”
    * * *
    As she soaked in the tub with a wet cloth over her face, Catie slowly drifted to the edge of consciousness. Her tears were gone but the emotion that had been her undoing still hung heavy in her chest.
    “Miss Catie,” Annie called from the other side of the door, startling her back to reality. “You left your dressing gown on your bed. May I come in?”
    “Yes, Annie . . . I’m finished.”
    The door opened and Annie stepped in. As Catie had long since grown too old for a nanny, Annie had, for several years now, attended to her needs when she was home from school. Annie had recently married a groundskeeper by the name of Mark Philips and now lived in one of the estate’s tied cottages. The Darcys had even hosted their wedding reception at Pemberley last summer. This wasn’t unusual; times had changed dramatically since the old manor was first built. And since Pemberley no longer required the army of workers it once did, Ben and Sarah Darcy were much more intimate with their small devoted staff
    Annie hung the dressing gown within reach and asked, “Will there be anything else this evening, Miss Catie?”
    “No,” came from behind the wet cloth.
    Annie couldn’t help but smile at the bubble-covered young woman whom she had watched transform from a child over the last couple of years. “I will leave you then. Oh, Mr. Darcy wanted me to tell you that supper is going to be upstairs tonight.”
    A corner of the cloth was lifted. “Is he to be out?”
    “No, Miss Catie, he’s in,” Annie replied and shut the door behind her.
    It wasn’t like Ben to have dinner upstairs, and curiosity urged Catie to dry off and dress quickly. She gathered her damp heavy tresses into a ponytail and, grabbing the book she had been reading, hurried to the sitting room.
    Attached to the family wing, the large but cozy lounge had been a favorite gathering place for private family evenings well before Ben and Catie Darcy were born. Although the room was slightly less grand than the formal public rooms, it was still rich in architecture with large mullioned windows that faced the lake and intricate moldings that crowned a high ceiling. But this was a place for children. Large comfortable chairs and a floral print sofa tossed with pillows sat under the spread of lamplight, and a television sat on a chest in the corner.
    Catie could hear squealing and laughter as she approached the door and pushed it open to find Ben on his hands and knees, with two spirited riders atop his back. The twins jumped off their father and scampered wildly over to her.
    “Daddy is a horsey, Auntie!” Geoffrey said boisterously, and George followed, mimicking his brother’s every word.
    “I can see that,” said Catie, giving Ben a quelling look. She knew Sarah wouldn’t be pleased to see them so rowdy that close to bedtime.
    “Right,” Ben answered her unspoken warning and told the boys to turn on the television.
    Looking at her brother, Catie had a sudden desire to rush crying into his arms and seek his comfort. But she wasn’t a little girl any longer, too big now to climb up into his lap and be coddled like a child.
    “You all right, Sis?” he asked curiously.
    “Yeah,” she breathed softly as she fell into her usual spot on the sofa and opened her book.
    “How did it go?” Ben sat down at her feet and snatched the book from her hands to have her