080072089X (R) by Ruth Axtell Page A

kept his rent up so that his lodgings would be held for him and any letters he received slid under his door.
    Stooping to pick up the mail, he saw at once he had received two letters, one from his mother and one from his sister. He crossed thesmall parlor adjoining the even smaller bedroom, breaking open the seal on his mother’s first. He scanned the contents quickly.
    It was a chatty letter bringing him up to date on the household goings-on and the village gossip. Nothing much changed there from season to season, for which he was thankful. His mother had had enough sadness and upheaval in her life with the death of Rees’s father and the loss of his business.
    It wasn’t until the last line of her note that Rees felt any undue curiosity.
I shall let your sister tell you her news. Both hers and Jessamine’s. They can speak of nothing else.
Jessamine has grown into a lovely young woman. She is a dear girl, such a comfort to us.
    His frown deepened at his mother’s less-than-subtle hint. He smoothed the frown away, wondering why the news should be disagreeable to him. He’d grown to admire their neighbor and his sister’s closest friend Jessamine each time he was home on a visit. Hadn’t he begun to consider in the last year or so that perhaps she would make him a fine wife?
    Wondering what his sister and her closest friend had gone and done, Rees laid down his mother’s letter and broke open his sister’s.
Dearest of dear brothers,
We are coming to see you!
    Alarm shot through him at the first words. Quickly, he read on.
Jessamine and I are coming to London, I should say.
    His sister’s exuberance was transferred to her letters with lots of underlining and exclamation points.

Mother has surely filled you in on all the news in our sleepy village, so I will skip right to what occupies all my attention at the moment.
Jessamine’s mother is taking her to London for a se’night and she has invited me along! I can hardly sleep for the anticipation! They are visiting a brother of Mrs. Barry’s who is on leave. She has long been planning a visit to town . . .
    The letter went on to describe how the trip came about. His heart sank with each passing exclamation of enthusiasm.
You may begin to plan all kinds of outings for us. I will tell you right now, I wish to see at least two plays. Isn’t there a Scott drama performing? I also wish to see the animals at Astley’s Amphitheatre, and the Bullock Museum. I read they just opened. And Farraday’s. I have heard you can try the laughing gas and make yourself silly. I can’t imagine you, dear brother, losing your dignity to such a degree.
Mrs. Barry has bespoken rooms for us at Grillon’s, so I shall be living in fine style. I hope that is convenient for you. We are to leave on Friday the twenty-fifth. I do hope you may call on us the next day.
Perhaps you can rent us a chaise to ride in Hyde Park at the fashionable hour. I am sure you are privy to such things and can help acquaint us with all the subtleties of the West End.
I so look forward to seeing you, and I know Jessamine does as well. She doesn’t say it, but I know she misses your company. Not as much as I!
Please say you have some time from your work at the Foreign Office to ferry us about a bit. We shall undoubtedly spend the mornings visiting the shops. At least Mrs. Barry assures me the hotel is in close proximity to Bond Street.

    Rees refolded the letter. Since he couldn’t take it back with him, he placed it along with his mother’s on the desk. He glanced at his pocket watch. He’d have to reply now before his sister appeared in town.
    He hated not being able to see her, but there was no help for it. He could not let her discover what he was about.
    He picked up his pen and dipped it into the inkwell.
Dear Mother and Megan,
I was both pleased and chagrined to receive your news, Megan, that you were coming up to town at the end of next week. How I would love to see you. I would certainly make time to