Mr Forster's Fortune Read Online Free PDF Page B

before she did so. It was not a very acquiescent look. In fact, it was most definitely a very censorious look – a look which made it quite apparent that Lady Barnham strongly disapproved of such unbecoming levity in her drawing room – particularly with it being Sunday. So instead of championing the rather squashed-looking Mr Springfield Cecily meekly allowed Miss Forster quietly to dissuade him, and proposed a somewhat more decorous performance of some light Italian operatics instead.
    It was during a less frantic moment , as they were all enjoying tea, that Cecily’s gaze fell on Lord Barnham once again. Amidst all the comings and goings in the busy drawing room he was sitting quite quietly, watching his guests, with only Aunt Forster sitting now by his side. Nobody went voluntarily to speak to him. Nobody drew him in. And indeed, from that moment on, whenever Cecily’s glance happened to fall in his direction, she could see that nobody paid him the slightest attention whatsoever.
    The evening was so much a success that the onset of the fireworks which had ostensibly formed the main excuse for the event caught them almost entirely by surprise. The conversation froze in mid sentence at the sound of the first explosion and was replaced, after a moment or two’s reflection, by a somewhat unbecoming dash to the windows in order to gain a good view. A servant appeared and snuffed a few of the candles. The room felt warm and intimate in the darkness. Somehow, Cecily was not too sure how, Mr Forster managed to place himself right behind her as she claimed a corner from which to watch the display. She was acutely aware of his presence not an inch away from her, and of his impeccable speaking voice continually interjecting with the most amusing commentary as the brilliant flashes briefly lit and then instantly departed the cloudy winter’s sky.

Chapter 6
    Cecily was sitting at her dressing table, eyeing herself critically in the mirror. Browne was brushing out her hair in preparation for bed. Her chamber was warm and comfortable, and in the flickering light of a candle the face that looked back at her was quite a satisfactory one. The features were regular, she felt, the complexion good and of a healthy colour, the dark hair glossy, and still most charmingly curled.
    ‘I was in company with Mr Forster this evening, Browne,’ she said at last as her maid discarded the brush and set it down before her. Cecily stood up and allowed herself to be eased gently into her nightgown. Browne had warmed it in front of the fire. ‘He is certainly a most attractive young gentleman, with quite some degree of charm. My aunt was a little concerned, I seem to think.’
    The maid nodded astutely. She had been with Lady Cecily since she had left school two years before. She knew only too well why Mrs King might seem a little alarmed.
    ‘Well, it’s early days as yet, my lady,’ she said, cautiously. ‘ And, after all, Mr Alfred cannot expect you to hide yourself away all winter. There are plenty of young gentlemen to seek you out in a city such as Bath.’
    ‘There are indeed. And of course I shall not allow Mr Forster’s personal attracti veness to influence me unduly. I hope I know better than to judge him entirely on his looks...’
    Now that she had completed her research Cecily felt quite ready to undertake some long-awaited purchasing at last. Accompanied by an excited Mrs King and a rather underwhelmed-looking footman, whose task it would be to sort out the deliveries and to carry any immediate purchases back home, she set out to the selected purveyors in good time the next morning, ready to tackle the double endeavour of making her final choices and restraining her aunt from persuading her into acquiring far too much. Even so, she soon found herself the somewhat startled new owner of a most attractive Gibraltar fan and some assorted silver trinkets (newly arrived at Moore’s only that very same morning), two lengths of muslin