Read Banishment (Daughters of Mannerling 1) for Free Online Page B

Ducket’s consternation, settled on a pensioned army sergeant with one leg who said he could do a deal of plain cooking and would be quick to learn the ‘fancy stuff.’ His name was Joshua Evans. He had grey hair, a thin, clever face, and an engaging smile.
    His bags were collected and he was removed to the kitchen of Brookfield House, where Mrs Kennedy donned a voluminous apron and both got to work.
    Mrs Kennedy refused to stay for dinner. She kissed Isabella on the cheek and said she would return on the morrow to further Joshua’s education and have a talk to the maids.
    Dinner was simple but excellent. Joshua had told the maids to be as quiet as possible when serving the meal, not to rush, not to get flustered, and they managed very well. The Beverley sisters, with the exception of Isabella, entertained their mother and father with impersonations of Mrs Kennedy until Isabella told them sharply to stop.
    ‘Are we going to malign and sneer at the one person who has helped us?’ she cried.
    ‘Oh, we’ll talk about something else,’ said Jessica. ‘Papa, this Mr Judd. What kind of person is he?’
    ‘Nothing much,’ said Sir William. ‘Lucky at cards. Dedicated gambler. Foxy-looking fellow.’
    ‘And what is Mrs Judd like?’ asked Belinda.
    Sir William leaned back in his chair. There was a little colour in his cheeks and he was quite sober. The organization of his servants by Mrs Kennedy had enlivened him, as had the good food. ‘There is no Mrs Judd,’ he said. ‘The fellow is a bachelor.’
    Six pairs of eyes stared at him. The daughters of Mannerling digested this fascinating piece of information.
    ‘But, Papa,’ said Isabella slowly, ‘why did you not mention this before?’
    ‘I did not want to talk about the man. He took everything from me, but I have to admit, he won fair and square.’
    Isabella clasped her hands and looked at him earnestly. ‘Whoever marries Mr Judd will be mistress of Mannerling.’
    ‘Oh, Isabella,’ cried Jessica, forgetting her sister’s monumental failure in the marriage stakes of London. ‘
You
could marry him and then we could all go home.’
    ‘Home,’ echoed the others. ‘Home.’

THREE
    Your beautiful bit who hath all eyes upon her;
    That her honesty sells for a hogo of honour;
    Whose lightness and brightness doth cast such a splendour,
    That none are thought fit but the stars to attend her,
    Though now she seems pleasant and sweet to the seme, Will be damnable mouldy a hundred years hence.
    THOMAS JORDAN
    ‘You must use Lord Fitzpatrick to practise on,’ said Jessica.
    The sisters were sitting on the grass outside their home on a fine day. Mrs Kennedy’s voice could occasionally be heard sounding from the house as she lectured the maids.
    ‘What makes you think I need practice?’ demanded Isabella huffily.
    ‘Because of your failure at the Season,’ remarked Lizzie quietly. The rest looked at her nervously. She had finally voiced what they had all been thinking.
    ‘Oh, if I am such a failure,’ exclaimed Isabella, ‘perhaps one of the rest of you should go after this Mr Judd.’
    ‘It is your duty as the eldest and most beautiful,’ said Jessica firmly. ‘Besides, I noticed at the ball that you were much at your ease with Lord Fitzpatrick. If you behave with this Mr Judd as you behave with Lord Fitzpatrick, then there should be no trouble at all.’
    ‘What age is this Mr Judd?’ asked Lizzie.
    ‘In his thirties,’ remarked Abigail. ‘Betty, the new maid, is a relative of one of the maids at Mannerling and she told me.’
    ‘But this man is a hardened gamester,’ said Lizzie, ‘and yet Isabella must sacrifice herself for the sake of getting our old home back.’
    ‘Pooh, as to that, I would marry the devil himself if I could get Mannerling back,’ said Isabella. ‘But you are right in your strictures. I had been brought up to suppose that our wealth and rank could get us any man I wanted and so I was too stiff and formal. And I do not