Sweet Deception Regency 07 - The Divided Hearts by Karla Darcy Page B

was
waiting, Timothy at the reins, glowering over the backs of the
horses. With a whoop of delight, Patrick leaped up beside the
driver, while Judith climbed more decorously to the seat behind.
Simon mounted a deep chested bay, leading as they wended their way
through the city streets.
    What a glorious morning, Judith thought as
she raised her face to catch the rays of the sun. She looked around
her with interest, amazed at how familiar her surroundings had
become. Outside the Redwood Library, she spotted Priscilla
Woodbridge and waved in answer to the older woman’s hail. Luckily
Simon had a membership to the library and Judith had spent no
little time there. She smiled and nodded to other faces she
recognized then sighed happily as they headed towards the
countryside. Once clear of town, Simon brought his stallion back
beside the buggy and entertained her with outrageous anecdotes of
the owners’ of each house and farm they passed.
    “Where are we going?” Judith asked.
    “The farm’s called Tregonwell. Just a short
piece from town,” Simon answered, pointing to a group of buildings
just visible through the trees. “Lots of horse farms in Rhode
Island. Folks travel from as far away as Virginia just to buy our
cattle. But I think the best of the lot come from right here.”
    As the buggy turned into the long drive,
Judith was impressed by the line of stately trees that formed a
foliage archway overhead. The leafy shadows dappling the path must
be especially welcome during the hot summer months, Judith thought
as she craned her neck upwards. On her right, through the trees,
she could see a herd of sheep grazing under the morning sun,
looking like soft clouds fallen on the ground. Beyond them, and
closer to the buildings, there were fruit trees and massive gardens
laid out in a green-hued patchwork. Everywhere she looked, there
were signs of the fertility of the land and the industry of the
owner of the farm.
    As the house came into view, Judith smiled
in approval of the long, low outline of the structure. Weathered
clapboard under a gambrel roof made the house appear to snuggle
into the landscape, a part of nature, rather than something imposed
upon the ground. Simple roofed walkways joined several wings to the
main part of the house adding to the harmony of the impression.
    The buggy swung away from the main drive,
passing beside the house and an enormous hedge-enclosed garden. Now
Judith could see the fenced corrals and paddocks spread out, dotted
here and there with stables and other outbuildings. The main stable
blocks were ahead and Timothy clucked to the horses as they pulled
through an archway, rolling to a stop in the stable yard. Judith
looked around her in astonishment. She was amazed to find a stud
farm of this caliber in a small New England town. Even in England
this would have been considered a thriving empire.
    “You were expecting something a little less
exalted?” Simon asked as he handed her to the ground.
    “What a wretched man you are, Father,”
Judith teased. “You might have warned me.”
    “And take the fun out of seeing the
expression on your face? Never say, my girl.” He held out his arm,
grinning as she linked her arm with his. “Come along, Patrick.”
    Judith extended her hand as she noticed the
gape-jawed expression on Patrick’s face. He scrambled to the
ground, groping for her fingers, his eyes swiveling around the
stable yard in speechless awe. Judith felt almost as impressed as
she took in the meticulously neat details of each of the buildings
they passed. As they approached a multifoiled arch, strung between
the two arms of the stables, a man exited the doorway and strode
toward them. Judith stumbled over her own feet as she recognized
Nathanael Bellingham.
    After her disappointment on the picnic, she
had promised herself that she would have nothing further to do with
the man. She had met too many man-milliners in London to waste her
time with someone like Nathanael. She had