“He lives fairly well, this Sir Stephen fellow,” the mumbling voice of my companion came from behind me.
“Yes, it is quite impressive,” I agreed. Realizing my dear friend’s older body most likely had suffered more than its share of trauma during our journey, I held out my hand to him. “Here, Doctor, let me help you down. ”
Groaning as he forced his stiffened muscles into action, Dr. Emil Baum cautiously lowered one foot to the ground. “I think I shall never again be able to walk. ”
“It was a rather awful journey,” I conceded. My red locks flopped into my eyes and I smoothed them back with my hand. “I shall be indebted to you forever for accompanying me all this way. ”
“Your father was a good friend, Andrew. I had to come for his sake and for your dear sister,” Emil responded, his craggy face quite solemn. “Hmm, no one seems to be about. ”
“I sent word ahead. I had expected a better reception than this. ”
I was anxious and on the verge of losing my temper. My journey had started off pleasantly enough, but soon after leaving Munich, terrible storms had haunted our travels. We had been holed up in Austria for nearly a week as fierce storms made every mode of transportation impossible. After such difficulties, it was almost impossible to believe I was finally in the city of Buda. There had been many a time on this journey that I had wondered if I would ever survive to see my sister.
There was a sharp cry and I turned to see a beautiful woman with ivory skin and raven tresses staring at me. She had come from around the side of the house and she carried a basket laden with freshly cut flowers. The startled expression on her fine features dissipated as a wonderful smile graced her lips.
“Oh my! You look so much like your father! You really gave me such a fright! I thought your father had returned from the dead,” she exclaimed in a delightful, airy voice. Moving quickly toward us, she tucked her hair back behind her ears and smoothed her dress. “I am Maria Ramsay, Stephen’s wife. We were expecting you later this evening. ”
I could not help but return her smile and kissed her hand in greeting. “It is lovely to meet you, dear lady. I am Andrew Wright and this is my companion, Dr. Emil Baum, our family physician. He has accompanied me to examine Glynis. ”
“How very nice to meet you, Doctor Baum,” Maria said.
“It is my pleasure, I assure you,” Emil quickly answered, his dark eyes bright with merriment. He was obviously glad to be free of the confines of the carriage and be breathing in the fresh afternoon air.
The front doors opened and there was a flurry of activity as servants hurried out to help the driver with our luggage. I gazed into the coolness of the marble hall with longing. The sun was awfully hot on my head and shoulders, and I could feel beads of perspiration slithering down my back.
“Come in, come in! How rude of me not to see that you need to relax and refresh yourself. Come in and I shall get you something cool to drink,” Maria said invitingly as she hurried up the steps into her home.
“I think this is a rather nice place, Andrew,” Emil said under his breath to me as he followed our hostess. “Glynis is probably well taken care of in such a place. ”
“I hope so,” I answered, my voice a little lighter than it had been in a long time. Yet, there was weariness in my bones that did not originate from the journey, but from that fateful moment when I had opened up the letter that had informed me that most of my family had perished.
Maria seated us in the cool serenity of a lovely parlor before hurrying off to gather refreshments. I sat in a high-backed chair and stared out the French doors at the lush velvet lawn that flowed down to what appeared to be the Danube. A cool breeze wafted through the windows into the room and Emil sighed with contentment.
“You could almost believe you were in England,” he decided.
“More like France. All the furnishings of the house appear to be imported from there. It is all the finest quality. The marble hall we entered through was exquisite in craftsmanship,” I answered.
“It is all very lovely and rather expensive. I thought Sir Frederick Ramsay lost all of his money in outlandish schemes. Was not their
estate bought by your family?” Emil asked. His salt and pepper eyebrows rose upward on his high forehead.
I nodded. “Indeed. My great-grandfather was a very good businessman. The family rose up in status because of his dealings. He became very close to the Crown and that is how he was bestowed with his title. When Stephen’s family lost everything, my great-grandfather purchased their estate. ”
Emil leaned forward attentively. “Edric told me something about that. He seemed amused with his title most of the time. ”
“Well, I do come from a family of self-made men, so the title has never been of any real importance to us except for business connections. Beyond that, my family is not very English. We have quite a bit of Welsh and Scottish blood in our veins. ” I pointed to my fiery red hair and smiled roguishly. “Thus the family’s infamous contrary temperament. ”
The doctor laughed with amusement. “Yes, yes, your family is prone to…how shall I say it-”
“Bad tempers and stubbornness?”
“To put it mildly,” the doctor said conceded.
“Yes, yes. I am afraid Glynis and I both have our fair share of those qualities. ” I grew a bit somber. “That is perhaps why she alone survived. She always was the strongest of the lot of us. ”
“As are you, dear Andrew,” Emil assured me.
“I hope so, doctor. I fear I feel quite weak right now. I wish to be strong for her despite my own broken heart. ”