I wanted to read something super light, so I picked up this book, the second in Cadell’s Wayne family series and the only one I hadn’t read before. This one takes place a year after The Lark Shall Sing, in which all of the Wayne family returned home after their older sister Lucille decided to put the family home up for sale.
Cliff Hermann, an American playwright, arrives in Greenhurst to deliver a package to an old lady. He has been encouraged by his friend Robert Debrett (Lucille’s Wayne’s husband) to call on the Waynes, but he’s not in the mood. Miss Dryden-Smth, the recipient of the package, is abrupt and seems uninterested, but as he leaves, he thinks she looks ill.
Nicholas Wayne at 21 has taken on the position of father figure to his three preteen siblings. He has opened a successful travel agency and owns a third of the family home. He is in love with Estelle Dryden, whom he has known all his life, but although she cares about him, she’s not sure of her feelings. He finds her upset. Her aunt, Miss Dryden-Smith, has died, and at the last minute, she attempted to change her will, leaving everything to her son instead of Estelle. It’s not that Estelle wants the money, but no one knows who that son could be or that proper Miss Dryden-Smith, apparently a spinster, could have had a son no one knows about. All anyone knows is that a man delivered a package just before she died, a man in a big black car who was wearing a sling on his arm.
On an expedition to the races with Estelle and her brothers, 12-year-old Julia Wayne spots Cliff Hermann wearing a sling. She is certain he must be the man who delivered the package. Unfortunately, he is on the way to make a bet, and she stops him from getting there in time, so he is angry and displays a nasty temper. But when he sets his eye on Estelle, he changes his tune and soon has come for a visit.
For her part, Julia has a schoolgirl crush on Estelle, who is teaching literature at Julia’s school. She has made Julia interested in a school subject for the first time in her life. Julia confides to Cliff that she is writing a poem about Estelle for a school competition and will present it to her if she wins.
This novel features a romance, a mild mystery, and bitter disappointment for two people. I have to say that I didn’t like Cliff or the way he conducted his pursuit of Estelle.
It was nice to check in with the rest of the family, although the novel doesn’t spend much time with some of them. Of the trilogy, I suspect this novel is going to prove to be my least favorite. It did make me cry, though, which is always a good thing.
What? Me Read? 