Intrigued by Bertrice Small Read Free Book Online Page A

Freddie have been riding since they were three. It will be tiring, but they will survive it, I’m certain,” his brother advised.
    “Perhaps you’re right,” the Duke of Lundy replied, nodding thoughtfully. “Brie and Freddie will think it a game.”
    “When will you go?” Henry asked.
    “I’ll give the children two days to rest and then we must be on our way. I cannot take the chance that Welk will find us here, and I would be over the border as quickly as possible. The more distance I put between the children and England, the safer I will feel.”
    Henry Lindley agreed, and while he loved his younger brother, he was not sorry to see him depart two days later. He and his wife had five children of their own who must be considered. And there were Cadby and its people to be protected as well. Unlike his father, who had been a charming and swashbuckling gentleman, life had taught Henry Lindley to be cautious, which was not a bad trait in this day and age.
    The Dowager Duchess of Glenkirk bid her second son a tender farewell. “Try not to get yourself killed, Charlie,” she said. “God’s blood! You so resemble your father! Remember, you are all I have left of him, Charles Frederick Stuart. I am not of a mind to give you up yet.” She kissed him on both cheeks. “You can reach me by sending your messages to Belle Fleurs. Even if we are not there, they will know how to get in touch with me.” She kissed him again, and then turned her attention to her three Stuart grandchildren. “You must be in charge of your brothers, Sabrina. Obey your Uncle Patrick when you can, though he’s likely to let you run wild.” Jasmine kissed the little girl.
    “Yes, Grandmama,” Lady Sabrina Stuart said, and she curtsied.
    “And you, Frederick Henry Stuart, remember who you are. Obey your uncle and watch over your sister and baby brother,” she instructed.
    “I will, Grandmama,” Freddie said, kissing her hand.
    “Gracious! That was as elegantly done as any courtier, laddie,” she praised him, and then kissed both his cheeks.
    “And now you, William Charles Stuart, obey your elders and try to be a good lad.”
    “Yeth, Mam,” the little boy lisped.
    Jasmine smiled softly, then bending, she kissed the child. Straightening, she looked at them a final time and said, “God go with you all, my dears.” Then she reentered the house, not wanting to see them ride off.
    “Until the Roundheads came, it was a lovely summer, Charlie,” Autumn said. “I’m sorry it had such a sad end to it.” Then she flung her arms about her brother and kissed him. “I will miss you.”
    “Don’t wed with just any man, little sister,” he advised her. “Marry for love and love alone, Autumn.” Kissing her, he turned away and mounted his horse, joining his family.
    Autumn had already bid her nephews and niece a fond farewell. Now she stood with Henry as the Duke of Lundy and his children, in the company of the Glenkirk men-at-arms, rode away from Cadby. The brothers had said their good-byes previously.
    “I hate Cromwell and his pocky Roundheads!” she said softly as the riders disappeared around a bend in the road.
    “So you say quite frequently, little sister,” Henry remarked dryly. “Come inside now. The day is chill, and if you and Mama are to leave for France shortly, you must be healthy and well.”
    “Have you ever been to France, Henry?” she asked him.
    “Several times,” he told her. “You will enjoy it. I believe Mama means to spend the winter in the Loire at Belle Fleurs.”
    “Oh,” Autumn said, sounding disappointed. “I was hoping to go to Paris.”
    “Do not fret, sister,” her brother advised. “Mama will want you to acclimate yourself to France, give you time to get used to speaking French instead of English, have a wonderful and most fashionable wardrobe made for you and, like any good general planning a strategy, learn all she can about the current French court. Her wealth, and her grandfather’s