CHAPTER 85
Georgiana and Dan spent a week in Appleton Vale organising decorators, buying new furniture for Edward’s house, and making wedding plans.
“Wow,” Dan grinned when they drove through the gates of their new home for the first time.
Built in 1619, Avalon House was a brick neo-classical mansion that was perfectly symmetrical, with windows on either side of a columned portico with a triangular pediment. There was also a lodge and a gatehouse, positioned at either end of the one-thousand-acre estate, and the Capability Brown-designed gardens – added in 1745 - were the envy of the county.
“I can’t believe it’s mine,” Georgiana exclaimed. “Ours,” she corrected when Dan raised an eyebrow.
He insisted on carrying her – giggling - over the threshold, and they explored each room hand-in
