Lisbon: Richard and Rose, Book 8 by Lynne Connolly Read Free Book Online Page B

it seemed like a good idea. You have three new people to meet,” I reminded them.
    The second boat had arrived, the one carrying the babies. Each baby had an attendant, and they carried them towards us in a little procession. Although Helen could toddle, I had instructed her nurse to carry her. I would have carried her myself, but I had the feeling Richard would have forbidden it. He rarely forbade me to do anything, with the result that when he did, I listened. And he was right this time. The planks under our feet were uneven, worn and splintered, pale from the constant application of salt water, despite the magnificence of the design of the dock. But I was glad to see my babies safe.
    At Lizzie’s delighted laugh, I turned my head to meet her gaze and smiled. “I’m the mother of four. All alive, all healthy.”
    Only I heard Richard’s fervent response. “Thank God.”
    I didn’t let him know I’d heard his sotto voce comment. “Three boys and my beautiful Helen,” I said.
    I waved the nurses on. They paraded past us, an exhibition of our fecundity, but so much more than that. The babies’ characters were forming already. I could have told them apart in the dark, just from the sounds they made and the way they moved. Lizzie and Paul gave admiring noises, and I knew that at least Lizzie understood my obsession.
    Before I fell ill, I’d had time to touch and hold my babies. That, I think, helped to create a bond that went deep, so that even though I wasn’t feeding them myself, I could tell when they were hungry, tell when they were uncomfortable, tell when they were bored and wanted to play. Helen had been more difficult to understand, or perhaps I wasn’t as experienced in the ways of infants, but I understood my boys perfectly.
    My mother-in-law had wanted me to leave one behind! Any one, it didn’t matter, just one that would inherit if we all perished at sea. The woman was near to mad with her obsession with family and dynasty. Worse than any pharaoh. We treated her order with the disdain it deserved.
    Paul and Lizzie led the way to a pair of handsome crested coaches. Paul had brought servants who would help Carier supervise the unloading of our luggage, and all we had to do was travel to the house. Richard had hired an establishment in the centre of Lisbon. Paul had selected it and assured us it would serve our purposes. Lizzie had wanted us to stay with them for the whole of our time here, but Richard would have none of that. It wouldn’t do, he told me. We had to have an address of our own. While I didn’t understand why, he did, so I was content to abide by his advice. He understood protocol much better than I did.
    “It’s a neat house,” Lizzie told us as the coaches jerked into action. “A town house much like the one you have in London. But I would like to ask you a favour.”
    Richard raised a brow, but unlike most of our acquaintances, Lizzie did not allow his autocratic gesture to quell her sunny mood. Richard probably didn’t mean it, in any case. He liked Lizzie.
    Lizzie gave him her sweetest smile. “I thought you could see the house, rest there today and overnight, but I’d love you to come to stay at our palacio for a while. Sooner than you planned. The house is in the hills where the air is fresher. We have gardens and plenty of room.”
    Paul smiled fondly at his wife. “It is considered one of the most beautiful houses in the country. My grandfather built it. It is about twenty-five miles outside the city, maybe a little less. We can travel there easily in a day.”
    Richard gave him a friendly smile. “We would be honoured. Rose has missed you, Lizzie, and it would give you time to catch up.” He exchanged a telling glance with Paul. “No doubt you’ll want to discuss any number of matters with each other.”
    Lizzie’s infectious giggle set me off, and I only stopped when I realised we were probably behaving more like schoolchildren than the grown women we were meant to