Border Moor Jonathon Turner's story book 2

By Cora Bennet

Jonathon Turner was trapped in an engagement arranged by his family long ago when he was a young boy. He meets Lady Jennifer Spencer and falls in love with her. Stuck between his love of Jennifer and his loyalty to his family he looses his true love Jennifer in the process. This is a story about his search for Jennifer and continues the Border Moor story from Jon Turners own perspective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cora Bennet
• Release date: Apr 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310848902

Cora Bennet

Hi I started to write my first book Addicted out of frustration and found that my frantic scribbling developed into a full novel. Addicted is an erotic love story that may offend some. After successfully completing my first book I embarked on a series of books, a completely different type of story in the form of a Historic romance. Border Moor is a series of books following the lives of families born into powerful estates in the agricultural and manufacturing industries in England in the 18th century. The on-going story is full of romance and adventure that is based around English traditions and culture of this time period. This is not an erotic novel but the love story is just as intense and I hope that you will enjoy it just as much as Addicted. Cora Bennet

Book preview

Border Moor

Book 2

Jon Turner’s Story ByCora Bennet

Copyright Cora Bennet 2015

Smashwords Edition

License Notes

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Chapter 1

It had always been expected by our families that Diana and I would marry when the time was right and she came of age. I had been betrothed to her since she was a small child and she had grown up with the fantastic notion that we would be the fairytale couple with the perfect marriage. Secretly, I had hoped that one day she would meet some other man and fall in love with him and call off the whole engagement. Unfortunately, this has not occurred and now, as I approach thirty years of age I find myself trapped in an engagement to a woman I am not in love with and do not wish to marry.

I had grown to love her, but more like a sister than a lover. I had spent many years watching her grow into a beautiful young lady. Her delicate features and golden head of hair resembled a delicate porcelain doll. Her small perfect frame matched her fragile ways and she considered little of important matters and filled her thoughts with feminine fancies and fashion. As the years had gone by I found it difficult to have any kind of meaningful conversation with Diana and would find myself nodding and smiling politely to humour her as she talked about matters I cared little for.

I would be a fool if I did not recognise the signs love in her eyes when she gazed at me and knew that she was depending on me to make her my wife and to look after her forever but the thought of spending my life with Diana made me feel empty inside. I did not feel the same way for her as she did for me and I felt trapped by the decision my family had made for me all those years ago when we were both children and to young to protest. I knew that my mother and father would be very disappointed if I did not go ahead with the marriage as planned and unite the Turner and Yates family together by our union. I had managed to put the whole sorry business off until now, but Diana was getting close to her twentieth year and was starting to put pressure on me to agree a date for our pending wedding.

Dearest Jonathon, she said, disturbing my negative thoughts.

Yes, dear Diana, I replied eying the fashionable couples strolling by, laughing and smiling. It was a wonderful late summer afternoon and the sun was shining down on the crowds enjoying the warm afternoon on the park. I picked up my cup and sipped on the hot tea, forcing my eyes to focus on Diana and waited patiently for her to continue.

Do you have to go to the North my dearest darling? she asked, her icy blue eyes pleading with me. I will miss you too much and it is so uncivilised up there, you will have a dreadful time I am sure in that remote place. Why, I have heard that the houses are big and draughty with bare stone floors and a friend told me that there are wild animals roaming free in the fields and that the people are uncouth and have no manners. Why would you want to go to such a dreadful place? I bit my lip and tried not to react angrily at her ignorance.

My dear Diana, I must say that you are talking complete nonsense. What you have heard is not the truth of it I can assure you. I have been to the North often over the years and the estates there are just as grand and civilised as they are in the South. In any case, there is no choice, this is a matter of business and is in both our families interest. I knew better than to go into any details of the revolutionary machinery our families were introducing to this substantial farming estate in the north of England. Diana was not interested in business and I knew not to bore her with the details.

I want to set a date for the wedding Jonathon, she said suddenly, spitting the words from her mouth and studying my face for a reaction. My heart sank when I heard the words. I had always expected to hear them but as long as they were not said then I would not have to face them. I looked down, wondering what to say. I only wished I had the courage to tell her, right there and then that I did not want to marry her and that I wanted to call the whole thing off, but I knew that it would be cruel to say them here and now, on this sunny day on the park, just before I was leaving for the north of England.

Diana, I said taking her hand in mine. I think we should discuss this when I return from Border Moor. She looked at me, searching my eyes for answers to questions she had never asked. I smiled and kissed her on the cheek. Come on now, I said, standing up and pulling her chair out for her as she stood and straightened her skirts. She took my arm in hers and we strolled back through the park. I knew that when Diana found out what I was really feeling it was going to hurt her immensely. She had always had her heart set on marriage to me, all of her life, and I regretted that I would have to break her heart. I was sure though, that a lifetime of marriage to a man who did not love her would be worse though. I hoped that she would eventually find happiness, but I was sure that she would not find happiness with me.

When my father had asked me and to travel north with him to visit one his old friends I had jumped at the chance. Lord William Spencer was considering an investment in the new farming machinery my father and I had commissioned earlier this year. The journey north would be long but I relished the thought to get back to the outdoors. I was looking forward to being involved in the pioneering farming project and would appreciate some time away from the stifling London air.

I had always been interested in farming and had spent many of my younger years on our country estate in Surrey where I filled my days playing outside on the farm and only returned indoors to eat and sleep. I felt alive when I was riding around the estate helping my father and the farm workers to care for the herd and inspect the crops. It was so different from the London house and the way of life I lived in the capital. The pompous airs and graces of London society sickened me and I longed to be free from it and to spend some time with some real people doing real worthwhile work.

The ladies of the Yates and Turner families bade farewell to us as we prepared to set off on our journey to Border Moor. Diana sobbed onto my chest and clung to me like a child when she said goodbye, guilt flowed through me as I tried to return her embrace with the same affection she showed me, but I found the embrace forced and strained and I was relieved when she finally let go and allowed me to step into the carriage.

I knew that I had to deal with this betrothal as soon as possible. I could no longer pretend that I was going to marry Diana and it was time to let everyone know the truth about my feelings. There was one small spark of hope in my being that while I was away Diana may find comfort in some other man’s company.

Chapter 2

The journey to Border Moor took two days and we stopped off on the way at a small Inn to break our journey. My father, Mr Yates and Fredrick were in good humour and as we ate supper we discussed the possibilities of installing the farming machinery on the large country estate owned by the Spencer family. I was thrilled to be part of the project and excited about the prospect of being hands on and fully involved in the installation and overseeing the new machinery in action. This project could be the beginning of an industrial revolution for the agricultural industry in England and I was proud to be part of it.

When we arrived in the region we were all weary from our journey and we disembarked at a local Inn close to the Border Moor estate, the hour was late and we agreed to dine and retire early and to visit William Spencer first thing in the morning.

The bed was lumpy and small and I tossed and turned all night finding it difficult to settle. Thoughts of Diana and my unhappy situation spun around in my mind. Now she had ideas of setting a date for the marriage it was time to confide in my father about my feelings and take his council on the matter. I wondered what he would think when I told him. He had always been an approachable man, reasonable and fair. I was sure that when he realised how strongly I felt that he would agree that it would be better to call off the wedding and to end the matter so all could get on with their own lives. I knew that it would not be as easy as that, our families had a strong bond born out of a long and fruitful friendship between my father and Diana’s father and I was sure that they would all be upset about my decision to call of the engagement.

The imposing country house at Border Moor appeared in the distance as the carriage raced up the long winding driveway approaching the grand building. We were met by William Spencer as we climbed out of the carriage and he greeted my father and Mr Yates warmly ushering us into the house while a group of servants followed and fussed around us as we followed them into the study.

It is so good to see you James, William Spencer said slapping my father on the back as they embraced like long lost friends. He walked over to Andrew Yates and repeated the greeting. Off course, you must all stay for breakfast, he said I insist, and gave his butler instructions to prepare extra places for us in the dining room. My father introduced Fredrick and I to him and we all sat and discussed the project excitedly. The house was old and gloomy, an ancient dwelling I suspected that had been in the Spencer family for a long time. I looked around at the richly decorated room while my father and Andrew discussed old times with William. The butler returned a short while later and informed us that we could join the rest of the family for breakfast.

I followed them into the dining room and the footman showed me to a seat near Mr Spencer at the head of the table. I sat down thanking the footman and looked down the long dining table straight into the eyes a young lady sitting there at the end of the table, the most beautiful creature I had ever laid my eyes upon. I turned away quickly, fearful of embarrassing her with my obvious attentions.

William introduced us to his family and continued to discuss the farming machinery with the others. I tried hard to focus on the conversation between our fathers, but my eyes betrayed me as they drifted back to the beauty across the room. The mere sight of this girl quickened my heart and stirred the blood in my veins and I felt as if I had been possessed by a demon who wanted to devour her innocence and beauty.

She was wild looking, her long dark hair untamed and her face was fresh and kissed by the sun. She said very little but I could see the curiosity she had in us as she studied us all in turn as we conversed at the other end of the table.

William continued to talk about business and the pending farming project we would shortly be embarking on as I watched his daughter Jennifer, the beauty at the end of the table from the corner of my eye.

We left shortly after breakfast but William Yates had insisted that we return for dinner and collect our luggage from the Inn and stay at the house as his guests until we returned to London. We hastily retreated to collect our luggage and returned to Border Moor later in the day and settled into the splendid rooms William had provided for us.

I looked around the large bedroom and suite, the rooms were very old and grand and the huge bed in my room was extremely inviting after the uncomfortable nights I had endured on the journey here. The servants fussed around making the fires and preparing washing facilities. I asked the footman to leave and insisted that I could take care of my own personal grooming. The footman looked almost insulted but I ushered him out anyway. I could never get used to other people looking after me and often wondered why grown men would need someone else to wash and dress them. I sadly was one of few that held that opinion but I held on to it nonetheless.

As I took a bath I recalled the encounter with Jennifer Spencer at breakfast. No one woman had ever had such an affect on me in all my thirty years. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life, but it was more than her beauty that had caught my attention, I felt an animal attraction for her, even though we were sat apart I could feel a raging passion grow inside of me in her company and I wondered how I would feel if I was closer to her. I was sure that the closer I was to her the stronger the urge to reach out and touch her would be. I would have to be very careful in Jennifer Spencer’s company and I would have to have the strongest will power to keep a gentlemanly distance from her.

I joined the others in the study before dinner and proper introductions were made to William Spencer’s family. William introduced me to his wife Katharine, his son Edmund and his beautiful daughter Jennifer. My eyes lingered on her beauty a little too long and I tried not to stare. She was even more stunning close up. She was dressed in a simple manner. She wore no powdered wigs or makeup and had a natural fresh beauty about her. Her eyes were dark and sparkled with mischief and her skin had a natural glow from the sun.

Fredrick was also taken with Jennifer Spencer and talked to her all through dinner about London’s Theatres and landmarks. I watched her as she listened intently to Fredrick’s romantic description of the capital and I wondered if she would be disappointed if she learnt about the London that I knew. The dreary, smoky place, filled with vain and shallow aristocracy. I had always appreciated the buildings and the theatre but found that I had little in common with the people of London society and found them all tedious and pompous as they prattled on about fashion and status and other unimportant matters.

My family had moved to the Capital because of our growing manufacturing business, it was an important place of commerce in these modern times and this was the only reason I reluctantly continued to reside there. I would much prefer to live in a place like this, a working farm estate where there was little room for the whims of society and much more serious matters were taking place.

I watched Jennifer discreetly as she talked excitedly to Fredrick about the capital. She would never fit in I thought to myself, in a place like London, she was too innocent and pure of thought. My heart warmed as I watched her smile and laugh