Sea of Lost Love Read Online Free PDF

secret. I’d hate Archie to know. He’s a proud man.”
    â€œI’ll pay it all back…”
    â€œConsider it a gift. After all, you entertain me and my family here at Pendrift every summer; it’s the very least we can do.” Julia sat up and took a deep breath, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
    â€œThank you, Monty. I knew I could rely on you. You’re always there, a wonderful knight in shining armor. What would we do without you? You’re a real brick.”
    â€œYou’re a splendid woman, Julia. A terrific wife and mother. I’m glad you felt you could ask.”
    â€œI know Archie would hate me to sneak about behind his back. But I’m desperate. I can’t stand to see him so burdened. It depresses him, weighs him down as if he’s carrying this heavy backpack all the time, full of unpleasant worries.” She smiled affectionately as she reminisced. “He was very different when I married him. Of course, when one is young, one believes one is invincible, and he never anticipated inheriting Pendrift until he was an old man. He certainly never realized it would be such a load. We all imagined Ivan would last forever. He might have a ghastly temper at times. I’ve never minded that. It’s the troubled silence that sends alarm bells ringing. I’d far rather he tore the place apart in fury than fumed alone in his study. I can’t reach him there, you see.” She sighed and placed her hand on her brother-in-law’s arm. “I do love him so very much. I just want my old friend back. I know you understand.”
    â€œI do. More than you know. And I want to do all I can to help.”
    â€œI won’t ask again, I promise.”
    â€œYou can ask as often as you like. You’re family, and family must stick together.”
    There was a noise from the hall. Julia jumped to her feet and smoothed down her blouse. “Goodness, that’s Nanny with Bouncy. They must be back from the beach.” Before she hurried out she turned. “Our secret,” she repeated, smiling at him gratefully.
    Celestria remained by the window, watching her father. He slouched back into the sofa and crossed one leg over the other. He continued to puff on his cigar, toying with it between his fingers and staring through the thin curl of smoke that wafted into the air. His eyes grew lazy, his thoughts far away, his face unusually solemn. She longed to know what he was thinking. Why he looked so grim. He didn’t look himself at all. Suddenly she felt uncomfortable spying on him like that, eavesdropping and hearing things she was not supposed to. She retreated to her book and soon forgot all about it.
    Instead of reading, she considered Archie’s birthday party. She had two options of dress; one was pale blue silk, which brought out the color of her eyes, and the other dusty pink with a dashing red sash, which emphasized her small waist. The decision was agonizing. After all, Julia had invited the Wilmotte boys, who were all holidaying in Rock, and, if she remembered rightly, Dan Wilmotte was rather debonair.

3
    C elestria should have noticed that things weren’t as they should be. The repercussions of Archie’s predicament would touch them all in ways she could never have imagined. But she was young and selfish. All she could think about was the party. Her frocks hung in the cupboard like magic cloaks ready to spirit her off to a ballroom glittering with chandeliers and crystal, where men in white tie watched her with admiration, and women with envy. Where music echoed off mirrored walls and champagne bubbled in long-stemmed glasses. She was twenty-one, and she wanted to be in love.
    Julia busied herself with her husband’s birthday party as she did every year, and no one would have guessed that beneath her smile she was strangled with anxiety. A van load of men arrived to put up the tent, and caterers began to appear with boxes of