A Lesson in Forgiveness Read Online Free PDF

tentatively ate her eggs, as if she'd never before had coddled eggs. When she discovered the jam, she cheerfully scooped up some onto her plate and dabbled it onto her toast. Paying no attention to him, she sipped her tea and continued her meal. Whitmore was intrigued.
    “Does the food meet your expectations?” he asked while she sipped her tea.
    “It's quite good, thank you. The jam is spectacular. Nothing like I've had before.” Oops , she thought squinting her eyes slightly, was that too much information?
    Before he could respond, the butler returned with another tray. She noticed his plate was similar to hers, except his had the added bonus of some kind of undercooked looking meat. Ginny was glad it hadn't landed on her plate. What truly surprised her was the small pot that contained a liquid far darker than tea.
    “Is that coffee?” she asked, surprised and hopeful. Ginny didn't live on coffee, but she enjoyed her morning cup. Giving it up wasn't the worst of her sacrifices, but it felt good to get something familiar back.
    Whitmore quirked an eyebrow at her. “Yes, of course.”
    “I'm sorry. I didn't know that was a choice.” Looking at the butler, she asked, “May I have some coffee?”
    Whitmore smiled. She looked absolutely desperate. When the butler returned with the coffee, she added a little sugar and cream, then smelled the aroma before sipping the hot liquid. The change to her face was noticeable. It went from anticipation to relief, like a drug addict getting his first hit of the day.
    “I do not believe I have ever seen a woman drink coffee before.”
Ginny scrunched up her face and looked across the table. “Really,” was all she replied. She knew she had to get used to the way things were. Feminism was probably only in its beginning stages and probably not at all among her class. Women were still owned by men, never being able to hold property and with very few career choices.
    Whitmore sensed a change in her demeanor. He didn't understand it, so he went about eating his breakfast and reading the newspaper. As he read an article about Napoleon, he grunted. The problem with empires , he thought grimly, was having to deal with too many things at once.
    “Which article are you reading?” Ginny asked, curious about his grunt.
    “Napoleon conquering the Continent.” He was curt, figuring she was just as curt to him earlier.
    Ginny had a high level view of history, not entirely certain of all the details. Of course, she knew that eventually Napoleon would be defeated at Waterloo and sent to cool his heels on Elba. Skipping any details that might come out later and prove her ability to “see into the future”, she simply said, “After being defeated in Egypt, I would think England has little to fear from Napoleon.”
    Pulling down the paper, Whitmore looked back at his astute guest. She was young, but seemed not to be as frivolous as the other young ladies attending his party in the hopes of meeting a future husband. Leaning back in his chair, he regarded her somewhat differently. “It would be irresponsible for England to become complacent. The Treaty of Amiens does not ensure our safety against a man so insistent on conquering the world.”
    “I agree. England should continue to build up its resources in the event Napoleon gets any grand ideas.” Ginny had no idea what she was talking about or if her facts were even remotely accurate, but she had to admit that she sounded good.
    Turning his head slightly, he said, “You are well informed, Miss Hamilton. I imagine that comes from reading the newspaper.”
    “Also from reading anything else. I guess I was never one for embroidery.” Ginny knew from her memories that Bethany did do embroidery, but never much cared for it and wasn't very good at it. She continued to regard him to see his reactions. After their battle over “inappropriate topics,” she wondered if this might be included.
    “I find reading to be an admirable pursuit.