The Aim of a Lady Read Online Free PDF Page A

and I wonder whether there will be anything about it in our library. George has a marvelous library, of course, but it cannot begin to satisfy my curiosity on certain subjects. Then I have to go to Cambridge to see what I can find. Do you like to wander through stores where they have old books? It is quite a hobby of mine.”
    Alma looked rather startled. “What sorts of things are you curious about, Miss Savile?”
    “Different things at different times. When I was younger I wanted to know the names of all the trees and plants that grew in the Park. Then I started to help Mr. Thatcher and I became very interested in medicine. Once, when we had an accident on the road, I wished to learn about road repair. There is a blind gentleman in Yorkshire, a Mr. John Metcalf, who is especially noted for his construction of roads and bridges. Imagine being sightless and knowing how to build roads over marshes!”
    “How thoroughly do you study each of the subjects you choose, Miss Savile?”
    “Oh, not so much as you probably suppose. I know
    a tiny bit about many things, but I never seem to finish
    studying something before a new interest crops up and
    I have abandoned my previous one. I am rather shatter-
    brained about it, I fear, but I enjoy it all the same.”
    “Did you decide on something new to study while you waited for me to wake up?” he asked, a note of bitterness creeping into his voice.
    “I did not wait for you, Lord Alma. I could have gone on to the Park had I wished. Actually, when I am thinking about all those possibilities for learning something new, I quite forget where I am. Did you picture me sitting there impatient to be on my way and annoyed with you for holding me back?” When he did not answer her, she smiled shyly at him and said, “I hope you will forgive me, but I forgot all about you until you spoke to me.”
    Alma laughed, then said, “Oh, I believe you, Miss Savile, and you are forgiven, but you did not answer my question. Have you decided on something new to study?”
    “Well, I cannot decide between the birds or the times when Nicholas Paris lived,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ve never finished my study of birds, but I am intrigued by what life was like in 1427. Do you know anything about that period?”
    “Yes, more than I wish to,” he confessed. “Shall I send to Stillings for some books for you? I studied the period when I was up at Oxford.”
    “Did you? And you would send for some of your books?”
    “Certainly. You could study birds until they arrive,” he said, laughter dancing in his eyes.
    “You are as bad as George, Lord Alma,” she sighed. “Are you not curious about things? George translates Greek and Latin sometimes, but I must confess that I would rather simply read the same works in my own language for I have never mastered another.”
    “Not even French?” he asked, surprised.
    “I can speak a few phrases, but my governess despaired of me and settled for globes instead. I have a solid knowledge of geography.”
    “Thank heaven. How would one survive without a knowledge of geography?” he teased. “What a strange combination you are—an archer, a student of geography, a fencer, an assistant apothecary..."
    “I am ashamed of myself,” she admitted seriously. "I do not seem to be able to study anything long enough to understand it really thoroughly. I once asked Cook to teach me about preparing foods and I worked at it for some time, but I became distracted by an interest in archeology. Cook did not speak to me for several weeks except when necessary. But I can plan a menu better now, and I should not starve if I had to provide for myself, so I suppose it was worth the time and trouble with cook. George told you I fence with him sometimes?”
    Alma, bewildered by the rapid change of subject, nodded his head.
    “And you will fence with me? I could teach you archery in exchange...if you were interested,” she said, the latter part of the sentence becoming