Read Jane Austen Mysteries 10 Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron for Free Online Page B

the sweep of untenanted Downs, a rolling country of grassland that affords a magnificent view of the well-ordered town at its foot, and the sea beyond, dotted with shipping and pleasure-craft. The sun, just past its zenith, glinted on the stately white buildings as we approached; on a welter of Corinthian columns and Adam-esque facades, and the classical purity of the Marine Pavilion, the Regent's residence. 4 The New Road swung directly past its western lawns, so that a splendid view of the edifice--all but dwarfed by its massive new stable block, constructed in the Indian stile--was obtained directly upon entering Brighton.
    We turned into Church Street, and the direction of Miss Twining's home.
    She was deathly pale as the curricle pulled to a halt, and had to be lifted to the paving by my brother. We each supported her up the steps, and waited for some response to Miss Twining's pull of the bell. During the short interval from Cuckfield, she had informed me that Lord Byron took her up in his chaise at a few minutes past eleven o'clock; it was now nearly half-past four. Her poor Papa must be frantic with worry.
    The heavy oak was pulled back; a bent form in livery stared impassively out at us. "Miss Cathy," it said. "You have been wanted these two hours and more."
    "Oh, Suddley!" she cried, and stumbled across the threshold. "Indeed I did not mean to run away!"
    "Miss Twining has met with a sad accident," I said as I followed my charge within doors, "and requires rest and refreshment. She was so good as to permit us to escort her home. My name is Austen; if Miss Twining's father should care for an explanation, we should be happy to offer it."
    "That will do, Suddley," said a voice from the far end of the hall.
    He was a soldierly-looking man, endowed with Miss Twining's dark hair, but scowling in a manner assured to quell a more ardent spirit than his daughter's. "Well, miss? And what have you to say for yourself? Gadding about in hoydenish pleasures--making a sport of my name throughout Brighton, I've no doubt, and not yet returned from school a month! I do not know what is to become of you--I declare that I do not! A disgrace to your name, and your sainted mother's memory--Good God, Catherine, have you no conduct? Have you no shame?"
    "Sir--" Henry started forward, part anxiety and part indignation.
    "Father, may I present Mr. Henry Austen, and his sister, Miss Austen, to your acquaintance? Mr. and Miss Austen, my father--General Twining."
    "And who are they , pray?" this personage demanded, as tho' we were absent from the room entirely. "It is unusual, is it not, to force one's notice upon young ladies entirely unknown to one? And in mourning too! I cannot think it becoming."
    "It was I who forced acquaintance upon the Austens, Papa," Miss Twining returned tremblingly. "Indeed, they have been my salvation this day, and are deserving of considerable gratitude--but I should prefer to tell you all in greater privacy. May we not go into the drawing-room?"
    "Very well," he said grudgingly. "But I shall offer no refreshment. It is not my policy to reward impudence. Encroaching manners! Town bronze!"
    He eyed my brother dubiously as he swung past Henry towards the drawing-room; a tall, spare man of advancing years--perhaps in his middle fifties--but still powerfully built, with a breadth of shoulder and a strength of limb that suggested the seasoned campaigner. His forehead jutted over deeply-set eyes of an indeterminate brown; his thin lips appeared permanently compressed, and his chin protruded pugnaciously. A man of ill-managed temper, I concluded, and frequent periods of oppression; an uneasy man to endure. He was dressed in dusky black rather than regimentals, and swung an ebony walking cane.
    "It is a pleasure, sir, to meet any member of Miss Twining's family," I managed, hoping to spare our acquaintance further mortification; but her father was not inclined to tact.
    "--Having assumed, no doubt, that such a forward young