My Cousin Rachel

My  father  and  mother  died  before  I  was  two  years  old.  I  cannot  remember  them.  My  father  died  first,  fighting  in  the  war  against  the  French  in  1815.  My  mother  died  a  few  months  afterward.  My  cousin  Ambrose,  who  was  20  years  older  than  me,  became  my  guardian.  He  looked  after  me  as  if  I  was  his  son.  From  the  beginning,  I  loved  Ambrose  more  than  anyone  else  in  the  world.  Ambrose  Ashley  was  a  rich,  unmarried  man.  He  lived  in  a  beautiful  old  house  in  the  west  of  England.  The  house  was  near  the  sea,  and  there  was  farmland  all  round  it.  The  house,  the  land  and  the  farms  around  it  had  all  belonged  to  the  Ashley  family.  For  many  years.

The  house  was  full  of  pictures,  books.

And  many  beautiful  things.  Ambrose  was  a  gentleman  of  leisure.  He  was  not  a  businessman,  but  he.

Took  good  care  of  all  the  people.

Who  worked  on  his  land.  He  knew  them  all  by  name.  Everyone  on  the  estate  loved  Ambrose  as.

Much  as  I  did.

Ambrose  was  a  shy  man  with  many  unusual  ideas.  He  looked  after  me  himself  and  would  not  have  a  woman  in  the  house  to  help  him.  But  he  was  friendly  with  the  people  who  lived  in  the  other  big  houses  in  the  district.  Some  of  his  neighbors  did  not  understand  Ambrose,  but  they  all  liked  him.  As  I  grew  older,  Ambrose  and  I  became  more  like  brothers.  We  were  both  tall,  shy  men  with  long  arms  and  legs  and  big  feet.

We  both  had  thick,  curly  hair,  although.

Ambrose's  hair  was  darker  than  mine,  we  enjoyed  doing  the  same  things.  We  often  rode  our  horses  through  the  beautiful  woods  and  fields  near  the  house.

When  the  weather  was  good,  we  sailed.

Our  boat  on  the  sea,  fished  or  swam.  There  were  no  female  servants  in  the  Ashley  house.  Ambrose  said  he  did  not  want  women  in  the  house,  and  as  I  grew  older,  I  agreed  more  and  more  with  his  ideas.  The  big  house  was  not  very  clean  or  tidy,  but  it  was  comfortable  and.

We  both  loved  it.

The  servants  looked  after  us  well,  and  the  food  and  wine  were  always  good.  Ambrose  and  I  often  sat  together  after  dinner,  drinking  wine  in  the  light  of  our  candles.  Then  we  sat  in  the  library  beside  a  bright  fire.

The  walls  of  the  library  were  covered  with  shelves  full  of  beautiful  books.

On  Sundays,  we  always  went  to  church.  After  breakfast,  the  carriage  took  Ambrose  and  me  to  the  church  in  the  village.  All  the  servants  came  to  church  too.  On  Sunday  evenings,  we  had  an  early  dinner.  Usually  some  of  our  neighbors  would  eat  with  us.  When  I  was  old  enough,  Ambrose  taught  me  how  to  look  after  his  land  and  his  people.

I  was  his  heir.

The  house  and  the  land  were  going  to  be  mine  when  Ambrose  died.  But  I  never  thought  that  Ambrose  would  die.  We  both  expected  that  he  would  live  for  many  years.  Our  days  together  passed  in  a  calm  happiness.  But  Sometimes  changes  come  into  people's  Lives  that  they  do  not  expect.  Things  happen  to  US  that  we  can  do  nothing  about.  My  dear  cousin  Ambrose  is  dead.  That  is  why  I  am  writing  this  story.  My  cousin  Rachel  is  dead  too.  And  who  was  my  cousin  Rachel?  You  must  read  my  story  to  find  the  answer  to  that  question.  I  know  who  killed  Rachel,  but  I  do  not  know  how  my  dear  Ombros  died.  Was  he  killed  too?  I  shall  never  be  able  to  answer  that  question.  I  shall  never  know  the  answer.  Perhaps  You  Who  are  reading  this  can  decide.  You  must  be  Rachel's  Judge.  And  mine,  too.  I,  Philip  Ashley,  am  only  25  now.  Most  of  my  life  is  in  front  of  Me,  but  the  only  people  I.

Shall  ever  love  are  Dead.

I  cannot  live  with  my  thoughts  any  longer.  I  must  write  down  everything  that  Happened,  everything  about  Ambrose,  my  cousin  Rachel  and  myself.