The American Earl Read Online Free PDF Page B

it in translation since I never learned classical Greek.”
    “ We have some good ones in the library.”
    Maria put down her water glass. “Julia’s always reading - that is when she isn’t at the stables or riding.”
    Flora lifted her double chin. “I regret having to say this, Evan, but these girls have been neglected for years. Neither of their parents took the slightest interest in their educations. It’s a disgrace the way they have been allowed to go on, with scarcely any supervision.”
    I said, “Maria and I did fine on our own, Cousin Flora.”
    “Not that we haven’t liked having you with us,” Maria added quickly.  She had always been sensitive to the feelings of others.  It was a great pity that my mother and father had never been sensitive to others.
    Since our parents had scarcely ever come to Stoverton, I was the only person Maria could turn to for affection.  I loved my sister deeply, but I understood she needed more than just me.
    My plan was to get this American to do something for my sister. I glanced at him from under my lashes. I would never like him, but I needed his good will. I forced a smile and said, “Would you like to ride around the estate with me tomorrow, Evan? I can introduce you to some of our tenants.”
    He looked pleased. “I would like that very much.”
    I thought of the limited number of horses in our stable. The only one I could offer him was my father’s old hunter, whose best days were long behind him. I explained this to Evan.
    “A nice, solid old fellow will suit me just fine,” he replied. 
    Lucy came in to remove the dinner dishes and I was relieved that Evan had made no comment upon our lack of male servants. A decent household would have had three footmen at least serving at the table.
    Of course, they probably didn’t have servants like that in the American wilderness.
    Cousin Flora inquired, “Did you enjoy your tour of the house today, Evan?”
    “I must confess I found it rather overwhelming.  My whole house in Salem could fit into just a couple of rooms here in Stoverton.”
    “Do you have a house in the country as well as a town house?” Maria asked.
    “No, just in Salem. That’s where our shipping business is. My father settled in Boston when he first came to America, but then he moved to Salem and built his company there. It’s a grand place to live. The whole town revolves around shipping.”
    “I remember your father from when we were children,” Flora said fondly. “At Christmastime your grandfather always had a house party for all the family – aunts and uncles and dozens of cousins. It was so much fun! Tommy was always up to mischief – he had so much energy, that boy. I’m not surprised he made a great success in America.”
    I said, “It’s strange how your father never mentioned his family in England, and my father never talked about your father either. I wonder why?”
    His thick silver-blond brows drew together. “I don’t know. The only person in England my father kept in communication with was an old school friend of his. They wrote fairly regularly.”
    The pudding came in, apple pie with a tiny bit of cream on top, and after we finished, Flora rose. Maria and I followed her lead. “We’ll leave you to your glass of port,” Flora said to Evan, who had stood along with us.
    “But where are you going?”
    “To the drawing room, to wait for you.”
    He looked bewildered. “I’m not supposed to come with you?”
    I informed him, “In England the ladies retire after dinner and leave the gentlemen to their port.”
    Evan looked at me. His eyes were really amazingly blue. His resemblance to the portrait of the first earl was rather unsettling. “But why?” he asked. “In America the entire company retires to the parlor after dinner.”
    “I don’t know why,” I returned. “That’s just the way it’s always done.”
    Flora said, “If you’d like to have your port in the drawing room with us, Evan, come