"Roberts, Nora - Irish Hearts 1 - Irish Thoroughbred" - читать интересную книгу автора (Roberts Nora)

"Oh, but Uncle Paddy, I must," she disagreed, turning to face him. "I
could work with the horses; I've a way with animals."

Thick gray brows drew together in a doubtful frown. "I didn't bring you
all this way to be putting you to work." Before she could protest, he
went on. "And I don't know what Travis would be thinking about me hiring
my own niece."

"Oh, but I'd do anything." She brushed back masses of chestnut hair.
"Groom the horses, muck out the stalls, cart hay--it doesn't matter."
Unknowingly, she used her eyes in an outrageous manner. "Please, Uncle
Paddy, it's crazy I'd be in a week, not having some sort of work to do."

Her eyes won the small battle, and Paddy squeezed her hand. "We'll see."

So engrossed had she been in their conversation and the fascinating
stream of traffic that she had lost all track of time. When Paddy pulled
into a drive and halted the car, Adelia gazed about her with new wonder.

"Royal Meadows, Dee," he announced with a sweeping gesture of his hand.
"Your new home."

The entrance to the long, winding drive was flanked by two tall stone
pillars, and bushes studded with the promise of flowering buds continued
along its path as far as she could see. The grass was brilliantly green
over softly rolling hills, and horses grazed lazily in the distance.

"The finest horse farm in all of Maryland, sure as faith," Paddy added
with possessive pride as he proceeded along the curving drive. "And--in
Padrick Cunnane's opinion--the finest in the whole of America."

The car rounded a bend in the drive, and Adelia caught her breath as the
main house came into view. An immense structure, or so it seemed to her,
with three magnificent stories of old and muted stone. Dozens of windows
winked in the gleaming sun like large, clear eyes. Wide and boldly
glistening, they were a sharp contrast to the stone's mellowness.
Skirting the top two stories were balconies, the design of wrought iron
as intricate and delicate as the finest lace. The house stood on a
gently sloping lawn of close-cropped green, graced with bushes and
stately trees just awakening from their winter sleep.

"Beautiful, isn't it, Dee?"

"Aye," she agreed, awed by its size and elegance. "The grandest house
I've ever seen."

"Well, our house isn't so grand as this." He turned the car left as the
drive forked past the stone building.

"But it's a fine place, and I hope you'll be happy there."