Three Little Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

his stepmother since he was eight. Alvin was very fond of Geoff, too. He had never resented the boy, so far as Madeleine could tell.
    But Miss Edsell resented them both. Madeleine had seen the look in her eyes often enough to know which way the wind would soon be was blowing. Besides, Geoff needed to be near London. The village doctor had been most insistent. And she—well, she needed a change. A diversion. An adventure or an avocation. Something . Something that might jerk her from the clutches of those tenacious little blue-devils which had plagued her these many years.
    So London was their home now, for good or ill. And Madeleine felt a little better after having met with Lady Treyhern. She was said to be very knowledgeable about troubled children. Indeed, she had once been thought something of a miracle worker on the Continent.
    Just then, Geoff wandered out of the house, stretching as he came, as if his bones had grown an inch during the night and now wanted to be popped loose. Certainly he was eating enough to grow at such a rate.
    “Good morning, Mamma,” he said before kissing her on the cheek. “You slept well?”
    “Quite well, my dear,” she said. “You look as though you did, too.”
    And he did look rather well rested. Madeleine felt a wave of relief as he plopped down on the adjacent garden bench. As a young boy, he had begun to suffer dreadfully from insomnia. She suspected he still did, though at the tender age of twelve, he had learned to hide it from her.
    Clara, the new housemaid, bustled out with a breakfast tray, and Geoff set upon it with relish. Madeleine let her eyes drift over him. Dear God, he was going to be handsome. Already, he was but a head shorter than she—and she was quite tall for a woman. But Geoff did not have her pale blond looks. Madeleine looked away and poured him a cup of tea.
    “I told Eliza to set out my walking shoes this morning,” she said. “Do you still wish to go out?”
    His eyes lit. “Oh, yes, I wish to go see the Chelsea hospital,” he said, his voice cracking with adolescent excitement. “And I want to walk along the Thames as far as possible, and look at all the merchant ships.”
    Madeleine laughed at his enthusiasm. “I believe the Thames goes all the way to the sea, my dear,” she said. “And most of the merchant ships will be too far downriver. London is a large city. But we can take the carriage, I daresay?”
    Geoff shook his head. “Just the hospital today, then,” he said. “I wish to walk all around it. Mr. Frost says it was built by Sir Christopher Wren—just like St. Paul’s.”
    They had visited St. Paul’s Cathedral their first week in Walham Green. Geoff had been awestruck by the soaring roofs and the sheer magnificence of the place. His tutor, Mr. Frost, had filled the boy’s head with all the wonders of London. Consequently, Geoff was obsessed with drinking in all the history, commerce, and architecture which surrounded them.
    Madeleine finished her tea and rose. “In fifteen minutes, then,” she said as she headed toward the door. “Will you be ready?”
    Their walking tour of Chelsea presented little challenge to a pair accustomed to hiking the dales. They spent a good two hours enjoying the landscaped grounds of the hospital, and the feel of the sun’s warmth on their faces. Afterward, they strolled back along Cheyne Walk, admiring the views of the Thames, and lovely houses which lined it.
    “Look, Mamma,” said Geoff, when they reached the foot of Oakley Street. “Look at this wrought-iron gate. Mr. Frost says the houses of Chelsea are famous for their magnificent ironwork. I know! Perhaps we could buy a house here? I should like to see the river every day.”
    Madeleine laughed. “We have already bought a house, Geoff,” she replied. “Or promised to do so, which is quite the same thing. And you shall have a view of the river from upstairs.”
    “Shall I?”
    “I can show you this afternoon,” she suggested. “I