A Daughter's Inheritance
Read A Daughter's Inheritance Online
Authors: Tracie Peterson,Judith Miller
Tags: #Fiction, #Christian, #Historical, #General, #ebook, #book
A D
AUGHTER’S
I
NHERITANCE
Books by
Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller
B
ELLS OF
L
OWELL
Daughter of the Loom
A Fragile Design
These Tangled Threads
L
IGHTS OF
L
OWELL
A Tapestry of Hope
A Love Woven True
The Pattern of Her Heart
T
HE
B
ROADMOOR
L
EGACY
A Daughter’s Inheritance
An Unexpected Love
A Surrendered Heart
A
D
AUGHTER’S
I
NHERITANCE
T
RACIE
P
ETERSON
AND
J
UDITH
M
ILLER
A Daughter’s Inheritance
Copyright © 2008
Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller
Cover design by John Hamilton Design
Cover photography of 1000 Islands: Reprinted with permission from Ian Coristine’s book
1000 Islands
, his fourth book of photography of the region.
www.1000islandsphotoart.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Pubishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peterson, Tracie.
A daughter’s inheritance / Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller.
p. cm. — (The Broadmoor legacy ; bk. 1)
ISBN 978–0–7642–0471–5 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978–0–7642–0364–0 (pbk.) — ISBN 978–0–7642–0487–6 (large-print pbk.) 1. Inheritance and succession—Fiction. 2. Cousins—Fiction. 3. Thousand Islands (N.Y. and Ont.)—Fiction. 4. United States—History—1865–1898—Fiction. I. Miller, Judith, 1944 – II. Title.
PS3566.E7717D384 2008
813’.54—dc22
2007034145
Dedication
In memory of
Edward and Louise Hughes,
the aunt and uncle who
made my summer vacations
a special time and created
fond memories.
—Judith Miller
T
RACIE
P
ETERSON
is the author of over seventy novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling H
EIRS OF
M
ONTANA
and A
LASKAN
Q
UEST
series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.
J
UDITH
M
ILLER
is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her novels, many of which have appeared on the CBA bestseller lists. Judy and her husband make their home in Topeka, Kansas.
Contents
Sunday, August 2, 1891
Broadmoor Island, Thousand Islands
The warm summer air rang with laughter as eleven-year-old Fanny Broadmoor made her way up from the river’s edge. The day had been perfect, and she couldn’t help but be pleased.
Her companion gave a tug on her pigtail. “What are you giggling about now?” fifteen-year-old Michael Atwell asked. Michael lived year-round on the island with his parents, the primary caretakers for the Broadmoor family castle and island estate.
“Do I have to have a reason?” Fanny questioned. “I’m just happy. We caught a great many fish. Your mother will be pleased.”
“I think your grandmother will be less excited to see you’ve spent a day in the sun. You’ve got at least a hundred more freckles.”
Fanny touched her hand to her face and shrugged. “Papa says it goes with my red hair, and he thinks they are quite delightful.”
Michael shifted the string of fish and waved them in the air. “I think these are far more delightful. When my mother gets through frying them up, you’ll think so, too.”
Fanny gave him an adoring smile. She practically worshiped the ground he walked on. He was dashing and adventurous and never failed to treat her kindly. Other servants passed her over as nothing more than a child, but not Michael. He was always good to listen to her and never too busy to stop and see to her needs.
“You’re lagging,” Michael said as they reached the back of the house. “It’s probably due to all that giggling.”
Fanny caught up and put aside the fishing poles she’d been carrying. “Grand-mère says that being of good cheer is the secret to a long life.”
Michael opened the back door and grinned. “Then you ought to live to be a hundred.”
“There you are,” Mrs. Atwell said as they stepped into the kitchen. “I thought I’d have to send your father out to find you.” She spied the string of fish. “I see ’twas a very productive day.”
“The very best,” Fanny agreed. “I caught the first fish, and then Michael caught the next two. After that I lost track.”
Mrs. Atwell laughed. “Well, I can see I’ll have my work cut out for me. Just put them over there in the sink.” She motioned to her son. “I suppose you’re both ready for a bit of refreshment.”
“We are. We ate everything you sent in the basket, but now we’re famished.”
“I’m not surprised.” Mrs. Atwell affectionately tousled her son’s wavy brown hair. “I’ll bring you refreshments on the porch, but first I need to fetch Fanny’s father. I was just on my way when you arrived. Your grandmother wants to speak with him.”
“I can get him,” Fanny told her. “Where has he gone?”
“To your special place,” Mrs. Atwell said with a sympathetic smile. “The place he always took your mother—and now you.”
Fanny nodded with great enthusiasm. “I’ll go. It’s not so very far.”
“I’ll go with her,” Michael said. “It’s farther than a young lady should go by herself.”
“The island is hardly that big,” Fanny declared, “and I am eleven years old.”
Michael laughed. “And very opinionated.”
“All right, you two. Get on with you now. Miss Fanny, it would be the better part of wisdom to allow Michael to join you. Besides that, if I remember right, your father took a picnic basket with him. Michael can fetch that back for me.”
Fanny didn’t really mind Michael’s company. She simply didn’t want him to think of her as a helpless child who needed to be watched over.
They made their way across the well-kept lawn and headed for the northerly side of the island, where the trees thinned out and gave way to rocky outcroppings. Fanny knew where she would find her father. Langley Broadmoor had often regaled her with stories of how he’d courted her mother on this island—how they would love to steal quiet moments in a very secluded place during their whirlwind romance. Fanny loved coming here each year. The island caused her to feel a sense of her mother’s presence just in knowing how much she had cherished this place.
The family always tried to spend some time on the island during the warm summer months. The Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River were popular gathering retreats for the very wealthy, and this popularity had only increased in the years since Grandfather had purchased the island. The opulent way of life had increased, as well. What had once been a modest summer retreat was now a palatial estate with a six-story castle that held over fifty rooms.