The Reading Warehouse

In the drawing room at Charles' family home in Yorkshire his autocratic mother, Lady Lavinia Wright-Smith, was proudly showing Sam a multitude of photographs of Charles as a young boy. There was one of him on his little pony, Ninepins, in a cowboy suit brandishing a lasso and another in a Red Indian costume. As Lady Lavinia was showing Sam pictures of Charles jumping numerous ponies one of the photographs slipped onto the floor. Sam bent down and picked it up and as she handed it back to Charles' mother she glanced at the photograph and saw a beautiful blonde girl. She was about sixteen or seventeen and was wearing a long evening dress, and an extremely dashing Charles clad in a kilt was standing beside her. "Oh what a beautiful girl. Is she Charles' sister?" she asked Lady Lavinia shook her aristocratic head. "No, that was Lisa. Charles was madly in love with her until he killed her one morning. Of course it ruined his life. Miranda has always been second best and she always will be. I can't imagine why he married her. Such a boring horsey girl. Couldn't have been for her wealth. Charles has got money coming out of his ears anyway." Sam felt uncomfortable and was relieved when Tom and Charles returned from the freezing cold stables and they were continuing their journey to Scotland and the equally formidable Lady Hermione. But in the months to come she would recall Lady Lavinia Wright-Smith's words more than once as Miranda disappeared to her father's home in Lancashire and Charles rekindled an old affair with the German woman Helga. What will happen she wondered? But - Only time will tell Also in the series: Ribbons and Rings, Riding High and Perfect Partners.