Edmund Bertram's Diary
Read Edmund Bertram's Diary Online
Authors: Amanda Grange
Tags: #Literary, #England, #Brothers and sisters, #Historical - General, #Diary fiction, #Cousins, #Country homes, #English Historical Fiction, #General, #Fiction - General, #Social classes, #Historical, #General & Literary Fiction, #Fiction, #Domestic fiction, #Love stories
Table of Contents
Praise for Captain Wentworth’s Diary
“In this retel ing of Persuasion we are given a real treat . . . There certainly is satisfaction to be had . . . Like the other books in Ms. Grange’s series, scrupulous attention is paid to the original, even while interpreting what is not explicitly shown, and some wel -known scenes are fleshed out while others are condensed, nicely complementing the original.” —AustenBlog
“Amanda Grange’s retel ings of Jane Austen’s novels from the point of view of the heroes are hugely popular and deservedly so . . . Captain Wentworth’s Diary, a retel ing of Austen’s Persuasion, wil entrance and enthral old and new fans alike.” —Single Titles
“One of those wonderful historicals that makes the reader feel as if they’re right in the front parlor with the characters . . . this book held me captive. It is wel written and I very much hope to read more by this author. Amanda Grange is a writer who tel s an engaging, thoroughly enjoyable story!” —Romance Reader at Heart
Praise for Mr. Knightley’s Diary
“Mr. Knightley’s Diary sticks close to the plot of Austen’s Emma, mixing his initial y censorious view of Miss Woodhouse with his notes on managing the hereditary seat of Donwel Abbey and affectionate asides on his col ection of young nieces and nephews.”
—The Washington Post
“A lighthearted and sparkling rendition of the classic love story.”
—The Historical Novels Review
“Charming . . . knowing the outcome of the story doesn’t lessen the romantic tension and expectation for the reader. Grange hits the Regency language and tone on the head.” —Library Journal
“Readers familiar with Emma should enjoy revisiting the county and its people and welcome the expansion of Mr. Knightley’s role. Others wil find an entertaining introduction to a classic.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Wel written with a realistic eye to the rustic lifestyle of the aristocracy, fans of Ms. Austen wil appreciate this interesting perspective.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
Titles by Amanda Grange
MR. KNIGHTLEY’S DIARY
CAPTAIN WENTWORTH’S DIARY
EDMUND BERTRAM’S DIARY
LORD DEVERILL’S SECRET
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with Robert Hale Ltd. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2007 by Amanda Grange.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
eISBN : 978-1-436-24206-6
1. Cousins—Fiction. 2. Country homes—Fiction. 3. Social classes—Fiction. 4. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 5. England—Fiction. 6. Diary fiction. 7. Domestic fiction. I. Title. PR6107.R35E36 2008
823’.92—dc22 2008013053
1800
Tuesday 8 July
Tom was eager to try out his new horse’s paces and so we rode out together this morning, jumping wal s and hedges, until he was satisfied he had made a good bargain.
‘Did you ever see such an animal?’ he asked me, as he reined in his horse. ‘I would never have been able to get him so cheap if Travis had not lost so heavily at cards. But Travis never learns. A man with such infernal luck should stick to spil ikins.’ He looked around him, letting his eyes wander over our father’s fields, down to the river at the bottom of the hil , and across the water to the woods beyond, but he did not see them as I did, as something to which he belonged. ‘I tel you, Edmund, I am longing to be free,’ he said. ‘I am tired of the country.’
‘We wil soon be back at Eton.’
‘I am tired of Eton, too.’
‘It is not long now before we go to Oxford.’
‘Ay. Only one year more, and then I wil be out in the world, instead of rot ing away at school. I mean to have a fine time of it, I can tel you.’
‘What do you intend to study?’ I asked him, for it was a problem that vexed me, and I wondered if he had found the answer to it.
‘Women!’ he said, with a laugh. He turned to me. ‘But never fear, little brother, I wil not seduce them al , I wil leave one or two for you.’
And so saying, he wheeled his horse and raced for home.
I found myself thinking about Oxford as I raced after him. It is only two more years until I, too, wil leave Eton and go up to university. I have stil not thought how to answer Father’s question as to what I intend to do with the future. I have no taste for the Army or the Navy, but I must have something to do with my time, I suppose, and I hope the next few years wil make my feelings clearer.
Friday 11 July
Aunt Norris was talking about little Fanny Price again this afternoon. Tom stood up as soon as she opened her mouth, for he is sick of hearing about it.
‘Let them do good if they must, but let them stop prattling about it beforehand!’ he muttered to me as he passed.
As I fol owed him, I heard Aunt Norris saying, ‘We must offer the child a home, for my poor sister has such a large family she cannot afford to look after them al . . .’
And my father saying, ‘It is a serious charge, for if we decide to take her in, we must adequately provide for her hereafter, or there wil be cruelty instead of kindness in taking her from her family in Portsmouth.’
And Mama saying it was a great shame Mrs. Price had married to disoblige her family, settling on an idle fel ow who was a lieutenant of marines, instead of looking higher and marrying a man of property. ‘For I am sure she was pretty enough to do so.’
I fol owed Tom as he headed for the stables.
‘What a fuss about a ten-year-old brat!’ he said. ‘Though I wonder my father is deceived by Aunt Norris’s profession of a desire to be useful. She wil find an excuse not to take the brat when the time comes, you wil see, and Mama and Papa wil have to do it al .’ He looked up at the sky, where black clouds had started to gather. ‘It looks like rain. What say you we go into the barn and practice our archery?’
We did as he suggested, and I took pleasure in beating him soundly. He was put out, and blustered that he had not been paying attention.
We emerged from the barn an hour later, better from our exercise, and returned to the house, where we learnt that Tom’s prediction had come true. Aunt Norris had said that Uncle Norris was too il to have a child in the house, and it has been settled that Fanny wil come to us. Saturday 12 July
Maria and Julia did nothing but complain about Fanny’s advent this morning as the four of us went riding, until Tom had had enough.
‘Why must you be so tiresome?’ he asked. ‘Can you not talk about anything else? You have done nothing but groan about Fanny since we came out.’ And to me he said, ‘This is our reward for al owing two sil y little girls to accompany us on our morning ride.’
‘Julia might be a little girl, but I am almost a woman!’ said Maria indignantly. ‘It wil not be long before I put my hair up and put my skirts down.’
‘You are only a year older than me,’ retorted Julia.
‘But it is an important year. There is a great deal of difference between thirteen and twelve,’ said Maria loftily.
‘Not so very much, and besides, Mama says I always behave like a lady.’
‘She says you must always behave like a lady,’ returned Maria. ‘That is not the same thing at al .’
An argument was brewing, and Tom forestal ed it by proposing a race to the old barn. Julia crowed when she beat Maria, and Tom rewarded her by saying that he would dance with her after dinner.
‘And you had better dance with Maria,’ he said to me. ‘If we do not teach our sisters how to go on, they might end up marrying wastrels, and then we shal have to offer them charity and raise their brats in our nurseries.’
Maria declared she would marry a baronet. Julia trumped her by saying she would marry two baronets, at which we al began to tease her, until Julia, determined not to admit her blunder, said she would only marry the second one when the first was dead. Sunday 20 July
I wish Tom would learn to sit stil in church. He was fidgeting again during prayers and I was sure Mr. Norris would notice. Mr. Norris said nothing, however, and although Aunt Norris saw what was happening, she said nothing, either, for Tom can do no wrong in her eyes. It is a good thing Papa did not see, or he would have taken Tom to task for not setting a better example to the tenants.
Monday 4 August
Nanny set out this morning to fetch Fanny Price. Maria and Julia spent the day wondering about her appearance and her clothes and about her ability to speak French. Tom teased them, saying they were afraid she might be prettier and cleverer than they were, and they could settle to nothing al afternoon, plaguing the life out of Pug, until Mama final y roused herself and sent them up to the nursery.