Sweet Rosie by Iris Gower Read Free Book Online Page A

saving poor Alice Sparks from leading a very dreary life, don’t you?’ He smiled. ‘I always try to do some good works, you know. I am such a charitable man that it grieves me to see a feisty young woman deprived of affection.’
    Llinos tried to imagine Mr Sparks having a wife with spirit and smiled. Perhaps Mrs Sparks had too much spirit and that might account for why her husband was so bad tempered.
    ‘Be careful though, Eynon,’ she said soberly. ‘I don’t trust that man, not one little bit. I think he would be the sort to do someone harm if he had the means.’
    ‘Forget the Sparks family.’ Eynon looked at her in concern. ‘How are you feeling? I know you’ve had a bad time of it lately.’
    ‘I’ve tried to put it all out of my mind now.’ Llinos looked down at her hands; it was an effort to speak normally about so painful a subject. ‘I know there won’t be any more children.’ She looked up. ‘I feel so guilty about that and, to make it worse, the loss of our daughter affected Joe badly.’
    Eynon took her hand. ‘You have a fine son and you are a beautiful woman, what more could any man want?’ As his eyes met hers, she read the love there and the longing. She squeezed his hand.
    ‘You are always such a comfort to me. I know Joe had to go home, he’s worried about his mother, but I needed him with me. Instead, I’m looking to you for comfort. Am I being unfair to you?’
    He shook his head. ‘Of course not!’
    ‘Why do you still love me, Eynon?’ she asked in a small voice. ‘Why can’t you find a woman who is single and free?’
    ‘I can’t love another woman when I love you so much.’ Eynon looked away; if he looked into her eyes she would read too much of his pain.
    ‘Oh, Eynon!’ Llinos put her arms around him. ‘You are my dearest friend in all the world, the only other man beside Joe I could possibly love.’
    She felt his arms warm around her and she closed her eyes. It was so comforting to have a man hold her. If she was another sort of woman she might have given him the comfort of her body and taken comfort from his. But Llinos belonged heart and soul to her husband; she never wanted any man except Joe. The trouble was, he did not seem to want her.
    ‘I’d better get back home,’ she said, at last releasing herself from Eynon’s embrace. ‘My son will be missing me. Will I see you tomorrow?’
    ‘I expect so.’ With his arm around her shoulders he accompanied her through the hallway and onto the front step.
    ‘Don’t worry if you can’t manage it, Eynon,’ Llinos said quickly.
    ‘Of course I can manage it! I can’t wait to come over to your house and play games with that boy of yours.’ He helped her into the carriage. ‘Lloyd is so like his grandfather, sometimes I think he’s inherited his soul.’
    ‘Hush!’ Llinos said. ‘You sound like Joe!’
    Eynon sighed. ‘Do I?’ he said wistfully. ‘I wish I was half the man your husband is.’
    ‘You are your own man, that’s all you need to know,’ she said.
    As the carriage jerked into motion, she raised her fingers to her lips and blew him a kiss. She was aware of him watching as the carriage rolled down the tree-lined drive towards the road.
    She leaned back against the cold leather seat, closing her eyes. She missed Joe so badly it was like toothache. She had cried at their parting, she felt bereft as though he was gone from her for ever and it frightened her.
    ‘Come home, my darling,’ she whispered but she was answered only by the creaking of the carriage and the rumble of wheels on the cobbles.
    The journey from Eynon’s house to her own took only little over half an hour. As the carriage turned into the yard, Llinos saw her son wave excitedly to her from the window of the house.
    He leaned out over the sill, waving a letter at her. ‘Daddy’s written us a letter, Mamma,’ he said. ‘Hurry up, come and read it.’
    In the drawing room, Lloyd had seated himself beside Charlotte on the