Border Lord Read Free

idea how one learned how to be jolly.
    They were joined by her escort, the leader of Her Majesty's Fifth Regiment of Horse. A gust of wind ruffled the white plume in his cap, and the fading sunlight lent an orange cast to the golden regalia on his uniform.
    She nodded. "Captain Higginbotham. Won't you join us?"
    He drew himself up in the saddle. Leather creaked. Clean-shaven and as neat as a parson on Sunday, he spent the noon hour polishing his boots and scabbard.
    "Almost there, Lady Miriam. I'll send a man ahead to announce you," he said, staring at her breasts.
    How common, she thought. How degrading. But she was accustomed to such base behavior. Smiling pleasantly, she said, "That's very thorough of you, Captain. I think, however, that just this once, we shall forego protocol and simply pop in."
    When he opened his mouth to protest, she added, "I'll be sure to tell your uncle, Lord Drummond, of your unwavering competence in the field. I have been truly impressed. The czar's personal guard couldn't have done better."
    He toyed with the cuff of his gauntlets, and tapped his teeth together. The annoying habits signaled his disapproval.
    Alexis said, "You will, of course, want to lead us in,
ma capitaine
."
    "Thank you, my lady." He nodded curtly, fell back, and ordered his men to advance. Amid the rattling of swords and the pounding of hooves, the soldiers began moving.
    "Well?" prompted Alexis, eyeing the double column of soldiers as they passed.
    Over the jingling of harnesses, Miriam said, "Well what?"
    "Why are you being so secretive about this mission?"
    Mission? thought Miriam. Predicament seemed a more fitting term. "Oh, Lexie. I'm not. I've told you everything I know about the trouble here. The queen said, in so many words, that I overstepped myself. She thinks I've become too world-wise for a mere woman. Sending me here without telling me what's going on was my punishment."
    Alexis spat a curse that she'd learned at her father's knee. "How swiftly my royal cousin forgets that you gained your experience in service to her—mere woman or no."
    "I know," said Miriam, thinking of the years she'd served the queen. Miriam's apprenticeship had begun when the then Princess Anne had taken in the orphaned Miriam. At the age of five she'd often ferried the sad message to Prince George that yet another of the queen's children had died. Remembered pity softened her next words. "She also said that since I knew her mind so well, she needn't waste a royal breath explaining the participants or the particulars of the problems here."
    A whistle escaped Alexis's lips. "She
was
angry at you."
    Miriam studied the horizon. "Indeed. The burr in her voice was as thick as the towels in a Turkish bath."
    "'Tis a wonder you still have your head. 'Twould be a pity, though, to let all that glorious red hair go to waste."
    The compliment brightened Miriam's black mood. But she still couldn't bring herself to tell Alexis what had truly angered the queen. "When she told me that I could either marry the Baltic minister or earn my keep in the usual way, I told her I would sooner join the harem of King Ahmed."
    Alexis made the sign of the cross. "She knows how much you hate the cold."
    "Aye, she does. I decided to fall back and regroup. I just didn't think I'd be doing it in the Borders."
    "You'll make quick work of this dispute. How will you begin?"
    Miriam hated being ignorant, but what she knew about the Scotsman wouldn't fill a thimble. "I'm not sure."
    "I have every confidence in you, my dear. Now, tell me. What did Her Majesty say about the Englishman?"
    "Little. His name is Aubrey Townsend, Baron Sinclair. He was the one who petitioned for assistance, accusing the Scotsman of kidnapping, thievery, etcetera. Oh, and she commanded me to visit the Scotsman first."
    "That's odd, even if the Englishman did bring about a complaint. She's always careful not to show favoritism to her countrymen. Maybe she knows the Scot. Or—" Mischief sparkled in her