Dare To Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

mistress…”
     
    ~~~~~
     
    Gwendolyn flew down the stairs and ran into
the lawns, halting at the sight of a massive emptied fountain that
once held lily pads and numerous frogs. It was no wonder she could
still hear the laughter the dewpond generated…
     
    ~~~~~
     
    “I am not going to touch it, you touch it,” I
demanded of Tommy, crossing my arms in front of him in my best
commandant stance.
    “Quit being such a girl,” Tommy ribbed,
sticking his whole arm down the side of the moss-filled water.
     
    “I am not a girl; I am an officer in the
Royal Navy.”
     
    “No you aren’t, you’re a scaredy-cat and I
dare you to touch that toad.”
     
    I twisted my lips and gazed down at the scaly
beast. It had titanic eyes and seemed to stare back at me daring me
to touch it to prove that it would leap off the side of the lily
pad and right into my hair. “If I touch it, you have to hold it,” I
challenged him, thinking what a better idea would be if we used the
toad to scare our governess.
     
    Tommy smiled and puffed up with acceptance.
“Deal,” he proclaimed, grabbing the toad with both hands and
shoving the beast in front of my face. “Wouldn’t it be funny if we
put this toad in Miss Pinkel’s washbasin this evening?”
     
    That brought on a huge smile, wasn’t I just
thinking the same dastardly thing? “Yes,” I said, reaching out to
the toad and gliding my finger across its back. It was not so bad;
wet and bumpy, anyhow, I could not wait for Tommy to take it
upstairs to shock Miss Pinkel! Oh how we loved to play tricks on
her, retribution for making us wash down before supper…
     
    ~~~~~
     
    Walking away from the limestone fountain,
Gwendolyn reached the rest of the gardens. Once a surplus of envied
roses and flower beds, the garden had lost its color, misplaced its
fragrances, and won an array of shriveled up plants, fallen trees
and dried out leaves. Gwendolyn shook her head at all the waste and
could not look at it anymore and began running away from the ruins.
Picking up speed, she finally reached the coach house and began her
ascent towards it. Eerie friezes of horses’ heads above its
entrance summoned her in. Once inside, Gwendolyn was shocked to see
the Drummond carriages still lined up for usage! One, two, three,
four…four carriages?! Did she really own such luxuries; so much
prosperity at the mercy of disuse. She instantly brought to mind
the hired hack she left waiting at the gates. I will have to let
him go, she thought happily, she now had four luxurious carriages
at her disposal. Walking around them, she pinpointed a steel bench
and froze at the sight of it instantly remembering the last time it
was visited. Slowly walking over to it, she sat down and spread out
the fabric to her dress, languidly fingering the benches edge and
recollected the tears that were once shed there…
     
    ~~~~~
     
    I wanted to talk to Tommy alone, had to get
to him before the wedding took place. Maybe we could run away, or
better yet, even stowaway on one of my father’s ships abroad. I was
not allowed to see him though, my mother told me so. We were to be
kept apart socially, until the matrimony began.
     
    I ran to the estate as fast as my legs could
carry me, halted when I observed Tommy alone with his father. The
window was open and I could hear them shouting. Making sure they
could not see me, I meshed into the brick wall and threw my ear to
the window. Tommy and the Duke of Norwin were debating on something
that I could not quite understand.
     
    “You can live anywhere you wish,” the Duke
proclaimed. “How about India? Madagascar or Africa?” Tommy snapped
back, adding fuel to the fire.
     
    “Do not be absurd, son,” the Duke sharply
replied. “You must live in London in order to help oversee the
trade according to the provisions in the dowry.”
     
    “I do not want to be involved, father!” Tommy
recited with a cry in his voice. “I hate the maritime
business!”
     
    “You will