An Eligible Bachelor Read Online Free PDF Page A

bit bashfully.
    You’ll read about it soon enough. In the papers.’
    Barney gave him a playful punch on the arm.
    ‘Congratulations, mate. And don’t worry. You’re bound to feel nervous.’
    As Guy counted out the money for lunch, he tried tofeel reassured. But still he couldn’t ignore the little nagging feeling of doubt. And he thought he knew what it was. He adored Richenda, that was certain. His heart leaped when she came into the room, or when he woke up next to her; he missed her dreadfully when she wasn’t around. But he wasn’t sure he knew her. She was mysterious, alluring, enigmatic – all things he found incredibly attractive and a turn-on, but he wasn’t sure they were qualities you looked for in a wife. ‘Wife’ said to him comfort, cosiness, familiarity – knowing about each other’s hopes, fears, bunions, childhood illnesses. When you looked at Barney and Suzanna, for example, you knew they knew each other inside out. But he hadn’t a clue whether Richenda had had chicken pox, or whether she liked marzipan. Or even where she’d like to go on their honeymoon. It would be up to him to book it, but he wasn’t sure of her ideal destination. Or even if she was afraid of flying…
    As he drove his mother back through the lanes to Eversleigh, Guy told himself it was up to him to take their relationship on to the next level, to dig underneath the passion and the novelty for something more solid and sensible. He felt certain he would be reassured by what he found. And, he reminded himself, if it all went pear-shaped he could always bail out. They were only engaged, after all, and engagements could be broken off. It wasn’t as if they were getting married tomorrow.
    While Madeleine and Guy went out for lunch, Richenda took the opportunity to wander round the house safe in the knowledge that she could explore for at least an hour before they got back. Not that she wanted to snoop,exactly. After all, she’d spent the best part of six months at Eversleigh. But it had been always teeming with cast and crew, lit by ferocious lights, crammed with cameras and cables and wires, its walls resounding with shouts and instructions. Panic and turmoil had reigned. Now a gracious calm had settled upon it, and apart from the few members of the production team who were restoring it to its former glory, and the men taking down the marquee, she had the place to herself. She wanted to revel in the wonder of its thick walls and take in the glorious fact that soon she would belong here. She would be Mrs Guy Portias, of Eversleigh Manor.
    Loads of stars were buying up mansions in the Cotswolds. Elizabeth Hurley and Kate Winslet had already succumbed; even Kate Moss was rumoured to be looking for a place in the country. But there was a world of difference between buying a stately home and actually having the right to be there. The Portias family had inhabited Eversleigh Manor for five generations. Their coat of arms was set in stone over the front entrance.
    There was no doubt that as houses went, Eversleigh was deliciously perfect, which was why it had made such an ideal location for Lady Jane Investigates . It was nestled smack bang in the middle of the village, next to the church, hidden by ancient trees and a crumbling, moss-covered stone wall. A pair of wrought-iron gates hung on two stout pillars, leading into a semicircular gravelled area in front of the porticoed entrance, though no one parked here – a drive led off round the side of the house to the garages and stable block. The house itself was symmetrical: each eave, each chimney pot, each mullionwas perfectly reflected. The windows were leaded with squares rather than diamonds, which lent an air of elegance rather than chocolate-box tweeness. Everything was ancient and aged, smothered in moss and verdigris and lichen. The only hint of the twenty-first century was a small blue box tucked under one of the eaves that housed the necessary burglar alarm.
    The huge