He would lay them out for her and she would spend time looking at them until, suddenly, all the pieces satisfyingly fell in place, and she would look up at him in joy as she read out the message contained in the puzzle.
The Marchioness was not as happy as the Marquess when he put more puzzles before her. She would often draw her out to the garden to help her tend roses while he patiently waited until the sun or the rain drew them back into the house. Then he would set out another puzzle while his wife sniffed and turned away.
When she was a little older, she realized that the messages she was deciphering from the puzzles were interesting as well. She thought about the numbers and the abbreviated words and she began to decipher what those meant as well. One day, when she thought she understood, she stood in the Marquess's study before his large desk which had been a schoolroom of sorts to her and bravely asked him,"My Lor', how is it that all my puzzles have to do with troop movements and supplies?"
"My dear Lady Amelia Rose, he replied with a courtesy seldom reserved for her by her friends and family. "I knew I could not cultivate such talent as you have without you discovering the purpose behind my puzzles. In fact, the puzzles are in two parts: the first is to understand the code in the words, the second is to understand the larger context of the message contained in the puzzle. You have progressed more quickly from the first to the second part than any of the men on my staff.
"I have spent a great deal of time considering what to do with such a young girl with so great a gift for code breaking. It could be said that I am risking much to continue your education, since the country of your birth is frequently at odds with England. I cannot even say if your parents would agree with my request that you give your loyalty to England."
"I am only thirteen, my Lor', and I do not understand much of the world beyond my grandmere's home. But I do know that I owe my loyalty to those who rescued my cousins and me from Italy when we were trapped and have continued to befriend us. My parents have left me here because they know I am safe here and well cared for, and I also believe this is true. Whatever the future holds, I give my loyalty to the country whose citizens have taken me in and I take England as my home."
The Marquess had looked into her eyes that day and made a decision that changed her life.
*****
Later in the day, as she mounted her mare and turned toward the Dower House, she breathed in the cold air and realized that they had not discussed the amount of coal and wood which would be needed to heat the two estates. "Oh, Izzy, I hope the chimney sweep came today. It will be bitterly cold tonight, and I have too many blankets on my bed already. I am like to smother if I add another." Izzy snorted at this and shook her head to signal her desire to stretch her legs. "Sorry, my love, but I cannot go galloping ventre a terre into the dusk, and trotting is more than my body can bear, so a walk it must be."
Izzy danced a little to signal her displeasure and Belle considered what her life had come to that all her conversations were with her horse as they picked their way
The Marchioness was not as happy as the Marquess when he put more puzzles before her. She would often draw her out to the garden to help her tend roses while he patiently waited until the sun or the rain drew them back into the house. Then he would set out another puzzle while his wife sniffed and turned away.
When she was a little older, she realized that the messages she was deciphering from the puzzles were interesting as well. She thought about the numbers and the abbreviated words and she began to decipher what those meant as well. One day, when she thought she understood, she stood in the Marquess's study before his large desk which had been a schoolroom of sorts to her and bravely asked him,"My Lor', how is it that all my puzzles have to do with troop movements and supplies?"
"My dear Lady Amelia Rose, he replied with a courtesy seldom reserved for her by her friends and family. "I knew I could not cultivate such talent as you have without you discovering the purpose behind my puzzles. In fact, the puzzles are in two parts: the first is to understand the code in the words, the second is to understand the larger context of the message contained in the puzzle. You have progressed more quickly from the first to the second part than any of the men on my staff.
"I have spent a great deal of time considering what to do with such a young girl with so great a gift for code breaking. It could be said that I am risking much to continue your education, since the country of your birth is frequently at odds with England. I cannot even say if your parents would agree with my request that you give your loyalty to England."
"I am only thirteen, my Lor', and I do not understand much of the world beyond my grandmere's home. But I do know that I owe my loyalty to those who rescued my cousins and me from Italy when we were trapped and have continued to befriend us. My parents have left me here because they know I am safe here and well cared for, and I also believe this is true. Whatever the future holds, I give my loyalty to the country whose citizens have taken me in and I take England as my home."
The Marquess had looked into her eyes that day and made a decision that changed her life.
*****
Later in the day, as she mounted her mare and turned toward the Dower House, she breathed in the cold air and realized that they had not discussed the amount of coal and wood which would be needed to heat the two estates. "Oh, Izzy, I hope the chimney sweep came today. It will be bitterly cold tonight, and I have too many blankets on my bed already. I am like to smother if I add another." Izzy snorted at this and shook her head to signal her desire to stretch her legs. "Sorry, my love, but I cannot go galloping ventre a terre into the dusk, and trotting is more than my body can bear, so a walk it must be."
Izzy danced a little to signal her displeasure and Belle considered what her life had come to that all her conversations were with her horse as they picked their way
